Personal Resources

The PERMA model

Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, developed five core elements of psychological well-being and happiness. Seligman believes that these five elements can help people work towards a life of fulfillment, happiness, and meaning. The five elements are Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning, and Achievement. He will tell you more about his model in the video below (optional).

Some myths and facts about PERMA & wellbeing

"A 100% score on PERMA is ideal"

Incorrect. We cannot recommend an ideal profile. The measure is intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive. Different profiles may be more or less adaptive for different people at different times, depending on their personality, history, and social context. It can tell you when you score low on one specific dimension, you can choose to do an intervention that might target learning new strategies.

"Well-being is just the absence of negative functioning"

Incorrect. From the positive psychology perspective, well-being is not simply the absence of negative function. The lack of negative affect such as depression, loneliness, insecurity and/ or illness is not the same as the presence of positive affect such as happiness, social connection, trust, and wellness. They are not the opposite, but multidimensional.

"Employee well-being is relevant for employers"

Correct. Individuals’ experiences at work, emotional or social in nature, affect them. Well-being not only contributes to reducing the risk of mental problems but also seems to facilitate many work-related issues such as performance, quality of workplace relationships, motivation, engagement, etc. Well-being can potentially affect both employees and organizations in different ways. Employees with poor wellbeing may be less productive, make lower quality decisions, be more prone to be absent from work, and make consistently diminishing overall contributions to organizations.

"Engegament is the most relevant aspect of PERMA"

Correct. Individuals’ experiences at work, emotional or social in nature, affect them. Well-being not only contributes to reducing the risk of mental problems but also seems to facilitate many work-related issues such as performance, quality of workplace relationships, motivation, engagement, etc. Well-being can potentially affect both employees and organizations in different ways. Employees with poor wellbeing may be less productive, make lower quality decisions, be more prone to be absent from work, and make consistently diminishing overall contributions to organizations.

"I have no influence on my well-being"

Incorrect. These elements of wellbeing can be positively or negatively affected by individual or organizational experiences. Luckily research states that individuals can be the agent of their own wellbeing. For each element, you have different interventions that will positively enhance these and your wellbeing all around. It’s not necessary to focus on every intervention, even one can have a positive impact.

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Personal Resources

The PERMA model

Some myths and facts about PERMA & wellbeing

"A 100% score on PERMA is ideal"

"Well-being is just the absence of negative functioning"

"Employee well-being is relevant for employers"

"Engegament is the most relevant aspect of PERMA"

"I have no influence on my well-being"