The Role of Positive Psychology in Corporate Wellbeing

Imagine a tool that nurtures a positive work culture, prioritises employee happiness, and leads to increased productivity, improved job satisfaction, and enhanced retention rates. Sounds too good to be true? What if this tool was completely free to use? Enter – positive psychology.

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology has emerged as one of the most rapid-growing sub-disciplines in psychology. Grounded in evidence-based research, positive psychology focuses on strengths, positive emotions, engagement, relationships, accomplishment, and resilience. By incorporating these principles into the workplace, organisations can create an environment that nurtures optimism, resilience, and overall employee wellbeing.

The Link between Positive Psychology and Corporate Wellbeing

Increased Employee Engagement: Evidence shows organisations that prioritise positive psychology principles experience higher levels of employee engagement. Engaged employees are more committed, motivated, and satisfied, leading to increased productivity and improved organisational performance.

Reduced Turnover Rates: Workplaces that embrace positive psychology principles witness reduced turnover rates. When employees feel valued, supported, and fulfilled, they are more likely to stay with the organisation, contributing to stability and continuity.

Enhanced Wellbeing and Job Satisfaction: Studies highlight a strong positive correlation between positive psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. Incorporating positive psychology principles can foster a sense of fulfilment, purpose, and overall satisfaction among employees.

How to Apply Positive Psychology in the Workplace

Cultivate a Positive Work Environment: Foster open communication channels that encourage gratitude, appreciation, and constructive feedback. Embrace an optimistic mindset and reframe challenges as growth opportunities.

Foster Employee Engagement: Cultivate a sense of belonging through team-building activities, recognise and celebrate achievements, and provide opportunities for personal growth and development.

Prioritise Employee Wellbeing: Promote work-life balance and support physical and mental health through wellbeing resources and programs.

Better Being’s corporate wellbeing programs are based on the principles of the PERMA4+ behaviour change model, which incorporates the concept of positive organisational psychology.

The five stages are outlined below:

1. Positive emotions: This stage focuses on the experience of happiness, joy and gratitude. They achieve this via their promotional communications and wellbeing resources.
2. Engagement: Being actively engaged ensures the uptake of positive behaviour changes. This engagement is harnessed through their expert-led workshops.
3. Relationships: Having the ability to establish and maintain positive, mutually beneficial relationships with others is a key part of their programs. Their relationships take place through their 1:1 health consultations with their tertiary qualified Exercise Scientists.
4. Meaning: The experience of being connected to something provides employees with purpose. They create meaning via group centric activations such as exercise classes.
5. Accomplishment: Perhaps one of the most important steps, they measure accomplishment via their Wellbeing Index. This allows us to gain valuable insights into employee wellbeing, but also provides organisational insights, allowing for the identification of areas of improvement.

When an individual is positively functioning, they are able to effectively manage the daily fluctuations in positive and negative emotions at work. This, in turn, leads employees to perform better at work and leads to increased performance. To find out more about how Better Being can improve the wellbeing in your organisation, click here.

Article written by guest author Lauren Parchi at Better Being.

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