Company top-managers’ ideologies as a mental protection from environmental uncertainty

Introduction. At the beginning, entrepreneur creates his own concept of organization – value-cognitive-actional pattern, which is socialized, coming into conflict with CEOs’ individual interests. For this purpose, they use various distortion styles of organizational reality in their interpretations of values, cognitions and actions, thereby destroying organizational productivity. Aim. We have aim to explore wide-spread distortion styles in interpretations of organizational reality (CEO). We obtained 95 organizational self-descriptions of companies (from 50-1500 individuals) and classified them (key topics, actors, intention). Then we discovered interpretation styles and have grouped them according to a specially developed hierarchical model of organizational self-descriptions on several levels (formal: procedures and rules of behavior; content (statics: objects, agents and their attributes; dynamics: processes, algorithms and technologies); sense-logical: purposes, causes, values and beliefs). Results. We identified the following distortion styles of the entrepreneur’s value- cognitive-actional pattern: procedural (formal) - formal following of rules, norms, and instructions; personnel follow formal rules. Authoritarian (static) – the power of guarantor, authority and enactor of rules; personnel are obedient and loyal; participative (dynamic) – interaction, rules and hierarchies are the result of negotiations; the head of organization is a moderator; personnel are a part in negotiations. Conclusions. Destructive distortion styles lead organizations to: moral disengagement – avoidance of values in relationships, decisions and actions; guilt instead of responsibility – feeling guilt or self-justification; narrow-mindedness – insisting on one’s own vision and ignoring feedback.

Teachers’ occupational health in the spectrum of level and criterion approaches

Introduction. The latest perspective on understanding the nature of teachers’ occupational health allows us to consider this phenomenon as a process, in which professional activity becomes consciously built and arbitrarily regulated. Aim. To clarify the nature of teachers’ occupational health by applying level and criteria approaches. Results. In the level approach, teachers’ occupational health is considered as a dynamic construct with a complex multi-level structure. Each level is formed by a number of complementary characteristics and features. Therefore, occupational health can be considered as: a multilevel construct; system property; movement to self-realization; system capable of self-development. The criterion approach structures occupational health in accordance with certain indicators (criteria): the optimal level of professional performance; three-element structure modules; a continuum of criteria; a set of structural and dynamic indicators. Conclusions. Theoretical and methodological tools of level and criterion approaches open new opportunities for psychological analysis of the nature of teachers’ occupational health in educational organizations. Teachers' occupational health can be considered as their ability to make optimal changes, function effectively, as well as develop professionally

Psychological features of improvement of educational organization managers' subjective well-being indicators

Introduction. Educational organization managers' subjective well-being is especially important in the context of social transformations and social tensions in Ukraine. Aim: to analyze the psychological features of improvement of the indicators of educational organization managers’ subjective well-being. Methods. G. Perrudet-Badoux Subjective Well-Being Scale (adapted by М. Sokolova). Results. It was found that more than half of the respondents had low values of the subjective well-being indicator called «satisfaction with daily activities». More than half of the respondents underestimated the importance of the social environment, while a significant part of the respondents had negative emotional experiences and were not positive about their health. It was also found that a small number of respondents had a high level of the subjective well-being index. Conclusions. A special healthy educational organization development program can promote educational organization managers' subjective well-being.

Work-life balance programs as personnel social and psychological support in organizations

