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Positive Attitudes in the Face of Change

We're in the midst of some pretty massive organizational changes in the Office of IT at BYU where I work. The changes were sorely needed, but they've changed a lot of things that people were really comfortable with, including me! As people have learned about the changes, or possible changes, to their areas, there have been a lot of glum faces and dazed expressions.

Serendipitously, I listened to a podcast recording of an EDUCAUSE presentation by Polley McClure titled, "Are We Having Fun Yet? Applying Positive Psychology in Challenging Times." She described exactly the sorts of emotions that I've seen around our IT shop as people have dealt with organization change in the midst of challenging economic times.

Her PowerPoint presentation had a good summary of her talk in the notes for each slide. The audio of the whole presentation is also available.

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