Harrison, Owen
Email Address
ORCID
Disciplines
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Publication Why Did Gen Z Quit?: Reorienting Toward Long Term Employment in Social Justice(2019-08-01) Harrison, Owen JOur current orientation toward work is failing members of Generation Z (GenZ) working to decrease suffering in their communities (i.e. social workers, housing case managers, and nurses). GenZ was born between 1997-2012 (American Psychological Association [APA], 2018). GenZ adults who completed four years of college are just beginning to enter the workforce, yet they are already burning out. The current orientations of GenZ focus on drawing meaning from career only, workism and grind culture, negative emotions, cognitive distortions, and place an over emphasis on the individual. This paper offers a reorientation using the science of well-being, positive psychology. I suggest that this reorientation needs to widen sources of meaning, re-engage Generation Z employees to seek positive emotions, redefine success and achievement, and prioritize relationships. This reorientation will allow GenZ employees working to decrease suffering in their communities to avoid burnout and to stay in their chosen fields for longer. This is good not only for the employees but for their organizations and the communities they serve.Publication The Bridge to Inclusion: An Appreciative Strategic Planning Process for the Cultural Awareness Coalition of Midland, Michigan(2019-05-10) Treisman, Joel; Lucas, Anna; Harrison, Owen; Kastner, SydneyInclusive communities are places where all citizens feel a sense of acceptance and belonging. In Midland, MI, a dedicated group of citizens has made a community-wide culture of inclusion their priority. These are the members of the Midland Cultural Awareness Coalition (CAC), a community-based initiative which has attracted a diverse group of stakeholders from a broad cross-section of Midland County. This spring, CAC leaders have collaborated with a team of graduate students (Team Black) enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program (MAPP). As part of their semester-long course in Applying Positive Interventions in Institutions, Team Black identified CAC’s organizational strengths, identified opportunities, and drew upon their knowledge of positive psychology to create an application that would best support the CAC in pursuit of their vision. The team conducted a situation analysis and researched the academic literature in the fields of coalition effectiveness, goal-setting, inclusion and diversity, bonding and bridging social capital, psychological safety and psychological capital. Team Black recommends the CAC embark upon an Appreciative Inquiry-informed strategic planning process. This process will empower the coalition, engage the community, and provide a bridge from where the CAC is today, to where they hope to be tomorrow. The desired outcomes of this process include: engaging a broader network of stakeholders, creating a common language around inclusion, clarifying the organization’s goal hierarchy, and establishing clear priorities for investing the coalition’s limited human and financial resources.