Positive Psychological Practices in EAPs: Results of a Recent Survey
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Bennett, Joel ; Marbach, Cameron
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Abstract
Despite some growth in workplace mental health services, recent workforce surveys have pointed to continued problems with worker loneliness, engagement, and alienation. The theory and application of Positive Psychology (PP) has grown significantly in both research and practice over the past twenty years, and may offer solutions to these trends. This includes applications in the workplace, such as tools for resilience, gratitude, compassion, and happiness. Little is known about provider interest in PP as applied to current EA services. This article reports on results of an exploratory survey completed by about 150 EA practitioners. Between 50-70 percent of respondents use one or more of six different PP practices, and even more (80-90 percent) felt that PP practices were important to the growth of their EA enterprise. About 1 of 3 respondent are both using almost all PP practices and see them as important to business growth. The most frequent use of and highest level of interest in were for PP practices that enhance the workplace culture to help employees become more resilient and thrive. Further studies should more carefully examine how EAPs use specific types of PP practices, their outcomes, and conditions for success. Positive psychology (PP) originally emerged in the late 1990s, largely spearheaded by Martin Seligman and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, although its roots and foundational ideas can be traced back much further, with influences from humanistic psychology and the human potential movement. It places value on positive subjective experiences such as well-being, contentment, optimism, flow, and happiness as these are expressed at both the individual level, as love, courage, authenticity, and wisdom; and in society, as altruism, civic irtues, responsibility, work ethic, and tolerance (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).
