Application and Evaluation of Positive Psychology Intervention - Term Paper Example

 «Application and Evaluation of Positive Psychology Intervention» “Positive Organization” Defined The application of positive psychology in an organization is becoming more scientific, less empirical. Now, it has become a movement (Luthans, 2002, p. 696). It was originally through the efforts of Dr. Martin Seligmnan that positive psychology went into the mainstream study. By the start of the decade, Csikzentmihalyi and Seligman (2000, p. 5) encapsulated the term “positive psychology” as the “science of positive subjective experience.” From the term itself, it lives on positive experiences and outlook in life. Indeed, it elated the interests of psychologists who believed in its potency to improve the quality of human living. They believe that positive psychology may not only piece the puzzle, it may be the meat itself – the one-time investment that exhibits long-term effects on the individual and organizational well-being (Guojan & Jingzhou, n.d., p. 319). It is touchy-feely in context but it is serious business. Discussing positive psychology does not only talk of figuring a way out of the weaknesses, it especially identifies and emphasizes the human strengths (Luthans, 2002, p. 695). Investing on positive psychology increases psychological capital. Unlike human and social capital, psychological capital is just a recent development in organizational literature (Larson & Luthans, 2006). It used to be only concerned with self-worth (Larson & Luthans, 2006). Furthermore, psychological capital is not easy to develop and measure because it is inherently subjective unlike human and social capital (Larson & Luthans, 2006). In consequence, most organizations don’t find it attractive and in return don’t see the fact that it secures and moves the organization (Guojan & Jingzhou, n.d., p. 319). Psychological capital is characterized by: 1.) Having confidence (self-efficacy) to take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks; 2.) Making a positive attribution (optimism) about succeeding now and in the future; 3.) Persevering toward goals and when necessary, redirecting paths to goals (hope) in order to succeed; and 4.) When beset by problems and adversity, sustaining and bouncing back and even beyond (resiliency) to attain success (Luthans & Yousef, 2007, p. 334). Hence in defining a positive organization, psychological capital is the conclusive factor. Positive people make up a positive organization. Leaders and employees with a high psychological capital are committed and satisfied with their individual jobs and to the organization (Larson & Luthans, 2006). Therefore, with this type of corporate culture, the organization should have a positive outlook to play inside and outside the social dynamics and perhaps, perform better in the market. An organization reaches “happiness” and “motivation” through the practice of positive organizational scholarship. Positive organizational scholarship is another means to manage the organization without the negative cultures and traditions (Cameron & Caza, n.d.). It is the application of positive psychology to increase psychological capital. Specifically, it promotes positive feelings and perception, healthy social interaction, and a life worth living (Peterson, Seligman, & Steen, 2005, p. 413). Catholic Children’s Aid Society (CCAS) of Toronto Company Profile For more than a hundred years, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS) had been set to protect the holistic welfare of children, specifically those who were abused and overlooked by the community. CCAS is a social services organization promoted by the Archbishop of Toronto, Most Reverend J. Walsh together with other lay ministers. It was officially founded in 1894. Supported by uncompensated social workers and by religious sectors, it grew to an even diverse organization with broader programs (i.e. positive parenting) and services (i.e. foster care, adoption, volunteering) (CCAS, n.d.a). CCAS has approximately 600 staff. Recently, CCAS is noted as one of the top 100 employers in Canada in 2010 (CCAS, n.d.a). Positive Targets for CCAS This report will provide a positive psychology intervention plan to increase the psychological capital of the staff in CCAS. The efficacy of the intervention will likewise be evaluated. There can be two positive goals for CCAS: 1.) Staff retention; and 2.) Managing workforce diversity. It is important to nurture the commitment and dedication of the new employees. At the same time all employees should share the same work values and a collective mission. Increasing the psychological capital is the key to achieving these targets. 1. Staff Retention Problem Arising from Stress and Burnout Child welfare organizations have one problem in common – retention of staff. Dealing with children and other domestic issues almost every day can be a very stressful job. In CCAS, employees have to be always up and about for bulky caseloads and paperwork, fickle working schedules, numerous court appearances, complex nature of the job, low compensation compared to other lines of work, individual security, and other situational problems (CCAS, n.d.b). While a philanthropic job is already rooted on virtue, sustaining such virtue can be a problem and may not account for a full and prolonged service. This kind of profession demands a well-grounded psychological and emotional state from a person because of the frequency of domestic violence and disturbing situations he or she has to witness. A research data indicated that social workers in child welfare services have higher stress levels though also have high support levels than fire fighters and ambulance drivers. This goes to show that they are well secured with psychological capital. However, it may only apply to experienced workers. For inexperienced ones, situations can turn out be emotionally and mentally obstructing. More so, if these kinds of organizations are not well-staffed with experienced people, the corporate culture will stop. The organizational goals would be compromised since child welfare protection is innately a complicated and a delicate piece of work (CCAS, n.d.b). 