Building positive organizations:A typology of Positive Psychology Interventions

Research indicates that Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) in the work context have a small positive impact on improving desirable work outcomes, and a small to moderate effect on reducing undesirable work outcomes, suggesting that the effects of PPIs are not trivial, but also not large. Whereas this may be related to the difficulty of changing oneself or one’s happiness levels, the relatively small effects of PPIs may also be due to the predominant use of one-off interventions instead of more structural interventions that reflect policy level commitment. Furthermore, since most PPIs tend to focus on the individual, one could question the long-term effectiveness of such interventions, especially when the work environment remains unchanged. In this manuscript, I introduce a typology of PPIs in organizations by distinguishing between the organizational level they target (the individual or group level), and between one-off and structural interventions. I argue that different types of interventions can strengthen each other, and that to make a sustainable contribution to the optimal functioning of workers, PPIs need to comprise a wide variety of one-off and structural interventions targeting both individuals and groups in organizations. Furthermore, I make suggestions for improving the long-term effectiveness of PPIs by drawing on the literature on transfer of training, nudging, and positive design

A quasi-experimental study into the effects of naps and therapy glasses on fatigue and well-being

Aim:  To investigate the effects of a napping facility and therapy glasses on fatigue and well-being at the end of the night shift.  Background:  Night shift work has adverse effects on fatigue and well-being.  Methods:  A quasi-experimental study was conducted, and data were collected on 243 night shifts of 95 nurses who had either access to a napping facility, therapy glasses, both facilities or no facilities. Multilevel analyses were conducted to predict fatigue and well-being.  Results:  Night shifts of nurses having access to both facilities were associated with less fatigue and more well-being. The use of therapy glasses related negatively to fatigue and positively to well-being. The use of the napping facility was not associated with fatigue and well-being. However, having slept while napping and sleeping time during napping were negatively associated with fatigue and positively associated with well-being.  Conclusion:  Therapy glasses and sleeping in a napping facility can be effective interventions in reducing the adverse effects of night shift work. Implications for Nursing Management: Therapy glasses seem an effective investment to facilitate the well-being of nurses. To enhance sleeping during napping, it is worthwhile to let nurses get accustomed to the napping facility and customize settings to personal preferences

Bouwen op unieke kwaliteiten:Versterken van ontwikkeling en welbevinden in organisaties

Waarom bestaan banen al voordat we de kwaliteiten kennen van de mensen die deze banen gaan vervullen? Waarom hebben veel organisaties slechts oog voor de talenten van 5-10% van hun medewerkers? En waarom managen zij de competenties van hun medewerkers vooral door naar de negatieve afwijkingen van de gouden standaard te kijken? Dit zijn de vragen die centraal staan in deze rede, die ingaat op hoe organisaties de kwaliteiten van hun medewerkers beter kunnen benutten door banen aan te passen aan de mens, in plaats van andersom. Mensen zijn voorgeprogrammeerd om meer aandacht te besteden aan negatieve informatie dan aan positieve informatie. Hoewel dit vaak heel nuttig is, betekent dit ook dat we hiermee kansen laten liggen om ons welbevinden te verhogen. Door ons welbevinden tijdens het werk een tijdje systematisch bij te houden, kunnen we erachter komen wat hierin de positieve uitzonderingen zijn. Door juist deze positieve uitzonderingen te analyseren, kunnen we onze sterke punten op het spoor komen. Uit onderzoek blijkt dat mensen die hun sterke punten kunnen toepassen in hun werk beter met werkdruk om kunnen omgaan. Hierdoor verzuimen zij minder vaak en leveren zij beter werk af. Ook blijken zij meer initiatieven te nemen in hun eigen ontwikkeling. Doordat organisaties en banen tegenwoordig snel veranderen, zijn organisaties steeds meer afhankelijk van deze zelfgestuurde leeractiviteiten van medewerkers. Organisaties kunnen hun medewerkers ondersteunen bij het ontdekken, gebruiken en ontwikkelen van hun sterke punten. Zo is het bij de werving van nieuw personeel nuttig om te analyseren welke kwaliteiten nog in het team ontbreken. Inwerkprogramma’s voor nieuwe medewerkers moeten er daarnaast niet alleen op gericht zijn dat nieuwe medewerker zich gaan aanpassen aan de organisatie, maar moeten nieuwkomers juist stimuleren om hun unieke kwaliteiten aan collega’s te laten zien. Daarnaast kunnen leidinggevenden in functioneringsgesprekken samen met hun medewerkers analyseren op welke momenten zij optimaal presteren. Organisaties kunnen ook stimuleren dat medewerkers zelf hun functie beter vormgeven, zodat het werk beter aansluit op persoonlijke behoeftes en sterke kanten

Improving quality and safety of care in nursing homes by team support for strengths use: A survey study

Growing evidence suggests that workload has an adverse effect on quality of care and patient safety in nursing homes. A novel job resource that may improve quality of care and patient safety and alleviate the negative effect of workload in nursing homes is team support for strengths use. This refers to team members’ beliefs concerning the extent to which the team they work in actively supports them in applying their individual strengths at work. The objective was to investigate the relationships between workload, team support for strengths use, quality of care, and patient safety in nursing homes. We collected (cross-sectional) survey data from 497 caregivers from 74 teams in seven different nursing homes. The survey included measures on perceived workload, team support for strengths use, caregivers’ perception of the quality of care provided by the team and four safety incidents (i.e. fall incidents, medication errors, pressure ulcers, incidents of aggression). After controlling for age, team size, team tenure, organizational tenure, and nursing home, multilevel regression analyses (i.e. individual and team level) showed that perceived workload was not significantly related to perceived team-based quality of care and the frequency of safety incidents. Team support for strengths use was positively related to perceived team-based quality of care, negatively related to medication errors, but not significantly related to fall incidents, pressure ulcers, and aggression incidents. Finally, we found that perceived workload had a negative effect on perceived team-based quality of care when team support for strengths use is low and no significant effect on perceived team-based quality of care when team support for strengths use is high. This study provides promising evidence for a novel avenue for promoting team-based quality of care in nursing homes

