HOW DOES ATTENDING THE APPRECIATIVE ADVISING INSTITUTE INFLUENCE ACADEMIC ADVISOR WELLBEING?

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of attending the 2018 Appreciative Advising Institute (AAI) on the overall and workplace wellbeing levels of attendees. The 2018 AAI was held July 29 to August 1, 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida at Florida Atlantic University. Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model of wellbeing was used as the theoretical framework for this study and Butler and Kern’s (2013) PERMA Profiler and Kern’s (2014) Workplace PERMA Profiler were the instruments used to study the influence of attending AAI on advisor wellbeing. Three research questions provided the basis of the study. A repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to explore the influence of attending the Appreciative Advising Institute on wellbeing. Major findings in the study suggests overall PERMA scores were significantly influenced immediately post AAI, F(1,60) = 4.67, p = .04, ηp = 0.07, with measures of positive emotion (P), t(60) = -2.65, p = .01, and accomplishment (A) t(60) = -3.45, p = .001 being significantly improved. Workplace PERMA cores demonstrated short-term improvements as well. Specifically, measures of meaning (M) were significantly higher following the AAI t(60) = -2.17, p = .03 . In terms of long-term impact for overall PERMA, measures of positive emotion (P) remained significantly higher one month following the AAI t(46) = -2.14, p = .04. Workplace PERMA scores were significantly higher one-month post AAI, F(1,45) = 8.11, p = .01, ηp = 0.15. (Mean difference = 0.40, SE = 0.14, p = .007). Specifically, measures of positive emotion (P), t(45) = -2.53, p = .015, engagement (E) t(45) = -2.55, p = .014, relationship (R), t(45) = -2.10, p = .041, and meaning (M), t(45) = -2.17, p = .036, all were significantly higher one-month post intervention. Results suggests that attending the 2018 AAI positively influences academic overall and workplace wellbeing. Overall results suggest that attending AAI may provide a potential professional development platform for academic advising offices looking to address overall and workplace wellbeing in their advisors. Going forward, findings suggest the AAI may be a potential valuable option for higher education institutions seeking to increase the overall and workplace wellbeing levels of their academic advisors.