Using Positive Psychology to build morale of employees and society.
With current Covid situation, families losing dear and near ones, many losing jobs, some traditional livelihoods vanishing, we need to create hope for such sections of society and maybe we need to explore opportunities to use principles of “positive psychology” to uplift the mood and bring a positive spirit. I suspect that if some of the deeply impacted sections of the society are left unaddressed, we may see sharp increase in depression cases, suicides, crime rates and all sorts of antisocial behavior.
Corporate Leadership teams owe it to society to ensure a positive morale within the organization and efforts to uplift the mood and morale across the societies wherever they operate.?
As I was interested in addressing such issues, it got me interested in “ Positive psychology”.
Psychologists trained in “Positive psychology “can greatly help towards this endeavour.
Martin Seligman, often regarded as the father of positive psychology, has described multiple visions of what it means to live happily, including the Pleasant Life (Hollywood’s view of happiness), the Good Life (focused on personal strengths and engagement), and the Meaningful Life. The science of?positive psychology?operates at?three?different?levels?– the subjective?level, the individual?level?and the group?level. (for those interested understanding this in depth you may refer to tenets of positive psychology formalized by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, in?Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification?(CSV), which they created as a counterpoint to the?Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition?(DSM-IV)).
So what is “Positive psychology”?
Positive psychology is uniquely solution-focused. It is not merely corrective and limited to offering solution only when something goes downhill. Positive psychology works by improving on what is already there and extends its help by cultivating inner strengths.
Positive psychology has five key aspects to it:
Positive psychology is not a remedy for problems. By building our inner strength and making us more aware of our capabilities, the interventions help us to see the positive around us and make our life more worthy and fulfilling.
The strategies and skills included in positive psychology interventions guide us through a visionary change to look into the same things with a different perspective.
Some popular Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI):
Some of the schemes/interventions designed by HR team members based on principles of Positive psychology are :
1. Gratitude Interventions
?“If you want to find happiness, find gratitude” – which is precisely the basis for gratitude-based positive psychology interventions. Gratitude evokes strong feelings of positivity in the person who gives it and the person who receives it.
Gratitude interventions are categorized into two parts:
?2. Kindness Boosters
Kindness ?is a trait all happy people possess. Studies have shown that happiness and kindness go hand in hand and complement each other.
Promoting simple?acts ?of kindness like buying someone a small token of love, volunteering for a noble cause, donating something, or helping a stranger in need etc . reinforces happiness and positivity. It is not about how much money is spent.
Volunteering for various CSR activities is big hit among young professionals.
?3. Empathy PPIs
Empathy-oriented PPIs focus on strengthening positive emotions in interpersonal relationships. Healthy social bonds – both at personal and professional fronts are essential for happiness and inner peace. Activities like?meditation and?mindfulness ?practices, where individuals create positive feelings toward themselves and others by being more mindfully connected to the present . Focus is on building relationships through effective communication, broadened perception, and bridging the gap between self and others The core principle behind this is to let us understand others’ perspective and build a strong connection to them.
Popularity of several meditation techniques and programs in corporate HR training agenda is a testimony to this.
Some other interventions which may not be very commonly used in Indian corporate scenario but could be considered:
?1. Optimistic Interventions
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Optimistic ?interventions create positive outcomes by setting realistic expectations. An example the ‘Imagine Yourself’ test where participants are asked to note down where they see themselves in the future. This may seem to be an easy task, but non-directed imagination is a great way for people to understand how positive they are about themselves and others in life.
Another interesting intervention could be the Life Summary technique. This practice involves assuming that we are happy and prosperous in our lives and writing a summary of our lives based on that assumption. Review would focus on strengths, achievements, and all the fruitful aspects of lives so far. This provides insight into where we are going wrong in our daily lives and what we can do to pursue the ideal life we want to.
2. Meaning Oriented PPIs
This category of PPIs helps in understanding what is meaningful to us in life and why, and what we can do to achieve the things that matter in life. A person who has clarity of goals and expectations is more likely to feel happier and content.
If we follow Abraham Maslow’s?Theory ?of Need Hierarchy, the highest level of human needs include self-enhancement and self-esteem, both of which are intertwined with finding the true meaning of life.
Activities prodding to find meaning in our daily activities,?setting meaningful and ?realistic goals ?or just reflecting on our thoughts and emotions .
Meaning-oriented PPIs are widely used for treating stress disorders, especially?post-traumatic stress syndromes, where a person needs guidance to find the lost happiness in life and cope with the after-effects of a disaster.
Some of these interventions may require a professional help of a trained and qualified Positive psychologist but some of the principles can be applied in our day to day life to create more happiness.?
Some of these Interventions may improve our state of well-being permanently by impacting these fourteen fundamental factors of happiness:
1.????Being more active and busy
2.????Spending more time socializing
3.????Being productive at work
4.????Being more organized and well-planned
5.????Reducing worries and negative contemplations
6.????Fewer expectations, and having more realistic ones
7.????Practicing positivity through optimistic thinking and reasoning
8.????Getting more focused and mindfully aware of the present
9.????Developing and maintaining a healthy personality
10. Becoming more empathetic
11. Being ourselves at all times
12. Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones
13. Valuing close relationships
14. Thinking about enhancing our happiness
These focused interventions may then lead to profound productivity enhancement and happiness at individual level, group level, organizational level and society in general.?
Do you believe such attempts and interventions may be useful?? Do send in your comments. I am interested in learning more about the same. I have tried to simplify some of the concepts for easier understanding and implementation. Those interested in leaning more about Positive Psychology must visit :https://positivepsychology.com.