Positive Psychology and Work Motivation - Essay Example

? and Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that aims at promoting and emphasizing on the need and benefits of positive thoughts. Its different ideas are based on directing people on how to flourish, how to have a satisfying and meaningful life and the importance of happiness in one’s life. It aims at building peoples strong traits, values and self esteem. Positive psychology is not positive thinking as shall be demonstrated in this work. Work motivation focuses on the forces from within and without that affects an employee’s attitude, behavior and attitude in a company or workplace. Positive psychology has been introduced in the work place, but how effective is it in enhancing employee motivation? Is it the new way of increasing employee motivation hence a high job satisfaction? This work entails an in-depth view of positive psychology, its application in work places and its relationship with work motivation. It shall also show the criticism towards positive psychology in work places. Introduction Psychology is the study of the human mind and its reactions to various environments, and it dates way back to the earliest of times. The issue of positive psychology is all over and does not fail to arise in many academic conferences. It is rampantly spreading and gaining a very high momentum. Positive psychology is defined as psychology that aims at helping people realize their strengths, virtues, values and attitudes that will make them responsible for success in their lives (miller, 2002). Many people choose to refer to positive psychology as the ‘feel good and believe in yourself’ psychology. This particular psychology was founded in 1988 by a psychologist in the Pennsylvania University, Martin Seligman. It emphasizes that happiness is under a person’s own control, and that one is responsible for drawing success toward themselves (Seligman and Czikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive psychology is not a positive thinking movement, its psychology used in families, learning institutions and work places to advise people to get rid of negative thought in their lives (Kowalski, 2002). Positive psychology versus traditional psychology Positive psychology differs from the traditional psychology. Traditional psychology identifies and diagnoses a problem. It aims at knowing the root problem in an individual and compares the effects of the problem on an individual. In addition, it aims at reducing the negative states and illnesses in a person, taking a ‘mental illness’ approach (Riva, 2012). Positive psychology, however, aims at making people responsible for their happiness and their success. The founder, Martin Seligman, argues that people should stop spending too much time trying to find out negative things and problems that people have faced, but instead focus on what will make them better (Seligman and Czikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive psychology insists that psychology is not all about mental illness, that other than being mentally fit, there are other key ingredients for a mental function, including reduced mental suffering, high social interaction levels, a balanced state of mind, psychological fitness and balanced emotions (Mote, 2012). The International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) The argument behind positive psychology is that the future appeals more to human beings more than the past drags them, that the desire for a better tomorrow cannot be compared to the ties and failures of yesterday(Garble and Hardt, 2005). The International Positive Psychology Association is a body drawing members from more than eighty countries. Under the leadership of Martin Seligman the members of IPPA are guided and driven by among others, the following missions. First, they aim to promote training and learning on the field of positive psychology. Secondly, they are determined on spreading the ideas on positive psychology all over the world but remain implanted in science. Moreover, the IPPA aims to propagate for the use of positive psychology in hospitals, institutions and clinical and counseling centers (Seligman and Czikszentmihalyi, 2000) The main goal of positive psychology propagators is not only to advise but also to help people get rid of negative thinking in their lives-hence build on their self esteem and personal appreciation. The main building blocks of positive psychology, according to IPPA, are; positive emotions, positive institutions and positive psychological traits. (Faller, 2001).Positive emotions aims at helping people generate positive ideas of events that had occurred in the past, those happening now and those to happen in the future. Positive institutions are about institutions that will promote self confidence, belief in oneself and cultivate in people the importance and value of remaining happy always. They include learning institutions, places of work, and family institutions among others. Positive psychological traits are about the belief in oneself, the understanding that an individual can and should be responsible for their own happiness or success (Cha et al, 2013). Positive psychology is commonly confused with positive thinking. It’s said that the optimist sees the glass as half full whereas the pessimist sees it as half empty. This is a reflection of positive thinking; it’s an aspect of seeing that after the hard times, better times shall come (Milner, 2012). Positive thinking does not lay emphasis on who makes things better, unlike positive psychology where one learns to always be happy irrespective of their circumstances, and makes them know that they are responsible for their success. Positive psychology is best but simply put as increasing