Introduction. Today work environment becomes stressful, with many tasks and problems to solve. It is overloaded, imbalanced, complicated and often full of conflicts. In this climate, managing the boundary and balance between home and work is becoming more challenging. There is a need for organizations and personnel alike to find flexible and innovative solutions that maximize productivity without damaging personnel’ well-being, their personal life, family relationships. Aim. To analyse the main categories, resources and limitations of work-life balance, results of empirical study, main organizational and individual strategies for creating balance. Results. Work-life balance is a category defined by researchers as a person’s subjective general assessment of the interrelation between work and other life areas, family, as well as the ability to combine these spheres in a proper way. The empirical study has shown, that the work-life balance has been generally assessed as average. It should be noted that they have scored the load balance lower than other components: professional tasks complexity, work and content planning, and social intercourse. According to the results of the empirical study and to the theoretical approaches, the basic strategies in professional productivity increase programs in organizations may be the following: focus strategies, “resource/refusal” strategies, adaptive strategies, every of which is manifested in a certain kind of an individual strategy. The use of the adaptive individual strategies with the resource increase strategy perfectly contributes to the work-life balance achievement. Conclusion. Based on the results of theoretical and empirical research, we have identified organizational conditions and individual strategies for achieving the work-life balance, and also the main personal skills and traits contributing to the work-life balance achievement include the following ones: personal flexibility, a high level of self-discipline; trust-based relations; dynamic and independent work. These skills should be mature, and the work-life balance achievement psychological teaching programs for personnel can increase their level.

Changes in the Ukrainian expeditioners’ psychological states during long Antarctic stay

Introduction. Extreme conditions of Antarctica and socio-spatial isolation of a small group of expeditioners’ significantly affect their physiological and psychological state. Aim. To empirically investigate the changes in the expeditioners’ psychological state indicators during a year-long Antarctic expedition. Methods. For statistical analysis were used Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation); One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test; and Paired Sample T-Test. Results. The self-assessed indicators of expeditioners’ psychological states rise significantly during the first four months of the year-long expedition. Then their average self-esteem begins to decline gradually, reaching the lowest values in the last two months of stay at the Antarctic station. Conclusions. This study confirms that the long stay and work within an isolated group of people is a factor that affects the expeditioners’ psychological health at the first place.

The model of psychotherapeutic assistance to mental health specialists to develop resilience

Introduction. Today’s crisis and stress conditions increase the number of cases of PTSD diagnosis and associated symptoms. Since mental health specialists are key workers in providing assistance in this context, they are now experiencing more intense mental work load than ever before. The personal characteristics of specialists and the occupational risks associated with empathic contact with patients who have experienced a traumatic event pose a certain danger to specialists and require special research attention. In this context, the need to prepare appropriate protocols, psychotechnologies and models of psychotherapeutic work to restore and develop resilience is highlighted. Aim. The purpose of the article is to describe the main standpoints of the created psychotechnology of the development of resilience of mental health specialists and operationalization of its practical part, namely a model of psychotherapeutic assistance to mental health specialists for the development of resilience. Results. The created psychotechnology for the development of resilience of mental health specialists contains developed theoretical, diagnostic and psychotherapeutic stages. The psychotherapeutic stage of psychotechnology of resilience of mental health specialists is created taking into account specific intervention strategies, principles of process organization and means (methods and techniques) that ensure the process of resilience development and is presented as a model of psychotherapeutic assistance to mental health specialists to develop resilience. The operationalization of the model allowed one to form the following scheme of strategic direction of psychotherapeutic assistance: resource vector <=> in-depth vector => behavioral vector. Each vector is provided with appropriate methods and techniques that help solve the problem of resilience development, as well as improve post-traumatic growth. Conclusions. The model of psychotherapeutic work for the development of resilience of mental health specialists, based on an integrative approach using multimodal interventions, is proposed. The initial approbation of the model allowed to determine the scheme of strategic direction of psychotherapeutic interventions, «portrait of a resilient specialist», as well as important aspects for its further improvement.

The salutogenic basis of an individual’s mental health and psychological well-being

