The Hope Institute
A 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit
Your Total Hopefulness Score is:
76
/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).
High Workplace Hope. You have a hopeful workplace. Perhaps all four aspects of the “Critical MASS” (hope) are highly supported in your workplace. However, it is also possible that one or more scores lie in the mid-range but are offset by one or more very high scores. Think carefully. The average adult spends approximately 1,800 hours per year at work. Can you think of ways to increase even further your feelings of mastery, attachment, survivability, or sense of purpose, within this organization, or outside of work if necessary? It may be possible to complement your work life with activities that satisfy these needs more directly. If the problem is survival-related, you have at least three options: seek a different job or career for which you are qualified, seek a second source of income and remain at your job, seek training in your off-hours to make a future switch in work or career. Review your priorities and needs for both salary and benefits. Think in long-term and short-term time frames, and consider both your stability and growth needs. In short, prioritize the areas that are most important to you (i.e., attachment, survival, mastery, or spiritual hope). While you are fortunate, it would be wise to review all your scores and your Critical Items Score for potential growth areas.
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:
18
/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 appreciated for your talent, work ethic, and perhaps even “soft skills” (diplomacy, civility, etc.). There are enough growth and development opportunities in the workplace. You have access to people inside or outside of the workplace who will help you to improve the skills that you desire to have. However, as we note in another section of this report, individuals vary in how much they personally feel a need for mastery, attachment, survival, or spirituality. To some extent, these differences are based on early life experiences and what we internalize from these "formative" years. So ask yourself, how important is this dimension of your work life? Does a high score on this dimension of your workplace experience provide enough satisfaction?
Attachment Hope Score:
20
/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.
High Workplace Attachment Hope. You experience a strong sense of community at work. This sense of togetherness appears to include co-workers and at least some members of the staff and leadership (“horizontal and vertical cohesiveness”). You may have one or more trusted co-workers that are open and honest with you, with whom you feel a sense of connection and some degree of similarity. The two forms of connection, vertical and horizontal, satisfy different attachment-related needs. For example, horizontal connections among those with equal levels of power can provide a sense of friendship, intimacy, and understanding. Vertical connections offer mentorship opportunities (providing or receiving), respect (given or received), and boundary-making skill development. How strong is your need for these kinds of work connections?
Survival Hope Score:
20
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 have good choices or options at work, such as work hours, locations, tasks, or benefits, among other possibilities. You are gaining skills and experiences that promise a more secure future. You get feedback about your performance that assures you of being on track for a better future. Scholarly writings on hope emphasize a need for options (hopelessness is often equated to entrapment). In addition, the survival dimension of hope includes adaptability through action and imagination. A good work situation fosters this survival dimensional of hope if it provides some flexibility or "breathing room" for thought and action. If you read this paragraph closely, you can see that survival hope is multidimensional (options, imagination, ability to adapt or pivot). Which of these facets is/are most important to you: having options, room for imagination or creativity, skill-building for a flexible approach heading towards the future? Which of these are in greater or lesser supply in your workplace?
Spiritual Hope Score:
18
/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 workplace has a clear mission and does a reasonable job of communicating that vision. You can sense a commitment to that mission in how the organization relates to you and to your co-workers/colleagues and what they prioritize. There is a sense of purpose conveyed by leaders and shared by the staff. This is good news. Of course, it is possible that the workplace has a clear and worthy mission but your primary concerns are primarily financial (survival) or related to growth opportunities (mastery). While is great that your workplace is dedicated to a purpose or mission, you will be wise to reflect on how that dimension relates to your personal work needs.
Critical Items Score:
20
/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.
Your workplace meets your minimal critical needs for a hopeful environment (skill-building and flexibility, respect, dignity, purpose). This is good news. But also review all of your scores for a more detailed assessment and evaluate whether your workplace provides enough of the kind of hope that you desire. Studies in positive psychology reveal that you are most likely to feel your best emotionally when you pair your activities with your needs and strengths. For example, if you value achievement, is your "critical" need for respect being satisfied. If you are outgoing and seek connection, even at work, is the environment one that promotes the dignity of all employees? Given that your total score on the critical items lies in the high range, you may be able to find small changes within or outside the work environment to yield an even higher level of hopefulness.
