The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Training on the Resiliency and Job Satisfaction of Government Employees

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Psychology, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of positive psychology training on the resiliency and job satisfaction of government employees in Hamadan province.
Method: The statistical population of this quasi-experimental study consisted of all government employees of Hamadan province in spring 2019. From this statistical population, 30 individuals (15 in an experimental group, 15 in a control Group) were purposively selected as the subjects of the study and were randomly assigned into one control group and one experimental group. Pre-test and post-test were used to collect research data by two standard questionnaires: "Job Satisfaction Questionnaire" and "Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale ". Data analysis was done by SPSS software version 25 using analysis of covariance and MANCOVA.
Results: The results showed that positive psychology training can optimize and increase resiliency and job satisfaction in adverse conditions (p <0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, positive psychology training can be considered as an effective way to promote resiliency and job satisfaction of employees, and is recommended to increase their job satisfaction.

Keywords


  1. References

    1. Perez-Truglia R.   The Effects of Income Transparency on Well-Being: Evidence from a Natural Experiment.  American Economic Review. 2020; 110 (4): 1019-54. doi: 10.1257/aer.20160256.
    2. Alessio G, Eleonora T. Predisposition to Change Is Linked to Job Satisfaction: Assessing the Mediation Roles of Workplace Relation Civility and Insight. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(6): 2141. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17062141.
    3. Blustein D.L., Kenny M.E., Di Fabio A., Guichard J. Expanding the impact of the psychology of working: Engaging psychology in the struggle for decent work and human rights. J. Career Assess. 2019;27:3–28. doi: 10.1177/1069072718774002.
    4. Connor KM, Davidson JRT. Development of a new Resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC), Depression and Anxiety. 2003; 18(2): 76-82.
    5. Block J. Personality as an affect-processing system.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; 2016.
    6. Nathan E, Alexander N, Zhou J, Mandy B. Career optimism: A systematic review and agenda for future research. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2020; 16(b):  103287. doi.org/10.1016/ j.jvb. 2019. 02. 011
    7. Seligman MEP. Positive psychology in Clinical Practice. Annual Review of Clinical psychology. 2005; 1(9): 629-651.
    8. Cabrera EF. Strategic Human Resource Evaluation. Journal of Human Resource Planning. 2014;26(1):49-53.
    9. Quilliam S. Positive Thinking and Applied Positivism, translated by Farid Barati Sadegh and Afsaneh Sadeghi, Tehran: The Javaneh Roshd; 2016.
    10. Hendriks T,  Schotanus-Dijkstra M, Hassankhan A, Joopde J, Bohlmeijer E. The Efficacy of Multi-component Positive Psychology Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2020; 21: 357-390. doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00082-1
    11. Selye H. Stress concept today. In I. L,. Kutch & L. B. Schlesinger (Eds). Handbook on stress and anxiety: contemporary knowledge, theory, and treatment. Sanfrancisco: Jossey-Bass; 2019.
    12. Pogan L. Changing work values in a liquid world. Soc. Soc. Work Rev. 2019; 3: 33.
    13. Rusk RD, Vella-Brodrick DA, Waters L. A complex dynamic systems approach to lasting positive change: The synergistic change model. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2018;13(4):406–418.
    14. Abbaspour Z, Karimi Vardanjani M, Khojastehmehr R. The Mediating Role of Fulfillment of Marital Expectations in the effect of Marital Satisfaction on High Marital Expectations, Optimism and Relationship Self-Efficacy in University Personell. Positive Psychology. 2020; 5(4): 1-14. doi: 10.22108/ppls.2020.116042.1684
    15. Peiró JM, Bayonab JA, Caballer A, Di Fabio A. Importance of work characteristics affects job performance: The mediating role of individual dispositions on the work design-performance relationships. Paid 40th Anniv. Spec. Issue. Pers. Individ. Differ. 2020; 157 doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109808.
    16.  Karimi Z, Karbalaie M, Meiguni A, Sabet M, Comparison of Positive Thinking, Job Satisfaction and Quality of Life of Seafarers and Offshore Personnel of Iran National Petroleum Company, Occupational and Organizational Counseling. 2016; 8(27): 7-95.
    17. Hickel C, Asgari P, Naderi F. The Relationship between Personality Traits and Social Support with Job Satisfaction of Female Teachers in Ahvaz. 2009; 7(1): 70-80. 
    18. Horuani L, Bender W, Peeler R, Lane M, Lerson G. Longitudinal study of resilience and mental health in marines leaving military service. Journal of affective disorders. 2012; 139(3): 154-165.
    19. Arshadi M. The Relationship between Positive Psychological Components (Hope, Self-Esteem, and Spirituality) with Psychological Well-Being and Satisfaction; 2016.
    20. Amini P, Navid B. Reliability and validity of the Kansas marital satisfaction scale (KMSS) in infertile people. Middle East Fertility Society Journal. 2018; 23(2):154-157
    21. Duck I, Worth O, Steen M. The Effectiveness of Positive Thinking Skills Training on Job Satisfaction and Job Exhaustion in Sanatorium Officers, Presented at the First National Conference on Educational Sciences and Psychology; 2019.
    22. Gorbanpoorlafmejani A, Dehqan F, Karimi F, Rezaei S. The Role of Attachment Styles, Love Styles and Emotional Expression in Predicting the Happiness of Married Teachers. Positive Psychology, 2020; 5(4): 15-34. doi: 10.22108/ppls.2020.116306.1699.
    23. Nemati S. The Role of Resiliency and Psychological Hardiness in Predicting Psychological Well-being. Positive Psychology, 2019; 5(3): 1-12. doi: 10.22108/ppls.2019.118220.1784
    24. Fiorilli C, Schneider B, Buonomo I, Romano L. Family and nonfamily support in relation to burnout and work engagement among Italian teachers. Psychol. Schs. 2019; 56:781–791. doi: 10.1002/pits.22235
    25. Hartley MT. Examining the Relationships between Resilience, Mental Health, and Academic Persistence in Undergraduate College Students, Journal of American College Health. 2011; 59(7): 596-604.
    26. Di Fabio A, Saklofske DH. Positive Relational Management for Sustainable Development: Beyond Personality Traits- The Contribution of Emotional Intelligence. Sustainability. 2019;11:330. doi: 10.3390/su11020330.
    27. Weena C. Effects of communication skills training on parents and young adolescents from extreme family types. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. 2003; 4(4): 162-175.
    28. Peña M, Ramos MM, Topa G. Occupational stress in nursing. Multiple group membership from a preventive perspective. Curr. Psychol. 2019. doi: 10.1007/s12144-019-00580-8.