2. Managing Workforce Diversity CCAS is composed of a diverse group, demographically and culturally. In fact, twenty-nine (29%) percent of its management staff and thirty-two percent (32%) of its regular staff came from minority groups. Besides the staff came from different age brackets (CCAS, n.d.b). Managing such diversity could also ignite social conflict. Key Components of the Intervention Working Overview. The PPIs proposed in this report should be enacted by the human resource department/management together with outside experts (in case the department is deficient in knowledge base regarding applied positive psychology). To be exact, the department may hire psychologists who are either experienced in the application of positive psychology in an organizational level or engaged in the positive organizational scholarship movement. The HRD should come up with two teams. The first team will facilitate the first population while the second team will facilitate the second population all throughout the sessions or programs (as indicated in Table 1). Still for the most part, the two teams will have to work closely together. For the staff to take on with the nature of the job for a longer period, they may be subjected to interplay of therapy sessions and programs that concern with increasing positive optimal perception. This is a multi-component intervention because research suggests that a series of PPI strategies is more likely to produce beneficial results than just one activity (Lyubomirsky & Sin, 2009, p. 483). As to the duration of the whole intervention plan, the programs and the sessions may take a span of six months, within three hours to four hours a day and twice a week (specifically during those days when there are barely peak hours: e.g. weekends). With longer lengths of intervention, the effects of PPIs could be more transparent to the individual, the team, and the organization largely (Lyubomirsky & Sin, 2009, p. 483). It especially designed not to be exasperatingly intrusive, thus the minimal counts of sessions per week. The hour estimated to finish the whole activity is already a conservative period. Some sessions may not consume the whole period allotted. Feasibility: This multi-faceted intervention program is well suited for the staff in CCAS because they are culturally and demographically diverse. The organization doesn’t have a complex managerial structure, making the program easy to implement. Furthermore, with the size of their organization (having less than a thousand staff), the budget allotted is sufficient. Moreover, domestic violence is not too rampant in Canada so that the staff can manage their individual time to take part in the programs and sessions. The HRD should plot a viable schedule for all. Pre-test and Posttest for Evaluation: Before implementing the intervention plan, there will be a pretest. It will be a simple questionnaire regarding initial perceptions of hope, resiliency, efficacy and optimism, in brief – psychological capital. It shouldn’t take them more than an hour to consume the questionnaire. A pretest would be helpful during the evaluation process. Aside from the fact that pretests are used to determine where the problems lie, it will be compared to the posttest to determine the effectiveness of the organizational intervention in stabilizing psychological capital. Table 1: Multi-component Intervention Participants (excluding the facilitators) Interventions Treatment Set-up Duration (per month within 6 months) Staff (working in CCAS for one to two years) Forgiveness Individual therapy Every 2nd week Life coaching Individual therapy Every 3rd week Staff (working in CCAS for three years or more) Hope therapy Individual therapy Every 2nd week Mindfulness Therapy Individual therapy Every 3rd week All staff in CCAS Counting good deeds Self-administered Every 1st session of the 1st week Positive writing and gratitude visit Self-administered Every 2nd session of the 1st week Self-management Group- administered Every 1st session of the 4th week Discussing beliefs Group-administered Every 2nd session of the 4th week Note: Whether classified as management or regular, all staff should be included during the whole duration of the intervention scheme. Rationale: In CCAS, one major dilemma for a new staff is balancing the personal and professional careers while at the same time understanding the complexity of each role in the organization and community. This lack of ability results to a volatile service. A new staff would tend to leave after one or two years after official employment. Therefore, the most important intervention schemes encouraged for the new staff will be the “self-management” training and “life coaching” sessions. “Life coaching” intervention drives a person to mold and reach his or her life goals (Grant, 2003). It is more or less relative to