The Role of Psychological Capital in Human Service Professionals’ Work Experiences

The study was set up as a first exploration of the predictive role of human service professionals’ (i.e., teachers and healthcare professionals) psychological capital (PC) in their perception of work experiences and some core aspects of their own work, such as their efficacy to instill positive resources in their clients, the positive representation of their work and of the results that they can obtain, and positive beliefs about their career growth. Three hundred and eight Northern Italian human service professionals were involved, of which 163 were elementary school teachers of inclusive classrooms and 145 were healthcare professionals in day and residential centers. The regression analyses which were carried out—controlling for age, gender, years of work experience and the typology of the human service jobs—confirmed the predictive role of PC in the efficacy to instill positive resources in one’s clients, the positive representation of the work and of the results that can be obtained, and positive beliefs about career growth. These results have important implications for practice, and they emphasize that specific interventions aimed at promoting human service professionals’ PC may positively impact the effectiveness of their actions for the adaptation and psychosocial development of their clients.

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Handling Plurality and Dealing With Difficult Work Experiences. A Comparative Study of Human Service Professionals’ Work With Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities ◽

10.1111/jppi.12227 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 36-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jens Ineland ◽

Martin Molin ◽

Lennart Sauer

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Intellectual Disabilities ◽

Human Service ◽

Work Experiences ◽

Human Service Professionals ◽

Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities

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The role of human service professionals in executive decision making in third party organizations

Human Resource Management ◽

10.1002/hrm.3930190304 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 16-23

Author(s):

Donde P. Ashmos ◽

Reuben R. McDaniel

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Human Service ◽

Third Party ◽

Human Service Professionals ◽

Party Organizations ◽

Executive Decision Making

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Contributing to Multi-Sector Displacement of Vulnerabilities to Radicalization through a Developmental Evaluation Approach (Ottawa, Canada)

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2021077007 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Chad Nilson ◽

Julie McKercher

Keyword(s):

Human Service ◽

Evaluation Framework ◽

Developmental Evaluation ◽

Multiple Perspectives ◽

Human Service Professionals ◽

Evaluation Approach ◽

Violent Extremism ◽

Shared Commitment ◽

Collaborative Efforts

This presentation introduces workshop participants to the role of developmental evaluation in multi-sector collaborative efforts to detect and displace vulnerabilities to the risk of violent extremism. Our discussion shares the journey that the Ottawa Police Service took to mobilize a wide variety of human service partners under a shared commitment to work upstream—where there is an opportunity to support individuals and families during early signs of vulnerability to radicalization. The result of this collaboration is the Ottawa Vulnerability Reduction Protocol: a multi-sector prevention tool aimed at identifying opportunities to support individuals before vulnerability for risk of radicalization to violence occurs. The protocol helps human service professionals, who may not have expertise in violent extremism, to develop the capacity, opportunity, and confidence to contribute towards upstream solutions. Participants of test simulations describe the protocol as allowing for support to be mobilized without labeling and stigmatizing an individual (i.e., radical, extremist), while also requiring the types of support that most human service professionals are comfortable providing. Construction of the protocol and accompanying resources (e.g., Vulnerability Detection Tool, Shared Needs Assessment, Integrated Support Plan) was supported through a developmental evaluation framework. By incorporating the continuous collection of data, ongoing stakeholder feedback, and insight from the preventing and countering violent extremism field, the evaluator assisted community partners in determining a structure and approach to building the protocol. This developmental evaluative approach helped diverse human sectors to navigate multiple perspectives and identify a shared pathway forward.

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