Work, leadership, institutions, and culture are interrelated and are an integral part of positive psychology. All people tend to identify with work. People even introduce other people, like, “She’s Maria, a psychologist.” If people don’t work and don’t earn money, their self-esteem decreases. Work adds or does not add purpose to life. Work, whether paid or unpaid, is a big part of life. Even if people were financially free, they would still do something with their time, after getting all the fun and travel out of their system. Therefore, happiness at work transfers and contributes to people’s happiness in life. Work naturally shapes people’s network or circle of influence, as humans like to group with people who share common ground with their work, industry, and professional experiences.
Additionally, studies show that satisfied workers have higher job titles than dissatisfied workers. Employers like high-energy workers because they are effective, complete tasks in less time, and don’t use sick days. Most coaches agree with Myers’ findings, as they see these results in the organizational training they do. Workers who live free from chaos, stay organized, complete tasks in less time than workers who are not disciplined and chaotic. Everyone can think of a time when he or she has been overwhelmed, as a result of too much work, and unable to function and think intelligently. Individuals may also think of times when they were not stimulated at work; their work was repetitive and meaningless. Studies have shown that workers who thrive are those who continually face significant challenges, so work can become fun and play.
Karl Marx pointed out the importance of expressing yourself at work, for job satisfaction. Also, there has to be value in what people do. All jobs are necessary and each person needs others to be able to work and live. A vital skill is being able to transform perceived threats into healthy challenges. Another way to happiness in work and life is to live intentionally and take charge, instead of reacting to what the Universe may bring us. It is important to set intentions. General well-being depends on conscious challenges.
Furthermore, using the principles of Positive Psychology, people can design positive interventions to achieve goals, including work and organizational goals. The success of the workers depends on the motivation and the maximization of their own potentials. People accept changes conditionally, depending on whether they make sense to them. Gradual changes are more successful than drastic changes (Aspinwall and Staudinger 2003). Often the people implementing change have little understanding of psychology, and if they did, not only would changes happen smoothly, but organizations would generally be more profitable. It is the duty of psychologists to educate organizations on the psychological principles that govern companies that are made by people!
Politics, economy and society as a whole also need psychology. Aspinwall and Staudinger promote the introduction of science markets, where psychologists join other professionals -non-psychologists- and psychology. In this way, the solutions could be formulated together, thanks to the fact that psychologists offer the results of their investigations. Once the solutions are found, the social engineers would carry them out. Positive Psychology has the power to optimize processes and services.
Furthermore, it is crucial that people are used to their strengths for their own benefit and the benefit of society at large. When people use their own strengths, they become inherently happy and optimistic. Positive Psychology involves positive emotions, positive traits of people, and positive institutions, such as work, leadership, and culture.
Also, more and more academic articles are emphasizing the importance of happiness at work and slowly but surely more organizations are catching on and making it their goal and mission with employees. To create positive institutions, it is important not to keep secrets, to follow a mission and to have effective conflict resolution skills. According to Seligman, there are five traits for positive institutions: keep growing, modeled by the CEO, be greater than the sum of its parts, empower to make decisions, and be clear on mission or purpose. Positive leaders create positive companies and institutions. Positive leaders understand the power of finding meaning in work, the power of acknowledging the successes of workers at all times and giving their power to others.
Again, positive and positive energy is contagious, because, from the perspective of quantum physics, everything is energy. Therefore, people tend to gravitate toward other positive people, positive leaders, positive teams, positive institutions, and positive cultures. The proposed model for linking positive psychology and business, to make business successful and sustainable, is to focus on VIA’s Human Strengths. Institutions or organizations are seen as micro-societies and micro-communities that expand outwards. Coming from strength or love, in the face of lack or fear, always produces much better results. Change is about strength. All these principles could be summed up by saying that it is best to see, focus and bring out the best in people. Again, these principles are true in different cultures around the world.
Finally, Positive Psychology can be confused with self-help. It is not, as it is based solely on solid research findings, to support any thought or hypothesis. According to Positive Psychology research, the most effective and authentic leadership shares the same values and happiness. The most rewarding work lies in sharing the same organizational culture. Positive leaders’ expectations of themselves are the same or consistent with their expectations of other workers. Similarly, leaders who understand positive psychology are well positioned to create optimism, positive change, and a positive organizational culture.
References
Aspinwall, G., L. and Staudinger, U., M. (2003), A Psychology of Human Strengths, APA, 149-164.