International Journal of Wellbeing

Embodied superpower: A qualitative study of the experience of highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners

Charlotte Friedrich, Tim Lomas — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Purpose: Research has identified that approximately 20-31 percent of the global population can be considered highly sensitive––carrying the trait of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS). SPS, associated with increased sensitivity and responsiveness to internal, environmental, and social stimuli, is often considered to be a vulnerability. Despite this, it has been shown to have the potential of becoming an asset to people. However, a gap exists in the research literature regarding the experience of highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners and how they can best manage their high sensitivity to the benefit of themselves and others. Design: A qualitative approach explored how highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners experience and deal with SPS in the context of working with clients. Method: In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with ten practitioners, drawn from a number of wellbeing professions. Results: The qualitative grounded theory analysis revealed the overarching theme of experiencing SPS as an ‘embodied superpower’ and a complex, interwoven dynamic interplay between four major themes: appreciation, challenges, journey, and client work. The results show that, if managed well, SPS can indeed be a valuable asset to practitioners. Implications: As the first of its kind to investigate this topic in a systematic, scientific manner, the study has significance in exploring SPS, especially in relation to embodiment theory. Findings have implications for highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners, contributing to the understanding of their trait and offering practical suggestions on how to best manage it.

On the importance of congruence between personal and work values – How value incongruence affects job satisfaction: A multiple mediation model

Nils Hossli, Martin Natter, René Algesheimer — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

This study proposes a novel conceptualization of work values designed to quantify the degree of incongruity between personal values and workplace demands. We define work values as the priorities individuals wish to be recognized for in their workplace, while personal values are those the individual personally identifies with. By contrasting personal and work values, we provide evidence for value incongruence among employees and showed that this measurement of value incongruence effectively predicts key job-related metrics. Value incongruence directly reduces job satisfaction, but its primary impact is indirect. Our multiple mediation analysis reveals that it mainly affects job satisfaction through perceived job meaningfulness, relationships with supervisors, and opportunities for career advancement. We discuss the implications of our findings for various stakeholders and suggest potential improvements for individual and societal well-being linked to the future of work.

Suggested metatheory for positive psychology: The organismic systems theory

Mia M. Maurer — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Positive psychology has been criticized among other things for its lack of a metatheory that would explicate its underlying philosophical assumptions and epistemology as well as give direction for methodology and the forming of constructs, models and theories. This article sets out to suggest a metatheory for positive psychology, combining the systems approach (systems-informed positive psychology, Kern et al., 2019) together with the organismic theory inherent in philosophy of science, biology, neurology and psychology. The suggested metatheory is called organismic systems theory (OST), explicating the following assumptions for PP: 1) active individual (actualizing tendency), 2) functional tendency, 3) integration, 4) emergence, 5) dynamism, 6) self-organization, 7) interconnectedness, 8) holism, 9) subjectivity, 10) boundaries, and 11) adaptation. The systems approach is considered compatible with the organismic approach with their combination suggested to provide the field with a good theory that combines psychological-level inquiry with more general systems-level inquiry. The epistemology and implications of this metatheory for positive psychology are discussed.

Are Danes really happier than Swedes and Australians? A comparative analysis of subjective well-being measurement issues in Denmark, Sweden, and Australia

Filip Fors Connolly, Johannes Frech, Bengt Brülde, Christopher Kullenberg — Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

This study examines the reliability of cross-national subjective well-being (SWB) survey data, by corroborating the persistently high SWB-rankings of Denmark through a comparison to Sweden and Australia, two countries with similar or superior social, economic, and health indicators. Our research focuses on both the affective and the cognitive component of SWB, with a special emphasis on the affective component. We investigate four potential measurement issues that could contribute to Denmark’s elevated SWB scores: linguistic inconsistencies in survey translations, variations in answering scale usage, recall bias of affect, and positivity bias in life satisfaction judgments. To address these concerns, we utilize multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, analyse emotion-focused anchoring vignettes, examine affect items across varying time frames, and contrast overall life satisfaction assessments with those of domain-specific satisfaction. Despite accounting for various potential measurement issues, our results reveal that Danes consistently report higher SWB than their Swedish and Australian counterparts, although the differences are small for several of the measures. This finding implies that the SWB survey-data is reliable in this case, and that Denmark's high SWB rankings are not attributable to measurement biases but may indeed signify genuinely high levels of SWB. This paper adds to the growing body of literature on cross-national SWB comparisons and might provide insights for researchers aiming to compare well-being across countries.