searching hopes and improving self-worth. “Self-management” sessions should allow a person to groom his or her own attitude and conduct (Choubisa & Singh, 2009, p. 23). “Self-management” also allows a person to be able to bounce back from failures. Through these intervention components, the new staff may be able to provide for himself or herself a certain personality fit to counter what could be a stressful life in CCAS. Both interventions however, don’t write off the effects of the “counting good deeds,” “positive writing,” and “forgiveness” intervention sessions. “Counting kindnesses” intervention is applied to all the staff. Otake et al. (2006) concluded the close and direct correlation between kindness and happiness – implying that counting generosity adds to a positive outlook in life. “Positive writing” and “gratitude visit” (the latter as suggested by Dr. Seligman) complement each other. Those who are new in the social services sector may lack contentment and loyalty to the job itself and the organization. The extent to which a staff remains committed to the nature of the profession is likewise unpredictable. Hence, “positive writing” is a useful workout to be emotionally-intelligent and self-satisfied (Wing et al., 2006, p. 1294). It can be a good way to determine the individual quality by reminiscing positive experiences. Also, “gratitude visit” promotes one’s self-satisfaction and the need and acceptance of the existence of other people. Gratitude is the supreme virtue of all (Wright, 2008). During the “forgiveness” sessions, the staff may be able to gradually learn to manage interpersonal conflict (Sandage, 2010). It can promote a stable social relationship in the workplace. Aside from that, it enhances the ability to be resilient. Also in CCAS, “forgiveness” intervention sessions may eliminate hate arising from witnessing domestic violence or such other traumatic cases though they are not be directly involved to such cases. “Forgiveness” interventions may not be given to the second population because the previous years of service may have solidified their ability to control emotions in facing cruelty or such other conditions. “Hope therapy” is especially recommended to the second population because it may eradicate the negative aspects which they may have encountered during the past years of social service. Though they are already more emotionally-regulated, this session likewise helps develop a more optimistic view towards life and people. More exactly, it rests on the finding a positive area that fuels his or her will to attain personal or professional goals (Ellis-Christensen, n.d.). “Mindfulness” therapy sessions are also favorable for the second population because it can promote a stable mind. The second population may have greater responsibilities compared to the first population. “Mindfulness” helps in making the person see the bigger picture of the problem and thus, could provide a better solution to it (Still mind, n.d.). In other words, it develops the ability of a person to lead those who need direction. There are separate designs for each population. The first design involves a series of individual and self-administered treatment format while the second design involves group effort. For the second design, the components are particularly devised as such because they are more effective when administered in groups. “Self-management” may appear individualistic in context but participating in groups may allow a staff to be more tolerant to aspects of his or her behavior which could still be improved. The same principle goes with “discussing beliefs” sessions. According to Lyubomirsky and Sin (2009, p. 243) individual therapy yield the most effective return among other treatment set-ups. That is why such set-up is recommended during crucial and too personal sessions particularly life coaching, forgiveness, and hope therapy interventions. At least ten professional therapists will be hired – each one will accommodate a group of ten. While “counting kindnesses,” “positive writing” and “gratitude visit” are also personal matters, they are simple individual exercises because they don’t require the opinion of professionals. The design of the intervention program proposed in this report should amplify individual, team and organizational qualities and strengths by including key topics like: expressing individuality, influence of happy relationships, overcoming negative vibrations, and developing internal locus of control. Evaluation of the Intervention Plan The HRD should mediate the evaluation process. Apparently, the goal for this evaluation process is to determine whether the participants have a considerable increase of psychological capital or have become more positively-oriented with their personal and professional careers. It is the collective information which is to be gathered. To achieve this end, this report uses positive psychology questions in evaluating behavior changes. As mentioned above, the pretest will have to be compared to the posttest. Thus, the same but revised positive psychology questions used during the pretest will be used in the posttest. The nature of the questionnaires will be patterned according to the optimism and general happiness question samples used in www.authentichappiness.com. The problem with having to let the participants take the test online is the fact that the facilitators may not be able to regulate the information. So, it is but recommended to have the tests manually. Data collected from questionnaires are