?? Positive Psychology at Work: More Than Just ‘Thinking Happy?’ ??

Hello

I'm Lis and I'm passionate about creating workplaces where everyone thrives. I do this through consulting, speaking, training and coaching.

"Just be positive!" Have you ever encountered this attitude at work? Maybe when a challenge has been raised, people felt under pressure or struggled with change. It’s well-intentioned, but it can feel frustrating and completely misaligned—dismissing real concerns instead of addressing them, and making it harder for people to feel heard, valued, or supported.

It's important to distinguish between sugar coating reality and positive psychology at work, which isn’t about ignoring problems, or forcing optimism. It’s also not toxic positivity—telling people to smile through stress or pretend everything’s fine. Instead, positive psychology is about building real, evidence-based capacities that help people, teams, and organisations thrive—even in tough times.

So, what does that look like in the workplace?

?? Resilience—more than just ‘staying positive.’ Imagine a team facing a major restructure. A surface-level approach might say, "Just embrace change! It’ll be fine!" But a positive psychology approach looks deeper. It focuses on equipping people with the tools to navigate uncertainty, fostering psychological safety so they can express concerns, and helping them find meaning in change rather than just pushing through. It also ensures that key stakeholders at all levels are actively involved from the start, using approaches like Appreciative Inquiry to shape a more inclusive and constructive transition.

?? Strengths-based leadership isn’t about ignoring weaknesses - A great leader doesn’t just focus on what’s going wrong. They help people leverage their strengths while addressing challenges in a constructive way. Research shows that employees who use their strengths daily are more engaged, productive, and resilient—but that doesn’t mean we pretend weaknesses don’t exist. It means we develop people in a way that builds confidence and capability.

?? Wellbeing isn’t just about training people —it’s about culture - A lot of the work I have delivered with organisations over the past 8 years has been around increasing awareness/informing and educating leaders and teams around mental wellbeing at work and how to manage on individual, leadership and organisational levels. It's important that we continue to do this. However, a company can offer many trainings like these, but if leaders dismiss concerns, overwork their teams, or don’t create an environment of trust, no amount of mental wellness trainings or initiatives will make a difference. Positive psychology in action means designing systems, leadership, and ways of working that genuinely support people’s wellbeing—so that productivity and performance are sustainable, not just expected.

?? So here’s something to reflect on:

• How does your workplace approach resilience—by providing meaningful support or relying on motivational messages?
• Do your leaders focus on unlocking strengths, or just fixing problems?
• Is your wellbeing strategy embedded in culture, or just a series of training sessions and initiatives?

Positive psychology isn’t about avoiding difficulties—it’s about creating the conditions where people, teams, and organisations can thrive. That’s what I help leaders and teams do—through consulting, speaking, training and coaching programmes designed to create lasting change.

If you want to build a workplace where people truly thrive, book an intro call with me to discuss how positive psychology at work can help you do this.

Lis

Lis Cashin

www.liscashin.com

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