1. Self Determination Theory Broadens and Builds Employee Flourishing D R M AREE R OCHE (W INTEC, H AMILTON ) & P ROFESSOR J ARROD H AAR (M ASSEY U NIVERSITY, A LBANY )

2. Overview What is ‘flourishing’ – theoretical background Self Determination Theory (SDT) Present Study and Findings Questions

3. Flourishing v Floundering Flourishing Floundering

4. The Positivity Ratio Positive Negative Needs to be: > 3 /1 to be effectively in a state of flourishing! Remember, that negativity is natural and places a role ie it is needed!! But, fundamentally, we’d like much more positives than negatives!!

5. To flourish…

6. Thus flourishing matters… How do we calculate ‘flourishing’

7. Positive Psychology - two views of wellbeing Dimension is pursued via… Definition Wellbeing Hedonic Feelings Eudaimonic Functioning

8. Eudaimonic Models Self Determination Theory 1. Autonomy (act according to one’s own free will and volition) 2. Competence (master the environment ) 3. Relatedness (connection to others) Psychological Wellbeing 1.Autonomy 2. Environmental mastery 3.Personal growth 4.Positive relations 5.Purpose in life 6.Self-acceptance

9. Broaden and Build Negativity Bias in Humans Positive Emotions Matter (3:1) Broaden and Build – through SDT As per Fredrickson and Losada [oh, and Meatloaf! ]… we operationalise flourishing as 2 out of 3 [of the SDT factors of satisfaction with need for (1) autonomy, (2) competence and (3) relatedness. Hypothesis: SDT three needs identifies those flourishing employees. This broadens and builds positive emotions in employees leading to flourishing employees achieving the positivity ratio

10. Research Model

11. Method 250 organizations 600 surveys distributed 457 surveys complicated 60% private sector, 32% public sector and 8% in the not-for- profit sector Average firm size was large (100+ employees)

12. Findings Employees rated as ‘flourishing’ had a positivity ration of 3.1 compared to 2.0 for non-flourishers. Overall we conclude that engagement in (SDT) eudaimonic experiences not only creates the ability for employees to flourish at work, but, this further broadens-and-builds positivity ratios. This finding is crucial to developing resources to enable employees to continue to thrive.

13. Questions and comments…