Well-being & Engagement at Work Flashcards
Definition of creativity
Core elements (novelty and usefulness)
Carriers (products, services, and solutions)
Different perspective to understand (products, process, and judgement)
Dual cognitive pathways to creativity
Cognitive flexibility
Cognitive persistence
How these two pathways explain the impact of psychological traits (cognitive styles, personalities) and states (motivations, emotions)
What is WORKPLACE DESIGN?
A general term for the entire physical environment for work . . . the whole floor, whole building, whole campus.
Primary spatial tool for work
What for?
Balance between productivity and wellbeing
Balance between work tasks and social interaction
Concentration and/or/versus restoration
DIFFERENT APPROACHES ON WORKPLACE DESIGN?
- Stimulating environment: optimise work environment for productivity (classroom of RSM)
▪Function: keeping productive ▪Light (Hawthorne experiments)
▪ Noise
▪ Color
▪ Privacy - Restorative environment: bridge workplace with natural environment for wellbeing
▪Function: restore, recover, and resile
▪Biophilic Design in the workplace
▪Green and nature:
What are the elements of stimulating environment?
1. Personal space Office type (cubicle vs. open floor) Size of office space Privacy Territoriality (Personalize your office)
2. Social space Social density Awareness Brief interactions Collaborations
3. Physical attributes Technology Ergonomics Shape of furniture Color Space density Light Temperature/ thermal comfort Air quality Scent Ventilation
STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT→OPTIMIZATION FOR PRODUCTIVITY. Which factors have the strong effect on performance and satisfaction?
Strongest effects on performance and satisfaction:
- Ability to do distraction-free solo work
- Support for impromptu interactions (both in one’s workplace and elsewhere)
NOISE AND PRODUCTIVITY?
Moderate noise at workplace helps NOISE AND PRODUCTIVITY (creative) work
Moderate level of arousal is best for difficult work.
SMILING PENCIL?
- Participants held a pencil in their teeth (which naturally activates the muscles typically used for smiling) or lips (which does not activate those muscles) and then rated several cartoons for funniness.
- Those who were (unknowingly) “smiling” rated the cartoons as funnier than people who were not smiling.
HOT COFFEE COOL PEOPLE?
- Prior to an impression-formation task, participants were required to hold (during a brief elevator journey) a cup of hot or iced coffee. Afterwards, they gave their impressions of a stranger.
- Participants considered the target to have more favorable traits (e.g., generous, caring) when they previously held the hot rather than cold cup.
SHAPE OF YOUR FURNITURE / SPACES?
- Hundreds of undergrads looked at computer- generated pictures of room interiors and rated those filled with curvilinear (rounded), as opposed to straight-edged (rectilinear), furniture as more pleasing and inviting.
- Rounded spaces triggered more activity in brain regions associated with reward and aesthetic appreciation.
Smell?
Participants were required to ‘smell’ odours that generated feelings of disgust.
- The same participants then watched videos of other individuals expressing disgust. - - Results showed that areas of the anterior insula were activated both when individuals observed disgust in others and when they experienced disgust themselves.
ELEMENTS OF RESTORATIVE ENVIRONMENT?
- Wild nature
- Managed (structured) landscape Natural lights
- Natural ventilation
- Outdoor sports
- Aesthetical activities
What defines restorative environment?
▪Sense of being away
▪Effortless engagement
▪Sense of extent (coherence) ▪Compatibility (person-environment)
MANAGED NATURE?
Zen garden—an example of managed nature in Japanese temples.
WHO’S DOING IT WELL?
- Spanish architects SelgasCano have embraced biophilia which asserts that due to our instinctive bond with nature.
- Bringing natural elements into the office improves productivity. their offices are built in the woods near Madrid, with the north side of the building made from completely transparent acrylic and using natural ventilation.
What happens when the negativity becomes too large?
- Glass half-full approach: individual strengths, positive and challenging feedback, creative motivations and behaviours
- BUT: we simply cannot (would like to, though…) completely ignore negativity in relation to psychology and work-related behaviours and outcomes.
How to manage stress?
- Coping (Reactive, Anticipatory, Preventive, Proactive)
2. Make stress your best friend.
What happens when a person cannot cope enough/anymore?
Burnout
Burnout of millennials?
Many millennials are sitting at home with burnouts, how come?
- Great time to be alive, everyone you know is only one small finger swipe away.
- Yet because of individualisation: more loneliness (depression), fear, and anxiety.
- Most burn-outs between 25 – 35 years, how come and what can we do about it?
HOW COME MILLENNIALS BURN OUT?
- Individualistic upbringing;
- Period between puberty and “being a grown-up” has become longer – longer developmental period;
- Making comparison between other millennials: too positive, unrealistic postings on (social) media;
- Grown up in great economic growth: when entering job market, high reality check;
- High demands: you can become anything you want, but you have to do your best.
In short: Cocktail of performance pressure and stress (often self-imposed) => instead of slowing down I I (which is healthy choice), speeding up»_space;>.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? MILLENNIALS EDITION
Infuse some reality into people’s worlds, by:
- Management of expectations: honest conversations with each other.
- More coaching for the millennials in the period between graduating and entering workforce.
- “It’s not about making sure you’ve made it by the time you are 30, but be more realistic and accept that you need to make mistakes”.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? HR EDITION
Management of expectations => honesty; also important role for HR professionals☺
In the workplace, burnout can be tackled through focusing on three specific elements:
- Enhance vigor: “High levers of energy and resilience, the willingness to invest effort in one’s job, not being easily fatigues, and persistence in the face of difficulties”.
- Improve dedication: “Strong involvement in one’s work, accompanied by feelings of enthusiasm and significance, and by a sense of pride and inspiration”.
- Better absorption: “Pleasant state of total immersion in one’s work which is characterised by time passing quickly and being unable to detach oneself from the job”
=> ENGAGEMENT
BURNOUT AND ENGAGEMENT?
~Burnout:
- Emotional Exhaustion,
- Cynicism,
- Professional Fulfillment/efficacy
ENERGY
IDENTIFICATION
~Engagement
- Vigor
- Dedication
- Absorption
ASSESSING BURNOUT: MASLACH BURNOUT INVENTORY (MBI)
- -> Designed initially for burnout measurement in human service institutions.
- -> Three subscales:
- Emotional Exhaustion => feelings of being emotionally extended and exhausted by one’s work.
- Depersonalisation => unfeeling and impersonal (i.e. cynical) response towards recipients of one’s care or service.
- Personal accomplishment/fulfilment/efficacy => feelings of competence and successful achievement in one’s work with people.
