The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions in the Workplace: A Theory-Driven Evaluation Approach

Abstract

Positive Work and Organizations (PWO) continues to permeate organi- zations that desire to improve employee positive functioning. One aspect of PWO includes positive psychology interventions (PPIs) at work, which uses the theory and scholarship of positive work and organizations to design interventions aimed at improving employee work outcomes. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis by Donaldson, Lee, and Donaldson (under review) found a link between PPIs at work and improving desirable and reducing undesirable work outcomes. The purpose of this chapter was to synthesize the empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of PPIs at work, using a theory-driven evaluation (TDE) approach. TDE refers to the systematic use of substantive knowledge (i.e., social science theory, stakeholder theory, or some combination of both) about the intervention under consideration to improve, produce knowledge, or determine its merit, value, andworth (Donaldson, in Program theory-driven evaluation science: Strategies and applications. Psychology Press, New York, 2007). This systematic review will provide valuable information for