(survivalHopeScale): Survival Hope(survivalHopeBand): high(survivalHopeSum): 20(survivalHopeGauge): 100(survivalHopeDisplayText): You have good choices or options at work, such as work hours, locations, tasks, or benefits, among other possibilities. You are gaining skills and experiences that promise a more secure future. You get feedback about your performance that assures you of being on track for a better future. Scholarly writings on hope emphasize a need for options (hopelessness is often equated to entrapment). In addition, the survival dimension of hope includes adaptability through action and imagination. A good work situation fosters this survival dimensional of hope if it provides some flexibility or "breathing room" for thought and action. If you read this paragraph closely, you can see that survival hope is multidimensional (options, imagination, ability to adapt or pivot). Which of these facets is/are most important to you: having options, room for imagination or creativity, skill-building for a flexible approach heading towards the future? Which of these are in greater or lesser supply in your workplace? (survivalHopeDisplayTextId): 3eb6e0cb-c469-4313-be64-291aa0861ae5(masteryHopeScale): Mastery Hope(masteryHopeBand): high(masteryHopeSum): 18(masteryHopeGauge): 90(masteryHopeDisplayText): You feel appreciated for your talent, work ethic, and perhaps even “soft skills” (diplomacy, civility, etc.). There are enough growth and development opportunities in the workplace. You have access to people inside or outside of the workplace who will help you to improve the skills that you desire to have. However, as we note in another section of this report, individuals vary in how much they personally feel a need for mastery, attachment, survival, or spirituality. To some extent, these differences are based on early life experiences and what we internalize from these "formative" years. So ask yourself, how important is this dimension of your work life? Does a high score on this dimension of your workplace experience provide enough satisfaction? (masteryHopeDisplayTextId): 201c9b36-61a6-453a-8d90-aed541c089d4(spiritualHopeScale): Spiritual Hope(spiritualHopeBand): high(spiritualHopeSum): 18(spiritualHopeGauge): 90(spiritualHopeDisplayText): The workplace has a clear mission and does a reasonable job of communicating that vision. You can sense a commitment to that mission in how the organization relates to you and to your co-workers/colleagues and what they prioritize. There is a sense of purpose conveyed by leaders and shared by the staff. This is good news. Of course, it is possible that the workplace has a clear and worthy mission but your primary concerns are primarily financial (survival) or related to growth opportunities (mastery). While is great that your workplace is dedicated to a purpose or mission, you will be wise to reflect on how that dimension relates to your personal work needs. (spiritualHopeDisplayTextId): 8864c98f-d975-4ec2-a435-bd7be164b1fa(totalWorkplaceHopeScale): Total Workplace Hope(totalWorkplaceHopeBand): high(totalWorkplaceHopeSum): 76(totalWorkplaceHopeGauge): 95(totalWorkplaceHopeDisplayText): High Workplace Hope. You have a hopeful workplace. Perhaps all four aspects of the “Critical MASS” (hope) are highly supported in your workplace. However, it is also possible that one or more scores lie in the mid-range but are offset by one or more very high scores. Think carefully. The average adult spends approximately 1,800 hours per year at work. Can you think of ways to increase even further your feelings of mastery, attachment, survivability, or sense of purpose, within this organization, or outside of work if necessary? It may be possible to complement your work life with activities that satisfy these needs more directly. If the problem is survival-related, you have at least three options: seek a different job or career for which you are qualified, seek a second source of income and remain at your job, seek training in your off-hours to make a future switch in work or career. Review your priorities and needs for both salary and benefits. Think in long-term and short-term time frames, and consider both your stability and growth needs. In short, prioritize the areas that are most important to you (i.e., attachment, survival, mastery, or spiritual hope). While you are fortunate, it would be wise to review all your scores and your Critical Items Score for potential growth areas.(totalWorkplaceHopeDisplayTextId): 2460f6ed-15bf-4f45-af68-cc4378278b21(criticalItemsScale): Critical Items(criticalItemsBand): high(criticalItemsSum): 20(criticalItemsGauge): 100(criticalItemsDisplayText): Your workplace meets your minimal critical needs for a hopeful environment (skill-building and flexibility, respect, dignity, purpose). This is good news. But also review all of your scores for a more detailed assessment and evaluate whether your workplace provides enough of the kind of hope that you desire. Studies in positive psychology reveal that you are most likely to feel your best emotionally when you pair your activities with your needs and strengths. For example, if you value achievement, is your "critical" need for respect being satisfied. If you are outgoing and seek connection, even at work, is the environment one that promotes the dignity of all employees? Given that your total score on the critical items lies in the high range, you may be able to find small changes within or outside the work environment to yield an even higher level of hopefulness. (criticalItemsDisplayTextId): bef907bc-182f-4cbd-8ac1-30e7eec9e972(attachmentHopeScale): Attachment Hope(attachmentHopeBand): high(attachmentHopeSum): 20(attachmentHopeGauge): 100(attachmentHopeDisplayText): High Workplace Attachment Hope. You experience a strong sense of community at work. This sense of togetherness appears to include co-workers and at least some members of the staff and leadership (“horizontal and vertical cohesiveness”). You may have one or more trusted co-workers that are open and honest with you, with whom you feel a sense of connection and some degree of similarity. The two forms of connection, vertical and horizontal, satisfy different attachment-related needs. For example, horizontal connections among those with equal levels of power can provide a sense of friendship, intimacy, and understanding. Vertical connections offer mentorship opportunities (providing or receiving), respect (given or received), and boundary-making skill development. How strong is your need for these kinds of work connections?(attachmentHopeDisplayTextId): 97a35002-688f-4568-afc1-740621d0a12b