On being grateful and kind : results of two randomized controlled trials on study-related emotions and academic engagement

Despite the large amount of research attention to engagement as well as positive psychology in a general context, there have been few attempts to increase academic well-being by means of positive psychological interventions. This article tests the potential of positive psychological interventions to enhance study-related positive emotions and academic engagement, and to reduce study-related negative emotions among university students. We modified two existing positive interventions that are aimed at increasing general happiness for use in an academic context. These interventions focused on thoughts of gratitude and acts of kindness, respectively. The present study consisted of two randomized controlled trials with experimental (thoughts of gratitude or acts of kindness) and control conditions in which participants were monitored on a daily basis during the one-week intervention, and additional pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments were carried out. Results revealed that the gratitude intervention had a significant positive effect on daily positive emotions only. The kindness intervention had a positive influence on both positive emotions and academic engagement, though not in the long run. The results showed no effects on negative emotions in either of the two interventions. Positive psychological interventions seem to foster positive emotions and academic engagement, but do not decrease negative emotions

Op zoek naar verschillen tussen werkverslaving en bevlogenheid

Employees may have different motives to work hard. Both in research and practice, the interest in work engagement, a particular form of intrinsic motivation to work hard, is increasing. However, at first glance work engagement does not seem very different from workaholism. In this research the authors want to confirm insights from the literature on workaholism and engagement as well as formulate new questions for future research. More specifically, in this research the authors investigate how workaholism and work engagement relate to each other. Are they different or mutually exclusive categories? And – when different categories – on what basis can they be distinguished from each other? On the basis of 23 interviews with engaged and workaholic employees, it is concluded that despite of the similarity of working hard – workaholism and work engagement also differ substantially from each other, for example with respect to work motivation, and identification with work and the ability to disengage from work. Another conclusion is that workaholism and work engagement may convert into one another and may even co-exist. In other words, although both constructs are conceptually different, they do not necessarily exclude each other

The effect of a nation-specific stressor on well-being: Guanxi in Chinese workplace

This study differentiates between task resources and social resources and extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model with guanxi exchange. This is a typical Chinese form of social exchange between the employee and his or her supervisor that is based on the give-and-take of favors. Hypotheses were tested in two Chinese samples of police officers (N = 466) and nurses (N = 261). Multigroup structural equation analyses supported the distinction between social resources and task resources. Task resources predicted well-being in nurses, whereas social resources predicted well-being in police officers. Further, guanxi exchange with supervisors was associated with social as well as with task resources. Moreover, in nurses guanxi exchange was related with engagement, whereas in police officers it was related with burnout. In conclusion: (1) task and social resources are two distinct types of job resources that play a slightly different role in a law enforcement as compared to a health care setting; (2) guanxi exchange can be integrated into the JD-R model, thereby increasing its relevance for the Chinese work context