Positive organisational psychology is the fastest-growing sub-discipline of psychology and has significantly broadened our understanding of the factors contributing to and those distracting from work-related wellbeing and performance.
With its exponential growth over the past ten years, it’s clear that the discipline is on the horizon of a new wave of research, innovation and ideas which may fundamentally alter its own discourse. We expect to see a new wave of research focusing on topics like social and organisational network analysis of positive leadership and relational energy in the workplace, more advances in artificial intelligence-driven positive organisational interventions, human-robot collaboration, passive & neurological assessments of positive states/traits/behaviours at work and much more.
This new wave of research will be characterised by rapid innovation, mass adoption of artificial intelligence systems, machine learning, big data analytics, and will require more sophisticated models, approaches and measures to explain complex organizational phenomena; yet be flexible to adapt to new innovations in technology and the discipline. It will also require closer collaboration between scientists/practitioners, organizations and professional societies to fast track the implementation of scientific innovations. This revolution of the field culminates in what we called “Positive Organizational Psychology 2.0 (POP 2.0).
In this presentation, I aim to conceptualise POP 2.0 as an evidence-based, data-driven field that utilizes technological advancements and human-centred design to understand and enhance positive characteristics of individuals, organisations, and society for optimal psychological functioning, wellbeing, and performance. Specifically, I intend to provide an overview of positive organisational psychology’s emergence, highlighting its key characteristics and exploring the factors behind its rapid growth and declining relevance. I then conceptualize POP 2.0, outline its defining features, and advocate for a broader scope, expanded focal audience, enhanced methodologies, and transformative role shifts for practitioners. Finally, I conclude by outlining opportunities, challenges and perspectives that could drive the next wave of innovative research.
Reference
van Zyl, L. E., Dik, B. J., Donaldson, S. I., Klibert, J. J., Di Blasi, Z., Van Wingerden, J., & Salanova, M. (2023). Positive organisational psychology 2.0: Embracing the technological revolution. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-13.