Bouwen op unieke kwaliteiten

Waarom bestaan banen al voordat we de kwaliteiten kennen van de mensen die deze banen gaan vervullen? Waarom hebben veel organisaties slechts oog voor de talenten van 5-10% van hun medewerkers? En waarom managen zij de competenties van hun medewerkers vooral door naar de negatieve afwijkingen van de gouden standaard te kijken? Dit zijn de vragen die centraal staan in deze rede, die ingaat op hoe organisaties de kwaliteiten van hun medewerkers beter kunnen benutten door banen aan te passen aan de mens, in plaats van andersom. Mensen zijn voorgeprogrammeerd om meer aandacht te besteden aan negatieve informatie dan aan positieve informatie. Hoewel dit vaak heel nuttig is, betekent dit ook dat we hiermee kansen laten liggen om ons welbevinden te verhogen. Door ons welbevinden tijdens het werk een tijdje systematisch bij te houden, kunnen we erachter komen wat hierin de positieve uitzonderingen zijn. Door juist deze positieve uitzonderingen te analyseren, kunnen we onze sterke punten op het spoor komen. Uit onderzoek blijkt dat mensen die hun sterke punten kunnen toepassen in hun werk beter met werkdruk om kunnen omgaan. Hierdoor verzuimen zij minder vaak en leveren zij beter werk af. Ook blijken zij meer initiatieven te nemen in hun eigen ontwikkeling. Doordat organisaties en banen tegenwoordig snel veranderen, zijn organisaties steeds meer afhankelijk van deze zelfgestuurde leeractiviteiten van medewerkers. Organisaties kunnen hun medewerkers ondersteunen bij het ontdekken, gebruiken en ontwikkelen van hun sterke punten. Zo is het bij de werving van nieuw personeel nuttig om te analyseren welke kwaliteiten nog in het team ontbreken. Inwerkprogramma’s voor nieuwe medewerkers moeten er daarnaast niet alleen op gericht zijn dat nieuwe medewerker zich gaan aanpassen aan de organisatie, maar moeten nieuwkomers juist stimuleren om hun unieke kwaliteiten aan collega’s te laten zien. Daarnaast kunnen leidinggevenden in functioneringsgesprekken samen met hun medewerkers analyseren op welke momenten zij optimaal presteren. Organisaties kunnen ook stimuleren dat medewerkers zelf hun functie beter vormgeven, zodat het werk beter aansluit op persoonlijke behoefte

Adaptation and validation of a German version of the Strengths Use and Deficit Correction (SUDCO) questionnaire

The Strength Use and Deficit Correction (SUDCO) Questionnaire has been shown to be a reliable instrument for the measurement of its four dimensions perceived organizational support for strengths use, perceived organizational support for deficit correction, strengths use behavior, and deficit correction behavior in the context of organizations. This paper aims to adapt and validate the SUDCO for the German-speaking population (SUDCO-G). Three studies were conducted. Confirmatory factor analyses and correlations with other psychological constructs on the data of three German samples (N-1 = 302; N-2 = 243, N-3 = 295) were performed. The twenty-four item SUDCO-G exhibits the anticipated factorial structure with four factors and an acceptable model fit in all three studies (CFI = .920-.937, TLI = .911-.929, RMSEA = .063-.079, SRMR = 0.52-.075). The associations of the four dimensions to other constructs concur with previous findings (study 2) and the subscales of the SUDCO-G also show positive relations with general strengths use, meaning of work and Psychological Capital (study 3). We conclude that the SUDCO-G is a reliable and valid instrument for the use in the German-speaking population

Accumulative Job Demands and Support for Strength Use: Fine-Tuning the Job Demands-Resources Model Using Conservation of Resources Theory

Absenteeism associated with accumulated job demands is a ubiquitous problem. We build on prior research on the benefits of counteracting job demands with resources by focusing on a still untapped resource for buffering job demands—that of strengths use. We test the idea that employees who are actively encouraged to utilize their personal strengths on the job are better positioned to cope with job demands. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we hypothesized that job demands can accumulate and together have an exacerbating effect on company registered absenteeism. In addition, using job demands-resources theory, we hypothesized that perceived organizational support for strengths use can buffer the impact of separate and combined job demands (workload and emotional demands) on absenteeism. Our sample consisted of 832 employees from 96 departments (response rate = 40.3%) of a Dutch mental health care organization. Results of multilevel analyses indicated that high levels of workload strengthen the positive relationship between emotional demands and absenteeism and that support for strength use interacted with workload and emotional job demands in the predicted way. Moreover, workload, emotional job demands, and strengths use interacted to predict absenteeism. Strengths use support reduced the level of absenteeism of employees who experienced both high workload and high emotional demands. We conclude that providing strengths use support to employees offers organizations a tool to reduce absenteeism, even when it is difficult to redesign job demands