The Hope Institute
A 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit
Your Total Hopefulness Score is:
35
/80
Hopefulness is humanity’s most important character strength, the psychological equivalent of an immune system. Like the biological immune system, hope can be strengthened or weakened by external factors that vary on a continuum from very healthy to very toxic. The workplace can be empowering or disabling, welcoming or alienating, freeing or restrictive, experienced as meaningful or completely devoid of purpose. In short, a good workplace can strengthen and even infuse hope. A toxic work environment "sickens the soul", and erodes hope. The link between satisfaction of the needs underlying hope and employee wellbeing are supported by more than seven decades of research, dating back to the classic analysis of Friedman and Havighurst (1954) and continuing with studies such as those by Wang et al. (2020) and Tusi et al. (2024).
Multiple elements of the Critical MASS may be in short supply at your workplace. Which elements are essential for you to remain in this organization? A low score is unfortunate. The average adult spends approximately 1,800 hours per year at work. Can you think of ways to increase your feelings of mastery, attachment, survivability, or sense of purpose, within this organization, or outside of work if necessary?
Share Your Results
Would you like to see a full report with scores on the four major aspects of hope in the workplace (Mastery, Attachment, Survival, and Spiritual Hope)? If yes, click below to purchase your full report and obtain a detailed hopefulness profile of your workplace.
Mastery Hope Score:
8
/20
In several large-scale studies, psychologists asked lay people (non-professionals) open-ended questions about hope. Hopeful individuals reported a focus on non-negotiable, life-defining endpoints (ultimate, unconditional desires, linked to cherished values). They also highlighted the role of empowerment and inspiration. Does your workplace align with your cherished values? (At a minimum, your workplace should not be at odds with your most important principles and values.) Do you derive any sense of empowerment from trainings and skill development opportunities? As you inspired by your work environment in any manner? Friedman and Havighurst (1954) included the needs for esteem and identity in their functions of work. As they note, beyond power and prestige, there remains a basic needs for identification with, and a sense of contribution to, larger efforts. They suggest that one of the risks of technological advances could be a diminishment in a sense of collective mastery, leading to greater "work alienation".
You feel underappreciated. Your skills, work ethic, or other contributions often go unnoticed. You may sense that the organization does not differentiate between good work and poor work. There is little effort to provide training that personally benefits you versus the organization’s “bottom-line.”
Attachment Hope Score:
10
/20
Philosophers, who have provided the deepest thoughts on hope, consistently stress the importance of social connections and trust. A hopeful person has internalized a sense of embeddedness in a predictable universe of caring people and benign forces, visible and invisible. Some philosophers equate hopefulness with openness. Do you feel an emotional connection to at least some of your co-workers/colleagues? Are there trustworthy leaders at the top of your organization? Does your workplace feel like a place where you can safely share your thoughts and feelings? Are people in your workplace genuine in their dealings with you?
Friedman and Havighurst (1954) included "association" as a key work function. They note the powerful human need for attachment and incorporated theory and research to support the high value placed on the social aspects of work.
You feel quite alone at work. This feeling may be due to differences in values or interests compared to others in the organization. You may feel a need to remain guarded. A very low score may suggest feelings of isolation and mistrust towards individuals or groups at multiple levels of the organization.
Survival Hope Score:
6
Ancient Greek healers as well as modern-day medical investigators have touted the importance of hope for stress management and general wellbeing. Hope is distinguishable from optimism, confidence, or mere “expectation” by its association with difficult but not impossible challenges. Survival hope includes imaginative constructions of reality, fact-finding, development of options, and help-seeking. Does your workplace inspire you to believe a better future is possible? Does your workplace invest in you in ways that make you more skilled, and more employable if you had to move on from your current place of work? Does your workplace provide some flexibility and choice-making (roles, tasks, hours, etc.). We can translate Friedman and Havighurst's (1954) "income" and "life structure" functions of work into survival hope via resource-building and self-regulation or time-binding (work is something that life can be organized around).
/20
You may feel trapped or limited by your current workplace. You may not believe that your work will ever provide the long-term security that you seek. You may believe that the skills and experience required in your current workplace will be of little value for future work that you may desire.
Spiritual Hope Score:
11
/20
For countless millennia, humanity has found hope in spiritual beliefs. From the perspective of our critical “MASS.” model, we view spirituality (broadly defined, not just religious), as essential for the full development of hopefulness. Humans cannot fully satisfy their needs for mastery, attachment, or salvation with ordinary responses to the world. Spirituality offers an important and extraordinary layer of empowerment, presence, and salvation. From this perspective, work can be viewed as one of several means of securing this additional layer of transcendent mastery, attachment, or survival experience (e.g., in addition to engagements with religious or spiritual belief systems). Friedman and Havighurst (1954) included purpose and meaning among their functions of work. A more recent study by Syahir et al. (2025) affirms linkages between employee wellbeing and spirituality in the workplace.