Resisting organisational change? Psychological resilience and perceived organisational support as mediators in promoting psychological well-being and organisational citizenship behaviours

Nur Nabilah Muhammad Kamal, Guek Nee Ke, Zuhrah Beevi, Kenneth Leow — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The increasing prevalence of global transformations has led to a surge in organisational changes worldwide. Consequently, the anticipation of employee resistance and its impact on organisational development has become a vital concern in the field of organisational psychology. This study aims to comprehensively explore employee resistance to organisational change within the energy industry, considering several critical factors, including psychological well-being, organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational support, and psychological resilience. A total of 313 employees from an organisation in the energy industry in Malaysia. Participants completed measures on attitude towards organisational change, psychological well-being, organisational citizenship behaviour, perceived organisational support, and psychological resilience. The results from our study showed significant relationships between employee resistance to organisational change, psychological well-being, and organisational citizenship behaviour. The findings also indicated significant mediating effect of perceived organisational support in the relationship between organisational change and psychological well-being. Further, the results also showed that psychological resilience was a significant mediator between organisational change, psychological well-being, and organisational citizenship behaviour. The implications from the study include increase in transparency in organisation, leaders as change agent, and brief coaching for employees to increase organisational resilience.

Resilience, masculinity, and hedonic-eudaimonic dynamics: An autoethnography of an extended gratitude intervention

Matthew Charles Higgins — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

This autoethnography explores a 23-day gratitude project, focusing on the experiences, challenges, and outcomes of writing and sending daily gratitude letters. Analysis of audio transcripts recorded before and after each letter reveals several key themes: the dynamic interplay between eudaimonic and hedonic well-being; the significant role of gender and perceptions of masculinity as obstacles to gratitude expression; the value of benefit-triggered gratitude expression; and the development of resilience through communicative acts of gratitude. Despite the considerable benefits observed, the findings recommend prioritizing the quality of gratitude expressions over their frequency in future interventions. This work provides a nuanced understanding of the emotional journey in gratitude practices and its impact on personal growth and resilience.

Wellbeing public policy needs more theory

Mark Fabian, Anna Alexandrova, Diane Coyle, Matthew Agarwala, Marco Felici — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Advocacy for ‘wellbeing public policy’ (WPP) requires suitable evidence. Endorsing the ambition to focus policy on wellbeing outcomes, we nevertheless argue that the current evidence base is deficient due to a lack of theory. For the purposes of our analysis, we identify theory narrowly with conceptual clarity and the modelling of causal mechanisms underlying statistical regularities. The prevailing focus on identifying ‘drivers’ of wellbeing and their effect sizes is not well suited for such theorising. We show that this status quo creates potential for conceptual confusion, incorrect aggregation, poor robustness and external validity of policy evaluations, inept interventions, and raises the prospect of a ‘Lucas critique’ in wellbeing economics. We discuss what sort of theory addresses these pitfalls, and where WPP could proceed fruitfully even in the absence of such theory. Ultimately, we call upon wellbeing experts to invest in developing theory as this would improve the basis for WPP and outcomes for those affected by it. Moreover, such theoretical contributions from the field of WPP could spillover to other disciplines, extending the reach and influence of wellbeing research.

The effect of a short mindfulness meditation practice on positive mental health: Self-transcendence as a mediating process

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

In two randomized controlled trials, we tested the effect of two attentional mindfulness meditation practices on positive mental health. We hypothesized that attentional meditation would increase various positive emotions (gratitude, interest, hope, pride, elevation, and awe) via three processes induced by mindfulness (body awareness, meta-awareness, and self-transcendence) and that positive self-transcendent emotions would in turn increase positive mental health (well-being and inner peace). This hypothesis was tested in two randomized online experiments. Participants were assigned to either a body scan meditation, a breath meditation, or a condition in which they listened to a story (active control). Various positive emotions, mindfulness-induced processes, and well-being/inner peace were assessed with self-reports. Experiment 1 (n = 166) revealed that practicing a 21-min body scan or breath meditation significantly increased positive emotions (in particular, elevation, gratitude, and pride) and that self-transcendence significantly mediated that effect. Experiment 2 (n = 127) replicated these findings in regard to positive emotions with a shorter, 11-min practice and revealed that two self-transcendent positive emotions (elevation and gratitude), but not pride—a more self-centered positive emotion—significantly mediated the effect of attentional meditation practice on well-being and inner peace. The implications of these results are discussed.

Book Review: Subjective WellBeing in the Indian Context - Concept, Measure and Index

Annie Tubadji — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

“Subjective Well-Being in the Indian Context - Concept, Measure and Index” by Tithi Bhatnagar is a comprehensive exploration of the multifaceted nature of wellbeing within the modern Indian socio-cultural context. The book starts with an overview of the theoretical cornerstones and measurement approaches in studying wellbeing and it ultimately offers a unique index for measuring happiness tailored to the Indian context. This structure helps the book deliver a significant multidisciplinary contribution that is of interest not only to psychology but social sciences more broadly. This review will focus on the book's contribution to specifically social, regional, and cultural economics.