by Mitchell Williams
Psychological capital describes the internal resources that we can draw upon at work to perform better and have higher levels of success. It is a super-construct comprised of four key factors: Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (Luthens et al., 2004).
Optimism refers to both a global positive expectation of the world and to an explanatory style of thinking. People who are optimistic do not perform better because they frame events positively, they perform better because their coping styles to events differ from pessimists, like focusing more on the positive aspects of their work rather than the negative. This means that when a positive event comes about (like having your boss appreciate the work you do) an optimistic person will view this event as something that happens a lot, represents their achievements, and is due to their own effort. On the other hand, a pessimistic person would view being appreciated as a one-off event, not indicative of any other part of their life, and due to factors outside their control.
While being optimistic is beneficial, it is not always appropriate and we cannot operate effectively if we are always optimistic without being realistic; Putting your coworkers in danger and not attributing the mistakes made to yourself can lead to you making those same mistakes in the future. Therefore, we need to carry with us “flexible optimism” (Peterson, 2000).
Comments