The Future of Positive Psychology at Work

What we see as work and what’s common in traditional workplaces is changing fast. Remote work, digital work environments, robot co-workers, generative AI, and constant digital disruption are rapidly changing how we work, yet traditional organizational psychology models, tools, and techniques don’t seem to be useful in helping individuals and organizations navigate the new world of work! Without direction, it can feel like we’re whitewater rafting upstream without a paddle. But how do we not just survive but thrive in this new working environment? Well, positive organizational psychology may hold the key.

In our new paper, we propose an evolution of the positive psychology at work, which we call “Positive Organizational Psychology 2.0” (POP 2.0). This next wave of research and practice aims to help people and organizations navigate the challenges of the new world of work by embracing emerging technologies and designing to cultivate individual and organizational well-being. But will this new tech- and data-driven approach to optimizing performance and well-being lead to flourishing at work, or will it pose ethical risks?

What Is Positive Organizational Psychology?

Positive organizational psychology focuses on the positive aspects of workplaces that allow individuals and organizations to thrive. It’s about understanding and cultivating the positive states (e.g., job satisfaction), traits (e.g., strengths), behaviors (e.g., capabilities), and experiences (e.g., positive climates) of the working population and organizations as a means to enhance well-being and performance and optimize organizational flourishing.

This field exploded in the early 2000s as companies realized that happiness and well-being drive profits. Organizations have come to value and embrace strengths-based approaches that drive individual performance and organizational functioning. However, progress has stagnated in recent years. While publications have skyrocketed, new ideas and practical applications of positive organizational psychological tools and techniques have been lagging.

Why Positive Organizational Psychology Needs a Reboot

But why has positive psychology at work stagnated? Several factors seem to have contributed to its decline in innovation and relevance:

• The work landscape has changed dramatically, but models explaining such haven’t. With remote, freelance, and AI-driven jobs altering how we collaborate and engage, traditional positive organizational models don’t capture or explain the new dynamics.
• Increased competition from related fields like HR, coaching, and consumer psychology has blurred positive organizational psychology’s unique value proposition.
• It’s failed to embrace new technologies like machine learning, digitalization, and virtual workspaces.
• There is a lack of revolutionary new theories and insights. Findings are becoming repetitive and tautological.
• It overpromises results and validity while lacking robust evidence and replicability.
• It overemphasizes individuals when organizational issues matter more.
• It is too U.S. or Western-centric and overlooks cultural differences.
• There is a potential capitalist influence that commodifies positivity rather than empowering people.

These issues make positive organizational psychology less equipped to address today’s organizational challenges. Positive organizational psychology thus needs a reboot to stay relevant.

Embracing the Possibilities of POP 2.0

To address these challenges, we proposed a framework for the next wave of innovative research and practice. POP 2.0 is defined as an evidence-based, data-driven field of scientific inquiry and practice that embraces technological developments, design principles, and innovations to understand and improve the positive individual, organizational, and societal characteristics required for optimal psychological functioning, well-being, and performance.

Through the rapid adoption and development of technological innovations and human-centered design, POP 2.0 aims to create positive physical, virtual, and meta environments that support individual well-being, team collaboration, positive leadership, positive relationships, organizational effectiveness and sustainability, and societal thriving. It develops and adopts culturally sensitive approaches embedded within local traditions and values, capitalizing on the unique strengths of diversity. It employs advanced data-driven approaches, such as supervised, unsupervised, and reinforced machine learning, big-data analytics, and natural language processing, to investigate and develop the elements required for optimal “positive organization.”

Defining Features of POP 2.0

In essence, it represents an evolution of the field to leverage emerging technologies and cross-functional collaboration to help understand how organizations can thrive. POP 2.0 has several defining features:

1. Adopts a systems view of organizational functioning that recognizes the connections between individuals, teams, organizations, and society.
2. Emphasizes inter-and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
3. Uses advanced data analytics and modeling to derive organizational insights.
4. Rapidly integrates emerging technologies like generative AI and VR.
5. Focuses on designing positive physical, virtual, and meta work environments.
6. Develops and employs artificial assistants and bots to enhance team collaboration.
7. Develops strategies for effective human-robot collaboration.
8. Leverages real-time, passive assessments to monitor engagement and well-being.
9. Advocates for sustainable business practices that balance well-being and ecology.
10. Values diversity, equity, inclusion, and empowering marginalized groups.
11. Actively engages multiple stakeholders to address real-world challenges on time and to spec.

POP 2.0 utilizes technology but maintains a human-centric approach. The aim is to understand how innovations can drive positive outcomes, not replace human experiences.

Challenges for POP 2.0: Riding the Rapids Ahead

To fulfill its potential, practitioners and researchers wanting to advance POP 2.0 must navigate some churning waters:

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• It requires a new, solid scientific foundation.
• It needs to capture organizational complexity beyond just the aggregation of individual experiences.
• We need to mitigate the potentially dehumanizing effects of the over-reliance on tech and data to inform business insights.
• We need to develop regulations around the creation and application of emerging technologies, like generative AI and big data usage.
• We need to maintain rigor while rapidly adapting to fast-changing technologies.
• We need to generate timely solutions that solve real issues today’s organizations face.

The opportunities are plentiful if POP 2.0 can thoughtfully evolve with technology while staying grounded in its humanistic roots and actively attempting to address real-world organizational challenges. By evolving with emerging technologies while emphasizing ethics and experience, the new era of positive psychology at work will unlock human potential in exciting new ways.

As we navigate these challenges and opportunities, we pave the way for a workplace ecosystem that is not only scientifically enriched but also deeply attuned to the human experience within organizations. By riding the rapids of change creatively, we can unlock human potential at work in exciting new ways.