TITLE:
Assessing Employee Wellbeing in Schools Using a Multifaceted Approach: Associations with Physical Health, Life Satisfaction, and Professional Thriving
AUTHORS:
Margaret L. Kern, Lea Waters, Alejandro Adler, Mathew White
KEYWORDS:
Wellbeing, Positive Psychology, Measurement, Psychosocial Context, Positive Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.6,
April
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Purpose:
Drawing on recent advances in the field of positive psychology, we conducted a
pilot evaluation of employee wellbeing using Seligman’s (2011) multidimensional PERMA (positive
emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) model of
flourishing. We analyzed associations between multiple aspects of employee
wellbeing and three outcomes: physical health, life satisfaction, and
professional thriving. Method: Employees (N = 153) from a large private school in Australia completed a survey with
items theoretically relevant to the PERMA theory. Factor analyses recovered the
expected five PERMA components and a negative emotion factor. Regression
analyses estimated cross-sectional associations between the wellbeing factors
and self-reported physical health, life satisfaction, and professional thriving
(job satisfaction and organizational commitment). Results: Differential
associations support the multidimensional approach to defining and measuring
wellbeing. For example, staff with higher engagement and better relationships
reported greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Conclusions:
Multidimensional wellbeing assessments can help school administrators understand
and improve staff wellbeing, supporting policy and practice designs that
ultimately will promote wellness for all stakeholders in the education system.