preponderant and easily analyzed. Aside from that, this method is cost-efficient. To effectively identify behavioral changes, it is but practical to allot two to six months after the implementation of the intervention program because behavior changes (should it occur) don’t happen abruptly (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006, p. 54). The specified period should be enough to determine behavioral changes. The time estimated to implement the posttest is five months for both populations. A massive interview is included in the evaluation process. Interviews may not be practical with time hence, only a sample of both populations will take part in the interview (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006, p. 59). The results of and diagnoses during the interview sessions may verify the results and analytical implications gathered from the pretest and posttests. From this vantage point, any organizational changes may surface depending indeed on the effectiveness of the intervention scheme. The interviewees will be randomly selected. From the 600 staff of CCAS, half of the participants will be the sample. Each interview will take about thirty minutes. All experienced facilitators will serve as the interviewers, therefore saving time. The following are some of the interview questions that may test psychological capital. 1. How do you generally adapt to a new environment? Provide an exact situation. 2. How do people usually consider you as a person? Does it speak a lot about you? 3. Do you usually ask other people’s opinions before starting a new task? 4. In what ways do you make remarks on other people’s work? 5. Were you able to talk comfortably to the last person who hurt you? 6. After the series of sessions, did you feel any change in you: physically, emotionally or mentally? How long did those changes or feelings last? 7. Before taking part of the intervention, Did you believe that the intervention was beneficial to your well-being? The positive aspect about interviews is that interviewers will be able to take particular notice of any reluctance and honesty during the whole discourse. The facilitators may be able to identify what information may be conflicting though it still depends whether the conflicting information is expendable. Outside experts should also partake in the interview because they are obviously the best source of analytical implications of human behavior. Discussion and Recommendation There are possible situations that may hinder the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants with a negative mind-set about the effects of the intervention programs will less likely benefit from positive psychology interventions (Lyubomirsky & Sin, 2009, p. 483). The opposite goes with participants who remain to have a positive perception about the intervention programs. As post-intervention schemes, it is best suggested to still employ the simple activities (e.g. positive writing, gratitude visit) from time to time because only then could such behavioral intervention be fully integrated into the organizational system (Lyubomirsky & Sin, 2009, p. 483). Reference List Catholic Children’s Aid Society, n.d.a. History and mission. [Online] Available at: http://www.ccas.toronto.on.ca/frameset.html [Accessed 23 August 2010]. Catholic Children’s Aid Society, n.d.b. Working at CCAS. [Online] Available at: http://www.torontoccas.org/Careers/WorkingAtCCAS.html#CCAS_Staff [Accessed 23 August 2010]. Cameron, K., & Caza, A., n.d. Positive organization scholarship: what does it achieve? [Online] Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C-z0bhjxWtkJ:www.bus.umich.edu/positive/POS-Research/Reading/Caza%26Cameron.doc+positive+organizational+scholarship&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ph [Accessed 23 August 2010]. Choubisa, R. & Singh, K., 2009. Effectiveness of self-focused intervention for enhancing students’ well-being. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, [Online]. 35, pp. 23-32. Available at: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:74EC3wrGSPQJ:medind.nic.in/jak/t09/s1/jakt09s1p23.pdf+self-management+intervention+for+enhancing+happines&hl=en&gl=ph&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShylwsTnfNbXlVmyvzyo3jyTEPkCMYUQCBEj14Pqn2jBEcvi3zeX2s1oyCLnKiWCrDIZDo0iKh2spUqJcqWWoEztUmz59fO3ifwj3vkAPTvT35kdyX6iHflufH4_Yx2aJ2LZb4D&sig=AHIEtbQ88kMa-My1nh4KKtdGqbfXt1Vl7A [Accessed 24 August 2010]. Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Seligman, M., 2000. Positive psychology. American Psychologist Association, [Online]. Available at: http://www.bdp-gus.de/gus/Positive-Psychologie-Aufruf-2000.pdf [Accessed 25 August 2010]. Ellis-Christensen, T., n.d. What is hope therapy? [Online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hope-therapy.htm [Accessed 24 August 2010]. Grant, A., 2003. 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Available at: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:gUdlbPmavXwJ:onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20292/pdf+positive+writing+on+emotional+intelligence&hl=en&gl=ph&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgIVt11RAcqJvoNQfxjaj2Osm-yri1jGQoE2T_VR8uzdkVjLPli6QFSC8y7ISYYvmdohdY4Bm5qxeMoGCyB24eev94dCUuaP533P1JhXyj68hgi1gkSB89nqLIPKreg9iqhGPuE&sig=AHIEtbS00HjMkMxxeoCibk9FfUUH8szABw [Accessed 24 August 2010]. Wright, S., 2008. Gratitude visit. [Online] Available at: http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/gratitude-visit/268/ [Accessed 24 August 2010]. Read More