Positive Organizational Psychology: A Bibliometric Review and Science Mapping Analysis

Positive organizational psychology (POP) is a research area that focuses on the positive aspects of optimal functioning at work. Although consolidated and with a large volume of publications, no bibliometric analysis has been performed that allows knowing its high-level structure, developments, and distribution of knowledge since its origins. The objective is to analyze the 7181 articles published in POP on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). A retrospective bibliometric analysis and science mapping were performed. The title, authors, institutions, countries, scientific categories, journals, keywords, year, and citations were extracted from WoSCC. Impact factor, quartile, and country were collected from Journal Citation Reports (JCR) 2019. Authors were classified according to the proposal of Crane, and Bradford’s law was calculated. The results show that it is an area with more than 100 years of experience, divided into three stages of different productivity and visibility, highlighting a decrease in its visibility in recent years. With a multidisciplinary and international interest, psychology and business and economics stand out, especially in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Four popular study topics emerged: well-being at work, positive leadership, work engagement, and psychological capital.

Assessing the Influence of Reversed Items and Force-Choice on the Work and Meaning Inventory [Evaluación de la influencia de los ítems invertidos y de elección forzosa en el Inventario de trabajo significativo]

Response biases are issues in inventories in positive organizational psychology. The study aims to control the response bias in the assessment of meaning of work through two methods: reversed key items and forced-choice format. The sample consisted of 351 professionals; women constituted 60.0 % of the sample. The participants answered two versions of the instrument for meaning of work: Likert-type items and forced-choice. For both versions, the unifactorial model was the most appropriate for the data available. The results indicate that the random intercepts model fit the Likert data (CFI = .92), as well as the forced-choice model (CFI = .97). Besides, the latent dimension of the forced-choice version did not correlate with acquiescence index (r < .08; p > .05), and approximately 20 % of the variance of the items might be due to the method (Likert or forced-choice). The present study illustrates the importance of response bias control in self-report instruments. ResumenLos sesgos de respuesta son problemas en los inventarios de la psicología organizacional positiva. El estudio tiene como objetivo controlar el sesgo de respuesta en la eva­luación del trabajo significativo a través de dos métodos: ítems clave invertidos y formato de elección forzosa. La muestra estuvo formada por 351 profesionales; las muje­res constituyeron el 60.0 % de la muestra. Los participan­tes respondieron dos versiones del instrumento de signifi­cado del trabajo: ítems tipo Likert y elección forzosa. Para ambas versiones, el modelo unifactorial fue el más apro­piado para los datos disponibles. Los resultados indican que el modelo de intersecciones aleatorias se ajusta a los datos Likert (CFI = .92), así como al modelo de elección forzada (CFI = .97). Además, la dimensión latente de la versión de elección forzada no se correlacionó con el ín­dice de aquiescencia (r < .08; p > .05), y aproximada­mente el 20 % de la varianza de los ítems podría deberse al método (Likert o forzado). elección). El presente estu­dio ilustra la importancia del control del sesgo de res­puesta en los instrumentos de autoinforme.

Gratitude at Work Prospectively Predicts Lower Workplace Materialism: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in Chile

Materialism at work refers to a higher importance attached to extrinsic (e.g., money, fame, image) versus intrinsic (self-development, affiliation, community participation) employees’ ‘aspirations’. Research from self-determination theory has consistently found that materialism at work is strongly detrimental for both employees and organizations. For example, materialism is negatively associated with lower job satisfaction and engagement and positively associated with higher turnover intentions and job insecurity. Unfortunately, there are no viable strategies for reducing materialism in the workplace yet. In this sense, based on emergent research in psychology, we theorized that dispositional gratitude—a key construct within the Positive Organizational Psychology field—could be a protecting factor against materialism. Further, we conducted a three-wave longitudinal design among a large sample of Chilean workers (n = 1841) to test, for the first time, the longitudinal link between gratitude and materialism. We used two novel methodologies: A cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) to test between-person changes and a trait-state-occasion model (TSO) to test within-person changes. We found that both the CLPM as well as the TSO models showed that gratitude at work prospectively predicted further lower workplace materialism. Specifically, the CLPM shows that individuals with higher than average gratitude at Ti, are more likely to show lower than average materialism at Ti+1. The TSO shows that individuals with a higher than their usual level of gratitude at Ti are more likely to show a lower than their usual level of materialism at Ti+1. Important implications for materialism research as well as for the Positive Organizational Psychology field are discussed.

The New Challenges of the Technification of Work: Managing “Technostress” Through Positive Organizational Psychology

The introduction of new and changing technologies has led to changes in all areas of society, and the world of work is no exception. This had created a need for an analysis and reformulation of habits and actions related to workplace health and safety. “Technostress” has emerged as one of the risks associated with the increasing use of information and communication technologies. The aim of this work is to analyze the effectiveness of positive psychosocial interventions aimed at technostress management. To do this, the two concepts are analyzed via a case study. The study begins with an assessment of technostress among the management staff of a service company. Based on the results of this initial assessment, a range of ongoing Positive Psychology interventions were designed and implemented. It is concluded that Positive Organizational Psychology can be an effective tool for technostress management. The main constraints of this work would be associated with the size of the sample, which does not allow the generalization of the results. Nonetheless, it opens a door to a new research paradigm to delve deeper into the issue of technostress management from the field of Positive Psychology, which a connection that to date has received scant theoretical attention.

Employee engagement, positive organizational culture and individual adaptability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between employee engagement, positive organizational psychology and an individual’s ability to adapt to ongoing organizational change. Design/methodology/approach The literature on individual adaptability, positive organizational psychology and employee engagement is reviewed. A model that suggests that a positive work culture enhances employee engagement and in specific cases leads to increased adaptability is developed. Findings While organizational engagement will have a positive effect on the individual’s ability to adapt to changes, job engagement will have the opposite effect, uncovering potential obstacles to change management in organizations. Research limitations/implications Suggestions for future research are provided with the intent to further academic research in this area. This model can serve as a starting point for future research design and can be tested in organizations undergoing various changes. Practical implications A positive culture fosters both job and organizational engagement within an organization. Managers can understand how to cultivate a positive, engaged environment for employees while understanding how certain job changes might have both positive and negative effects on an individual’s ability to adapt. Originality/value A model for identifying relationships between positive organizational behaviors, two types of employee engagement (organizational engagement and job engagement) and an individual’s ability to adapt to change is helpful to researchers and practitioners alike.

The Impact of Storytelling in Leadership

Tell the organizational story! Take the data of the organization and turn it into real people doing real things and you just might influence education. This chapter demonstrates the relevance of the skills of storytelling and its impact on change. Leaders who tell stories compellingly communicate important messages in a memorable way, develop more effective relationships with those they lead, and create an inspirational culture as their organizations go through positive change. Storytelling does not need to be a foreign concept, as we can all search our own history and experiences of important lessons learned that can be communicated in the form of a narrative. The role of stories and storytelling contribute to a positive organizational approach – positive in the sense of positive psychology, positive organizational psychology, and appreciate inquiry.