Over a long time psychology was focusing on human frailties and mental diseases. In 1998, positive psychology was introduced - the scientific study of strengths, well-being and optimal functioning. Theory and research in the area has identified 24 character strengths, in which each individual owns and celebrates a number of top strengths, signature strengths. These strengths have been shown to be important in achieving happiness and well-being. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between character strength and psychological well-being, job satisfaction, harmonious- and obsessive passion and stress.

This study focuses on the use of animals in social work from the perspective of social workers. The purpose of this study is to examine social workers? experiences of animal assisted social work and how social workers view the integration of animals in various fields of social work. The research is based on a qualitative method and four semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers. The theories incorporated in the study are Attachment Theory and Sense of Coherence (SOC).The following results are presented: Social workers are considered to have a more comprehensive understanding of clients compared to their associates who do not hold a degree in Social Work.

This study focuses on the use of animals in social work from the perspective of social workers. The purpose of this study is to examine social workers? experiences of animal assisted social work and how social workers view the integration of animals in various fields of social work. The research is based on a qualitative method and four semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers. The theories incorporated in the study are Attachment Theory and Sense of Coherence (SOC).The following results are presented: Social workers are considered to have a more comprehensive understanding of clients compared to their associates who do not hold a degree in Social Work.

Tidigare forskning har visat att mindfulness kan höja livskvaliteten inom en rad områden som till exempel välbefinnande, inre motivation och prestation. Dock saknas studier om dess inverkan på arbetslivet. Syftet med den här uppsatsen var att undersöka vilken roll mindfulness eventuellt kan spela för människan i arbetslivet, särskilt för arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsmotivation.  Respondenter var 103 yrkesverksamma individer i olika åldrar och från olika yrkesgrupper, varav 78 kvinnor. En kvantitativ enkätstudie gjordes där respondenterna självskattade 81 påståenden bestående av de tre etablerade mätinstrumenten Five Facet Mindfulness Questionairre (FFMQ), Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS) och An Index of Job Satisfaction.

Syftet med studien var att ta reda på om det går att predicera medarbetares livstillfredsställelse, psykosociala välmående och upplevd relation till närmaste chef utifrån chefers emotionsperception och emotionsreglering. Detta gjordes genom att 38 chefer utförde ett datorbaserat emotionsperceptionstest samt besvarade Emotional Regulation Questionaire. Deras närmaste medarbetare bestående av totalt 213 stycken fick sedan besvara en enkät bestående av delar från Satisfaction With Life Scale, SF-1 och QPS Nordic. Studiens huvudresultat visade att generaliserat kan resultatet från emotionsperceptionstestet och det självrapporterade användandet av omvärdering av känslor hos chefer förklarar 28 % av skattningarna på Satisfaction With Life Scale hos medarbetarna. Resultaten diskuteras i termer av att chefer skapar en positiv atmosfär på arbetsplatsen, identifierar sociala problem och löser konflikter effektivare när de är skickliga på emotionsperception och omvärderar sina känslor..

What impact has volunteering on the individual and their career development? For the young man about to enter the world of work, for the non-profit organization that needs to recruit new volunteers or employers who are facing hiring new staff. This study may provide a new approach in their search for work, volunteers or employees. The purpose of this study is to highlight the experiences of volunteering for individuals' personal learning and development, and the importance of volunteering for their career development. The study has a qualitative approach.

Syftet med studien var att bland högskoleanställda undersöka skillnader i Work-Life Balance och arbetstillfredsställelse beroende på deltagarnas kön samt beroende på om deltagarna hade barn under 18 år eller ej. Studien syftade även till att undersöka skillnader i arbetstillfredsställelse beroende på deltagarnas ålder. I studien ingick manliga och kvinnliga högskoleanställda som arbetade minst 80 % och som undervisade och/eller forskade inom den aktuella tjänsten. Studien genomfördes som en web-enkätundersökning på två högskolor i Sverige. Totalt besvarade 125 deltagare på enkäten som utgick ifrån två olika mätinstrument; Netemeyers, Boless och McMurrians (1996) skala som användes för att mäta Work-Life Balance uppdelat på Family-Work Conflict samt Work-Family Conflict och Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) som mätte inre och yttre arbetstillfredsställelse.