The mission or purpose of the organization is present but is weakly expressed. There may be some overlap in the mission of the organization and your own values, but it is not an overly strong alignment. The leadership and staff could do more to mirror a purpose and a mission.
Critical Items Score:
13
/20
We created a critical item score by analyzing worker ratings of importance for each of the 16 items on our scale. We extracted the single item rated most important from the categories of Mastery Hope, Attachment Hope, Survival Hope, and Spiritual Hope. These items were all rated as highly important to workers. Again, these were not remote workers so we can presume their ratings reflect direct experiences of the workplace. The highest rated mastery item: The workplace leaders and staff respect me and others like me. The highest rated attachment item: The workplace leaders and staff do not trample on, or violate, your dignity. The highest rated survival item: My workplace provides training, skill-building, and other opportunities to make me more financially secure in the future. The highest rated spiritual item: The leadership and staff of my workplace do their best to create an environment that supports a higher purpose or mission.
A mid-range score could result if all four critical MASS elements are neither very high nor very low. Alternatively, one or more scores could be very low while others are high, pulling the sum toward the middle. If your mid-range score is a result of one or more low critical item scores, how does your profile compare to your personal priorities? What aspects of the Critical MASS matter most to you?
(survivalHopeScale): Survival Hope(survivalHopeBand): low(survivalHopeSum): 6(survivalHopeGauge): 30(survivalHopeDisplayText): You may feel trapped or limited by your current workplace. You may not believe that your work will ever provide the long-term security that you seek. You may believe that the skills and experience required in your current workplace will be of little value for future work that you may desire.(survivalHopeDisplayTextId): 29db17a8-1a6d-4564-8d5e-73cc7b005c9e(masteryHopeScale): Mastery Hope(masteryHopeBand): low(masteryHopeSum): 8(masteryHopeGauge): 40(masteryHopeDisplayText): You feel underappreciated. Your skills, work ethic, or other contributions often go unnoticed. You may sense that the organization does not differentiate between good work and poor work. There is little effort to provide training that personally benefits you versus the organization’s “bottom-line.”(masteryHopeDisplayTextId): 68ef2db5-5ccc-4e97-a46c-c1329cfaa832(spiritualHopeScale): Spiritual Hope(spiritualHopeBand): med(spiritualHopeSum): 11(spiritualHopeGauge): 55(spiritualHopeDisplayText): The mission or purpose of the organization is present but is weakly expressed. There may be some overlap in the mission of the organization and your own values, but it is not an overly strong alignment. The leadership and staff could do more to mirror a purpose and a mission.(spiritualHopeDisplayTextId): 73ddbb77-c45a-444e-891f-b12a05fcdb36(totalWorkplaceHopeScale): Total Workplace Hope(totalWorkplaceHopeBand): low(totalWorkplaceHopeSum): 35(totalWorkplaceHopeGauge): 44(totalWorkplaceHopeDisplayText): Multiple elements of the Critical MASS may be in short supply at your workplace. Which elements are essential for you to remain in this organization? A low score is unfortunate. The average adult spends approximately 1,800 hours per year at work. Can you think of ways to increase your feelings of mastery, attachment, survivability, or sense of purpose, within this organization, or outside of work if necessary?(totalWorkplaceHopeDisplayTextId): e1ed2ba6-be73-420d-9766-bbb132a9d390(criticalItemsScale): Critical Items(criticalItemsBand): med(criticalItemsSum): 13(criticalItemsGauge): 65(criticalItemsDisplayText): A mid-range score could result if all four critical MASS elements are neither very high nor very low. Alternatively, one or more scores could be very low while others are high, pulling the sum toward the middle. If your mid-range score is a result of one or more low critical item scores, how does your profile compare to your personal priorities? What aspects of the Critical MASS matter most to you?(criticalItemsDisplayTextId): a9d6bddf-bba1-46c9-8180-e5260740c007(attachmentHopeScale): Attachment Hope(attachmentHopeBand): low(attachmentHopeSum): 10(attachmentHopeGauge): 50(attachmentHopeDisplayText): You feel quite alone at work. This feeling may be due to differences in values or interests compared to others in the organization. You may feel a need to remain guarded. A very low score may suggest feelings of isolation and mistrust towards individuals or groups at multiple levels of the organization.(attachmentHopeDisplayTextId): a44539a6-da56-4f4c-aece-d117afd4a4d5