the ratio of positive thoughts and decreasing the ratio of negative thoughts (Seligman and Czikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive psychology and Work Motivation Lately, positive psychology has been introduced in work places. The question is, to what extent does positive psychology represent a new approach to motivation at work. Most propagators of positive psychology argue that it helps in boosting the employees’ motivation at work, but to what extent? Work motivation among employees is at times a reflection of the job satisfaction of an employee. Work motivation refers to the forces and drive from within and without in an employee that influence his or her behavior, attitudes and output in their work (Chritchley, &Gibbs, 2012). Positive psychology is very important in achieving the three basic physiological motivation steps; arousal, intensity and direction. Arousal is the strong desire and need for something that one does currently posses. It is the feeling that one wants to possess something, whether wholly or partially (Sonnentag, 2003). Direction refers to the different angles that an individual will adopt to achieve and satisfy the arousal. Intensity is the extent to which one is willing to go in order to achieve and satisfy their arousal, it is a determinant of how hard one will work in order to quench the desire for something. Arousal drives someone to go search for an employment opportunity. Positive psychology advocates for individuals to adopt lifestyles that will make them better. It helps them believe that the power to change their destiny lies in them, yet at the same time advises them to do the things that make them happy. This being the case, one will go searching for employment chances, already knowing what they want, and having their talents as their main base. Positive psychology affects direction in that it will compel one to do what will make them happy , which will boost their values and their strength, and at the same time, satisfy their desires. It will dictate what one accepts and what one will reject. Lastly, it will influence the degree of intensity, the much that one is willing to sacrifice to satisfy the aroused desire. Positive psychology guides them to do things that will not only satisfy their arousal, but at the same time will ensure that they remain true to what they really want for their own selves. (Cropanzano & Mitchelle, 2005). The environment where one works greatly determines their motivation. The Maslow theory is used to show the different levels of satisfaction that employees have. As shown above, an employee will first fulfill his physiological desires such as food, water and sleep, and then go on to fulfill his safety needs (Edmonson, 1999). He or she will fulfill his self actualization needs (creativity, lack of prejudice towards others) when he or she also manages to satisfy his love and belonging needs, and the esteem needs. Positive psychology plays a big part in individual’s performance at work in their bid to satisfy their needs. For instance, employees who adopt positive psychology will definitely have spark and the motivation to work more, guided by the earlier said positive emotions, positives traits and positive institutions. If the work place of the employee is a place where personal growth is fostered, then there will be a high employee motivation (Cooper, 1997). As seen in the above diagrammatic representation, the results of positive psychology might best be witnessed at the very last satisfaction level, but the spark fostered by this psychology will be noted from the very basic level. When an employee believes in their own happiness and they succeed, they will put all their determination towards getting to higher levels and with the inner strengths and values having been realized, then the employee motivation will most likely be very high(Edmondson, 1999). The benefits of positive psychology in work motivation Though the concept of positive psychology has of late been introduced in many work places, it is treated with some suspicion by the employees and it has been hard reinforcing it. However, there are many benefits that firms are reaping from this particular psychology. It has been said to foster optimism. Some of the most successful firms have adopted positive psychology. As a result, employees have become more optimistic, not just to themselves but also towards those particular companies they work for. 20% of firms in the UK that have encompassed positive psychology in their firms have recorded increased optimism, not just in the employers but also in the employees (Norman, 2013). Employees work extra harder to ensure they meet their goals and also the goals of the company (Adams, 2012). Positive psychology has encouraged the employees to selflessly use and apply their talent and skills at their places of work. This is because one of the core emphasis of this psychology is positive institutions which advises employers to hire their employees for their talent, for what they love doing and not just for the mere merit and excellence in qualifications (Chritchley & Gibbs, 2012). In addition, positive psychology in combination with employee motivation helps the employees to strategize. This is because the employees are not only encouraged to work harder, but also to work for the success they desire. This psychology suggests that being and remaining happy draws success to a person, and with this thought in mind, employees have not only become creative but also innovative (Norman, 2013).Out of thirty successful companies in the UK, 60% showed that since they adopted and incorporated positive psychology, their employees have become more and more productive, coming up with new ideas and putting them into use (Mongrain and Anselmo, 2012). Their strategies for handling the responsibilities bestowed on them have gone up by 30% (Norman, 2013). Communication is a very vital ingredient for a successful company. Since positive psychology campaigns for happy employees, this has opened up the communication channels between the employers and the employees. In one company, employees said that since the positive psychology was introduced to them, they have become freer with their employers and this has made things very easy for them. They feel that their value in the company is being recognized and with that, their output has increased drastically (West & Anderson, 1996). The degree of resilience in employees has definitely risen (Cohrs, et al, 2013). This is the degree of coping with negative outcomes. Take a case of Company A which has channeled a lot of its resources to ensure that it reaps a huge profit at the end of the year, but at the expected time, there is a recession and the company collapses. What will happen to the owners and to the employees? How will they cope with this loss? When combined with work motivation, positive psychology enables the employees and the employers to cope with the outcomes, tough but possible (Cooper, 1997). Exercises of positive psychology in work places . There are many exercises that can be done to acquaint employees with positive psychology. The feel good exercise is a good example. During breaks or hours when employees are less busy, or during social meetings, the manager can have the employees write down three things that made them feel ‘good’ the previous day at work, and were directed to them. An employee might write that “the boss congratulated me for a job well done, something very rare from him”. Another one might write, “Though the meeting was time tight, the manager gave me a chance to express my idea about the upcoming project” (West and Anderson, 1996). Such things are always a motivation to an employee and are a part of positive psychology. Another basic exercise is the ‘strong trait exercise’. The employees are encouraged, one in a while, to write down what they think is their strongest, yet positive trait, and ensure that they use it productively during the week, in their work place. If an employee notes down ‘kind’, he or she will be required to extend it to fellow employees or the employers. Positive psychology is all about the strengths in individuals, values and traits. A third basic exercise is the ‘appreciation letter’. The employees are encouraged to write an actual letter once in a while and thank a person who has motivated them more in their work place, who has corrected them or inspired them. This way, stronger ties are built and optimism is most likely to be spread all through the company (Mongrain & Anselmo, 2012). Criticism towards positive psychology There is a lot of criticism towards encompassing positive psychology in the work place. First, it’s said that the concept becomes a condition and a requirement in the workplace that all the employees should feel good and remain happy always. This is a bit unreasonable since there will always be setbacks in life that will suppress a person’s feeling of happiness. Secondly, commitment problems and challenges among employees might not change or be managed (Adams, 2012). This is because, as earlier noted, positive psychology has not been fully embraced and adopted by many employees. There is a lot of suspicion from the employees towards the employers who advocate for the change. Positive psychology has been termed as a distortion of reality. Happiness is a state of mind, but how it has been introduced to the workers and other people, it distorts the reality. (Faller, 2001) If one cannot succeed without hard labor and sweat, let it be depicted as such. The picture that is painted in the minds of the employees might boost their motivation and their output, but at the end of the day, reality will always stare back to them. In addition, positive psychology underrates and underscores the value of negative thinking (Buckingham, 2001). Take a case of an employee who never takes that someone else is better than them, how hard will they work? Competition is the mother of success, and to be better than whom you are today, you must entertain the negative thought that somebody else is better than you. Guilt is a negative thought, but what leads to forgiveness, guilt! (Leary et al, 2013). Conclusion Positive psychology is a field based on individuals desire to increase their value and live more satisfying lives. Its main goal in workplaces is to enhance high job satisfaction and increase individual output. Work motivation and positive psychology work to identify strengths and build confidence in employees. As a result, it generates flow in employees. Flow is defined, in this case, as how fully an employee is immersed in what they do (Baumruk, 2004). Though popular psychology has received a lot of criticism, to a great extent, it is a good approach to motivating employees at work. It helps in building individual and team performance. Happier brains work better and are most likely to extend their optimism to others. Recruiting people based on their strengths is definitely a plus (Ravari, 2013). Being pessimistic and having negative thoughts can be positive psychology, but the ratio of positive thoughts should be higher to that of negative thoughts. References Adams, A., 2012. Skinners Walden Two: anticipation to positive psychology? Review of General Psychology, 16(1), pp.1-9. Baumruk, R., 2004. The missing link: the role of employee engagement in business success. Workspan, 47, pp. 48-52. Buckingham, M., 2001. What a waste. People Management, pp. 36-39. 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