Work environment activities, such as work health promotion, can take place at different levels - though the best result is obtained when all levels can interact. The overall aim with this study was to examine the impact of health promotion on work related well-being and stress in an industrial company. The focus was on employee experience of and participation in company initiated wellness activities. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in which parts of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) were used to examine factors in the psychosocial work environment, and well-being was examined with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). In all 303 employees (50 %) responded to the survey.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how people with insecure employment affect the psychological contract in the perspective of workers' experience. The questions in this study were: how does a person with insecure employment perceive the psychological contract and what consequences dose an insecure employment have on the psychological contract. The study was a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the absent relationship that existed between the participants and the employer was assumed to be affected by insecure employment. The result revealed that one of the consequences was falling confidence and less support to the employer as an effect of insecure employment and psychological contract.

Several studies have examined the effects of perceived justice of preferential treatments to customers, but few have studied these effects when customers have different input. The purpose of the study is therefore to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the effects of preferential treatments to customers with varying input. More specifically, the study focuses on how perceived justice, customer satisfaction and loyalty are affected depending on the customer's input and received treatment. An experimental study with 263 respondents showed that the perceived justice and loyalty intentions among both the receiver and the non-receiver of the preferential treatment were of highest level when it was given to a customer with large input. Customer satisfaction however, was found to be of highest level when customers themselves received preferential treatment, regardless of the size of their input.

Several studies have examined the effects of perceived justice of preferential treatments to customers, but few have studied these effects when customers have different input. The purpose of the study is therefore to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the effects of preferential treatments to customers with varying input. More specifically, the study focuses on how perceived justice, customer satisfaction and loyalty are affected depending on the customer's input and received treatment. An experimental study with 263 respondents showed that the perceived justice and loyalty intentions among both the receiver and the non-receiver of the preferential treatment were of highest level when it was given to a customer with large input. Customer satisfaction however, was found to be of highest level when customers themselves received preferential treatment, regardless of the size of their input.

The characteristic of services as an effort carried out in a "moment of truth" implies a risk for failures. This study sheds new light on how alternative offerings that customers are initially exposed to can affect satisfaction and loyalty in the service failure and recovery context. More specifically, two aspects of the initial offering are studied: promised general service quality and the presence of a promise about a specific product attribute. Based on a presentation of the main theoretical perspectives, hypotheses are formulated and a scenario-based experiment in a hotel setting is designed to explore these. The results indicate that a higher level of promised service quality can result in more positive evaluations of satisfaction and stronger word-of-mouth intentions than for a lower level of promised service quality.

Previous research has focused limited attention on how personality affects job search for university educated people in work and no studies have focused on the difference between active and passive job seekers. This survey-based study that examined university educated economists and engineers with 5-25 years of experience, showed that career ambition mediated active job search for the personality dimensions of openness, agreeableness and extraversion and also gave clear evidence that active job seekers have lower levels of job satisfaction, and higher levels of career ambition, agreeableness and extraversion, compared with passive job seekers. These findings provide a more nuanced picture of the impact of different recruitment strategies and provide a starting point for in-depth studies on passive job seekers.

Title: The impact of service quality on customer loyalty - when a service changes from being free to become surcharged Authors: Carl Johan Olsson, Marcus Johansson and Victor Carlsson Supervisor: Hans LundbergCourse: Bachelor thesis in business administration, 15 Credits (15 ECTS) Keywords: Service quality, customer loyalty, price movementPurposeThe purpose of this essay is to increase the understanding if the perceived quality by the service users correlates with a future loyalty to a service when it cease from being free, to become charged.? Does the perceived quality of a service by the service users affect a future loyalty to a service, when it cease from being free, to become charged?MethodIn this essay we have chosen to implement a quantitative research method based on a survey. This choice was made in order to reach a sufficient large amount of service users and empirical data to answer our problem.ConclusionsAccording to the theory, customer satisfaction can be expressed through a comparison between customer?s expectations and the experience of using a service, and there are also positive correlations between service quality and customer satisfaction. Additionally, loyalty is based on service quality and customer satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how people with insecure employment affect the psychological contract in the perspective of workers' experience. The questions in this study were: how does a person with insecure employment perceive the psychological contract and what consequences dose an insecure employment have on the psychological contract. The study was a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the absent relationship that existed between the participants and the employer was assumed to be affected by insecure employment. The result revealed that one of the consequences was falling confidence and less support to the employer as an effect of insecure employment and psychological contract.