Introduction. The stressfulness of modern society necessitates studying the factors in human positive functioning. As the practice of such research shows, the leading role in advancing toward an individual’s high-quality life belongs actually to his/her psychological resources, in particular his/her salutogenic orientation as a resource helping a personality remain stable in various circumstances of life. Aim. To identify salutogenic factors in an individual’s psychological well-being. Methods. J. Crumbaugh, L. Maholic’s Purpose-in-Life-Test; Maddi`s Hardiness Survey; the test-questionnaire of self-attitude proposed by V. Stolin, S. Pantileev; C. Riff’s model of psychological well-being; Wiesbaden Inventory (WIPPF) developed by N. Peseschkian and X. Deidenbach; R. Lazarus and S. Folkman method examining coping strategies of (the General Causality Orientation Scale of E. Deci, R. Ryan; A. Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scales. Results. Psychological resources maintaining and strengthening health and tolerance to stress, maintaining and developing personal opportunities are associated with the presence and awareness of life goals, positive self-acceptance, positive relationships with others and the ability to influence life events. An individual’s salutogenic orientation is based on a humanistic worldview, which is a sign of personal maturity, and such personal abilities as hope, love, trust, justice, politeness and others that are behavioural norms and ensure personal freedom and responsibility. Conclusions. From the standpoint of the salutogenic approach, human psychological health is considered as a state characterized by a certain position in the continuum between mental disorder and psychological well-being. An individual’s salutogenic orientation is the psychological basis for achieving the positive functioning states – psychological hardiness, life satisfaction and psychological well-being.

Factors in university teaching staff perfectionism

Introduction. The attention to the study of perfectionism in universities in Ukraine can be explained with modernization and development of Ukrainian higher education, as an access to the European educational research environment. The interest to the perfectionism in teaching staff of university can be explained by new requirements for professional activity and these factors demand from a teacher of higher school can be an achievement of new standards, obtaining successfully by focusing on avoiding failures. The study is conducted within the pedagogy field. Aim. In this article, the author identifies and analyzes the impact of social-demographic factors (such as age, gender, place of residence), organizational and professional factors (such as job experience, academic degree, post, direction of teaching activity, number of students, university status, level of social-psychological climate etc.) on the manifestations of perfectionism. Results. The four manifestations of perfectionism, which are: Absence of perfectionism (where normal and pathological perfectionism are represented at a low level); Perfectionism with negative orientation (consists of the respondents with pathological type of perfectionism); Ambivalent perfectionism (included the respondents in which the pathological and normal types of perfectionism are equally highly represented); Perfectionism with positive orientation (consists of the respondents with manifestations of normal type of perfectionism). Conclusions. The findings of this investigation show the impact of social-demographic, organizational and professional factors on the manifestations of perfectionism.

The structure of studentsʼ subjective well-being

Introduction. Subjective well-being is one of the indicators of success and a basis of person`s socio-psychological adjustment to uncertain situations and unstable social relations. The complexity of this phenomenon requires clarifying its structure. Aim. To determine the structure of studentsʼ subjective well-being. Methods. Cognitive Features of Subjective Well-Being (KOSB-4) (O. Kaliuk, O. Savchenko), Subjective Well-Being Scale (A. Perrudet-Badoux, G. Mendelsohn, J. Chiche, adapted by M. Sokolova), Life Satisfaction Index A, LSIA (B.L. Neugarten, adapted by N. Panina), Arousability and Optimism Scale, AOS (I.S. Schuller, A.L. Comunian, adapted by N. Vodopyanova). The methodological basis is a structural-functional approach. Factor and correlation analyses were done using «STATISTICA 10.0». Results. Empirical verification of the author's model of subjective well-being revealed the existence of three independent components in its structure (cognitive-behavioral, emotional, and contrasting). Conclusions. Students’ cognitive and behavioral aspects of well-being are not separated, they form a single factor. There is a polarity in well-being in the form of positive and negative factors.

Tolerance of uncertainty as a determinant of educators' psychological health in conditions of social tension

Introduction. Social instability increases the importance of tolerance of uncertainty among representatives of different social and professional groups. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators' tolerance of uncertainty as a probable determinant of their psychological health is of particular interest for researchers. Aim: to study tolerance of uncertainty as a determinant of educational staff's psychological health in conditions of social tension. Methods: D. McLain's MSTAT-II (adapted by E.M. Osin), T. Galkina & N. Artemtseva's Attitude to Psychological Health Scale, Scale of Positive Mental Health by J. Lukat et al., and Locus of Health Control questionnaire. Results. It was found that the most pronounced components of tolerance of uncertainty were the attitude to novelty and preference of uncertainty. Uncertainty tolerance components affected most aspects of educators' psychological health. Conclusion. Tolerance of uncertainty should be seen as a determinant of educators' psychological health.