(c) moodwatchers Shane Martin What Makes People Happy An Introduction to Positive Psychology and its application within the work setting Shane Martin,

(c) moodwatchers Shane Martin

What Makes People Happy An Introduction to Positive Psychology and its

application within the work setting

Shane Martin,Psychologist

MoodwatchersEmail: [email protected]. 047-84837 Mob: 085-1314482

mailto:[email protected]

(c) moodwatchers Shane Martin(c) moodwatchers Shane Martin

One track mind?

Psychology consumed with mental illness

Describing and measuring depression, schizophrenia, addiction etc.

Explanations for ‘disorders’ across the lifespan

Genetics, biochemistry, psychological causes

Emphasis on relieving the ‘pain’


Progress at a price?

Trying to relieve the states that makes life miserable instead of building the states that makes life worth living

A shift from what is wrong to what is right (and fundamentally why it is right)

From ‘fire-brigade’ psychology to ‘fire-proofing’ psychology

Surviving crisis: how? Why?Strengths as well as weaknesses


Global Gallop Poll

Which would help you be more successful in your life - knowing what your weaknesses are and attempting to improve on them or knowing your strengths and building on them?

41% US, 38% UK, 24% Japan focused on weaknesses. No country focused on strengths.


From 2+ to 7+

From -5 to -2

How improved/better are you?


Time has arrived for a science that seeks to understand positive emotion and

strengths and offer us guideposts for the ‘good life’

New research into happiness shows that it can be lastingly increased


Authentic Happiness?

Comes from identifying and cultivating your most fundamental strengths and using them everyday in work, love, play, parenting etc


3 Pillars of Positive Psychology

STUDY OF POSITIVE EMOTIONSTUDY OF POSITIVE TRAITS -

strengths, virtues, abilities (intelligence, athleticism)

STUDY OF POSITIVE INSTITUTIONS


Therapy?

FROM THE DISEASE MODEL - helping people who present themselves for treatment once the problems have become unbearable

Therapy usually too late - better to act when well, prevention, self-empowerment, education etc

Prevention is massively effective


Are there psychological interventions in youth that will prevent depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse in adulthood?

YES

Seligman: Teaching 10 year olds the skills of optimistic thinking and actions cuts their rates of depression in half in puberty


Prevention of mental illness by recognising and nurturing a set of strengths, competencies and virtues in young people such as future-mindedness, hope, faith, work ethic etc.

Building strengths as a bufferDisease model focuses on deficits


Positive Psychology

The Study of Happiness When people are happy they are also

mentally healthy Work: Are you happy in your job? Happier people are markedly more satisfied

in their jobs than less happy people Research shows that happiness actually

causes more productivity and higher incomes


One study (TOYOTA) 275 employees measured their positive emotion and followed their job performance over next 18 months.

Happier people went on to get better evaluations and higher pay

Happy people endure pain better and take more health and safety precaution when threatened


Genetics?

Approximately 50% of all personality traits are attributed to genetic inheritances

But high hereditary link does not determine how unchangeable a trait is

State of Drift


SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

Strengths ( integrity, valor, originality etc.) and talents (perfect pitch, facial beauty etc.) not to be confused with each other

Strengths are moral traitsTalents are non-moral


Talents or Strengths?

Talents tend not to be as ‘buildable’ as strengths

Strengths can be built Talents more innate - you either have them

or not Talents are relatively automatic (It’s C sharp

v act of will (too much change in shop) Talents involve choice - whether to develop

it or not, whether to use it or notJill was so smart. She wasted her intelligenceJill was so kind. She wasted her kindness.


Strengths can be acquired….

TimeSelf-discovery and Self-potentialDetermination

But talents cannot be acquired merely by an act of will


The Signature Strengths

WISDOMCOURAGEHUMANITYJUSTICETEMPERANCETRANSCEDENCESeveral distinct routes to each of the six

and these are measurable and acquirable strengths


Strength

Not once off kindness in one setting but seen across different situations and consistently over time

Ubiquitous - across culture


WISDOM

Curiosity / interest in the worldLove of learningJudgment / critical thinking / open-

mindednessIngenuity /originality / practical

intelligence /street smartSocial Intelligence / personal

intelligence / emotional intelligencePerspective


COURAGE

Valor and braveryPerseverance industry/ diligenceIntegrity / genuineness / honesty


HUMANITY

Kindness / generosityLovingAllowing oneself to be loved


JUSTICE

Citizenship / Duty / Teamwork / LoyaltyFairness and EquityLeadership


TEMPERANCE

Self-control and disciplinePrudence / discretion / cautionHumility and modesty


TRANSCEDENCE

Appreciation of beauty and excellenceGratitudeHope, optimism, future mindednessSpirituality, sense of purpose, faith,

religiousnessForgiveness and mercyPlayfulness and humourZest, passion and enthusiasm


Work?

Does my work have to be this unsatisfying?

What can I do about it?


Positive Psychology

Work can be more satisfyingUsing your signature strengths at work

more oftenRe-crafting your job to make it more

satisfyingJob Coaches - implications for placing

clients in ‘work’ and in measuring clients’ satisfaction within work


To maximise job satisfaction we need to use our signature strengths and develop them more

Strengths-based development Transforming a ‘token’ job to a ‘calling’ ‘Calling’ is the most satisfying form of work

because it is done for its own sake rather than for the material benefits

Companies that promote this state will overtake companies that rely solely on monetary reward


3 Kinds of Work Orientation

Job: for the pay cheque, no other rewards sought, means to an end

Career: deeper personal involvement, achievement marked through money/advancement / promotion brings more prestige, power, money (When opportunities close we start looking elsewhere)

Calling: Passionate, fulfilling in its own right


Positive Psychology says..

Any job can become a calling and any calling

can become a job.


Implications for Job Coaches

Matching clients to jobsPositive Psychology within assessment

processAssessment of satisfaction within jobStrengths-based development


Positive Psychology Research shows……Strengths-based development linked to

positive outcomesDirect relationship between strengths-

based development and attendance, punctuality, productivity

Linked to ‘Employee-Engagement’Studies of ‘State of Flow’


People will be healthier and happier by

By identifying and developing individual strengths.

Ensuring sufficient levels of self-engagement are involved in the work setting

Documents

(c) moodwatchers Shane Martin What Makes People Happy An Introduction to Positive Psychology and its application within the work setting Shane Martin,