PD SPOTLIGHT SUE LANGLEY AND MELANIE WEIR
Positive psychology and mental health The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of the workplace across Aotearoa and around the world. Change can be stressful for many, which is why we need to embrace positive psychology. This Langley Group blog discusses what positive psychology is and how we can use it every day to support mental health in the workplace.
What is positive psychology?
Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal performance and wellbeing and contributes new, powerful insights and proven strategies to help individuals, organisations and communities thrive. The positive psychology movement – now two decades old – has spread rapidly across social and human sciences over the past decade or so, spearheaded by Martin Seligman in 1998. It offers a fresh lens to address some of today’s most pressing issues. By challenging traditional psychology, which focuses largely on the negative, positive psychology aims to
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HUMAN RESOURCES
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cultivate flourishing by understanding what is good in people and life, to help individuals live happy, productive, healthy and fulfilling lives. Far from ‘happyology’, positive psychology is a rich study of what makes life worth living in all its complexity and goes hand in hand with traditional mental health interventions. In fact, studies have shown that the effect of positive psychology interventions may last longer and produce greater wellbeing than conventional psychotherapies.
The PERMA model identifies five essential elements to wellbeing: • positive emotions (P) • engagement (E) • positive relationships (R) • meaning (M) • achievement/ accomplishment (A). What factors contribute to wellbeing and resilience?
While not the only beneficial ingredients underpinning positive psychology, five positive factors, known as PERMA (Seligman, 2011), can be seen as building blocks that maximise wellbeing and gear people and human systems toward flourishing and away from stress and burnout. Positive emotions:
Amplifying positive emotions and minimising the impact of negative emotions. Positive engagement:
Engaging in activities and environments that energise and
