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

On the Pulsed Laser Ablation of Metals and Semiconductors

This dissertation covers pulsed laser ablation of Al, Si, Ti, Ge, and InSb, with pulse durations from tens of picosecond to hundreds of microseconds, fluences from ones of J/cm2 to over 10,000 J/cm2, and in ambient air and vacuum. A set of non-dimensional scaling factors was created to interpret the data relative to the laser and material parameters, and it was found that pulse durations shorter than a critical timescale formed craters much larger than the thermal diffusion length, and longer pulse durations created holes much shallower than the thermal diffusion length. Low transverse order Gaussian beams with a pulse duration of 28 ps were used to ablate the materials in air and vacuum. It was found that plateauing of crater depth with increasing fluence was due to melt-reflow into the crater and recondensation of evaporated material. Long pulse mid-infrared ablation of aluminum and titanium in air was found to produce aluminum monoxide and titanium monoxide, respectively. The spectra were similar to those observed in ablation studies using shorter wavelength and higher irradiance lasers, despite the much weak shock front in the current study

Strengthening personal growth:The effects of a strengths intervention on personal growth initiative

Personal growth is not only a central individual need but also a key requirement for organizational success. Nevertheless, workplace interventions aimed at stimulating the personal growth of employees are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of an intervention that aimed at the identification, development, and use of employee strengths in stimulating personal growth initiative. We conducted a field experiment with a sample of 84 educational professionals who were either assigned to a strengths intervention or a wait-list control group. In a 1-month follow-up study, we found that the intervention had a direct effect on general self-efficacy (GSE) and an indirect effect on personal growth initiative. Moreover, in line with plasticity theory we found that the intervention was especially effective for participants with low to medium initial levels of GSE. We conclude that a strengths intervention may provide a brief and effective tool for organizations that aim for self-directed learning among their staff, in particular when offered to employees who lack confidence in their own abilities. Practitioner points In a 1 month follow-up study, we found that a strengths intervention had a positive direct effect on general self-efficacy and an indirect effect on personal growth initiative. In line with plasticity theory, we found that the strengths intervention was especially effective for participants with low to medium initial levels of general self-efficacy

The effect of self-leadership training on detached concern and the proactivity of human service professionals

This paper describes a field experiment with a self-leadership training aimed at helping human service professionals to improve their detached concern and proactivity. Whereas detached concern refers to a state in which human service professionals blend compassion with emotional distance in their interaction with clients, proactivity refers to self-starting and change-oriented behaviour to enhance personal or organizational effectiveness. Based on self-leadership theory, we hypothesized that self-leadership training can enhance detached concern and proactivity. Moreover, based on behavioural plasticity theory, we hypothesized that training participants who are low in occupational self-efficacy are more susceptible to the external influence of self-leadership training, than individuals with higher levels of occupational self-efficacy. We conducted a field experiment with a sample of 223 human service professionals who were either assigned to a training group (n = 94), or a wait-list control group (n = 129). In a 3-month follow-up study, we found that self-leadership training had a positive effect on detached concern and that the intervention was especially effective for participants with low to medium initial levels of pretraining occupational self-efficacy. However, the intervention did not affect participants' level of proactivity. This study adds to the literature on workplace learning by demonstrating the potential of a self-leadership training for the transfer maintenance of newly developed soft skills (i.e., detached concern and proactive behaviour) to the workplace and by pinpointing occupational self-efficacy as an individual predisposition that influences training success