Optimism, in vocational psychology dictionary

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Dictionary of Vocational Psychology

Optimism

A belief that things will work out positively, and that overall and over time, the good will outweigh the bad. Applied to work and career, optimism can refer to many things: the belief that over time one's vocational situation will improve, or that one will be more satisfied with one's work, or that one will make more money, or that one will rise in station ("rising in station" is the traditional phrase for increasing one's occupational level, typically within a hierarchically organized industry or company). Two important kinds of optimism have been identified: dispositional and optimistic explanatory style (Peterson & Vaidya, 2003). Both have implications for vocational psychology. In general, individuals who are more optimistic have better consequences that individuals who are less optimistic (Peterson & Vaida, p. 27). However, it is not always the case that optimism results in positive outcomes, and there appear to be some situations (and probably, work tasks and occupations) in which a pessimistic style may be optimal, and in some ethnic groups pessimistic styles may result in at least as good a set of outcomes as an optimistic style.

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