Positive Psychology Meets HR (Part 2)
Work has more than one definition (“work,” n.d.) . When we refer to work, we may be referring to what we do, but we most often are referring to employment. With employment, we perform a job in exchange for payment. Therefore work has meaning not just to the individual who is performing it, but also to the employer.
Most often, the employer is an organization. The employer wants to get certain tasks completed, in a certain amount of time, and with a certain quality. We could say that an employer wants high performance from the person who is working for them. As positive psychology has tended towards a focus on the conditions for the life well lived at the level of the individual, positive organizational scholarship (POS) and positive organizational behavior (POB) have emerged as new fields that examine positive functioning at the level of the group.
POS is defined as being “primarily concerned with the study of especially positive outcomes, processes, and attributes of organizations and their members. POS does not represent a single theory, but it focuses on dynamics that are typically described by words such as excellence, thriving, flourishing, abundance, resilience, or virtuousness.” (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003, p. 3) .
POB is similar but different, focusing on “the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace” (Luthans, 2002, p. 59). Work exists at the intersection of the individual and the organization. If we wish to have both flourishing organizations and flourishing individuals, it is important that we develop a more complete model of the interaction between an individual, their job, and the organization they work for. In short, it is important to develop a more thorough understanding of work.
As we develop this understanding, we can help the individual and the organization setup conditions for optimal functioning and flourishing on the individual and the organizational level. Research is being done at the individual and organizational level, but it is at the intersection of the two that we may find the best opportunity for novel interventions.
This blog focuses on this intersection. Postings will address the relationship between the organization and the individual through work, discuss research findings and gaps in our knowledge, a newly created assessment used to evaluate a specific job along those dimensions, and application of this theory and assessment to use a new model of fit that could help individuals and organizations increase the likelihood of creating flourishing through work.
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