Psychology at Work,
Empowering Performance

Successful organisations recognise the need to make the most of their best asset, their people. Psychology is increasingly being used in the workplace to develop resilient staff who can adapt easily to change, and to help boost productivity through increased motivation and engagement.

Challenge of Change

Psychobabble - Derek's Blog

Listen, just relax

Monday, December 28th, 2009

We generally attach relaxation to particular times, such as weekends or the summer holiday.  If you only relax on these occasions then the rest of the time (in other words, most of your life) you must be tense.  Unfortunately relaxing …

To sleep, perchance to dream?

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Participants in the Challenge of Change Resilience training sessions spend time at the beginning generating objectives for the day, and a common theme that emerges from the exercise is about sleep. One of the defining features of stress is disturbed …

Prioritising: knowing what doesn’t need to be done

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

How often are we told we need to prioritise if we’re to be efficient? Learning to prioritise is important, but we need to understand what’s required. Prioritising is usually thought of as deciding what the most important things …

The Challenge of Change: A New Zealand case study

Friday, June 12th, 2009

One of the consequences of a recession is a greater need for evidence when making decisions about how to spend a diminishing budget.  It might require very little thought: someone comes up with a machine that produces the widgets you …

Dangerous Myths

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

The New Zealand Herald recently carried an article claiming that “showing your anger rather than repressing emotions is the key to a successful life at home and at work”. The article reports research by George Vaillant at Harvard, who opines …

Resolutions

Monday, January 12th, 2009

New Year is the time for resolutions: a new year, a new opportunity, a celebration to mark the occasion. But how long do yours last? For most people, a week would be about average!

‘Personality’ and Behaviour

Friday, November 7th, 2008

A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald made a case for knowing about one’s own personality predispositions, which can be useful, but only …

Being Well

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

‘Well-being’ and ‘wellness’ are increasingly popular phrases in the training world, but what do they actually mean?…

Happiness

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

In the most recent World Values Survey, which ranks the countries of the world on happiness, Denmark tops the list.  Perhaps not altogether surprising – a small but prosperous country with generous state benefits – and it is …

NZi Business: Relieving stress during economic downturns

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Interviewed by Corin Dann on TVNZ’s NZi Business programme on Monday, I was asked for my views about how business people can cope with the downturn in the New Zealand economy. Putting recessions into context, the economy is by …