Resilience training helped people cope with the stress of lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic

What is it about?

SPARK Resilience @ Work is a training programme that aims to help employees learn to cope with daily stresses efficiently and to develop their personality resources, such as optimism, meaning, and mindfulness. We did a pilot trial of the programme during the first month of the lockdown. The programme was delivered in 8 Zoom sessions, 1.5 hours each, with exercises and small-group assignments. Following the intervention, the participants reported reduced perceived stress and negative affect, as well as increased resilience, meaning, positive emotions, and work engagement, compared to the control group. The participants were also extremely satisfied with the programme and provided open-ended descriptions of its positive outcomes, including stronger solution focus, better emotional awareness and regulation, growth from adversity and mental health, and improved interpersonal relationships. Based on these results, SPARK Resilience @ Work training is now proposed to all interested parties by Positran, a French boutique consultancy offering Positive Psychology training and advice to individuals and organizations.

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Photo by Stephanie McCabe on Unsplash

Photo by Stephanie McCabe on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The study is another piece of evidence showing that Positive Psychology interventions can be helpful to people facing real-life stresses and threats. The study also shows that the effects of the programme in a distance-based mode are as strong as the effects of traditional face-to-face interventions. This is really good news, as online format allows to deliver Positive Psychology interventions to larger numbers of people who need them.

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