The aim of this review was to present the most recent evidence on the interaction of hope with academic and work variables, since hope is increasingly recognized as an important psychological resource for academic achievement, career development and job performance. This paper included peer-reviewed research papers of the past five years, which were identified through searching Healink, Scopus and Google Scholar databases. We applied several combinations of relevant search terms (e.g. hope, academics, university, work, students and employees). Only English language studies were selected. Twenty-three research papers matched the inclusion criteria. Overall, the review found that hope plays a predictive role in academic and job performance, while hope correlates positively with several variables related to task accomplishment and well-being. The practical value of the findings in academics and the workplace is discussed and further recommendations are provided based on the review.
Badran, A. M., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2015). Psychological Capital and Job Satisfaction in Egypt. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30, 354-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-06-2013-0176
Bergheim, K., Eid, J., Hystad, S. W., Nielsen, M. B., Mearns, K., Larsson, G., & Luthans, B. (2013). The Role of Psychological Capital in Perception of Safety Climate among Air Traffic Controllers. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20, 232-241. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051813475483
Bernardo, A. B. (2010). Extending Hope Theory: Internal and External Locus of Trait Hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 944-949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.036
Brown, C., & Mueller, C. T. (2014). Predictors of Employment among Sheltered Homeless Women. Community, Work & Family, 17, 200-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2014.890562
Chang, E. C. (1998). Hope, Problem-Solving Ability, and Coping in a College Student Population: Some Implications for Theory and Practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 953-962. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199811)54:7 3.0.CO;2-F
Day, L., Hanson, K., Maltby, J. Proctor, C., & Wood, A. M. (2010). Hope Uniquely Predicts Objective Academic Achievement above Intelligence, Personality, and Previous Academic Achievement. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 550-553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.05.009
Drysdale, M., & McBeath, M. (2014). Exploring Hope, Self-Efficacy, Procrastination, and Study Skills between Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Education Students. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 15, 69-79.
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton.
Feldman, D. B., & Kubota, M. (2015). Hope, Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Academic Achievement: Distinguishing Constructs and Levels of Specificity in Predicting College Grade-Point Average. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 210-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.022
Gallagher, M. W., Marques, S. C., & Lopez, S. J. (2017). Hope and the Academic Trajectory of College Students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18, 341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9727-z
Hirschi, A. (2014). Hope as a Resource for Self-Directed Career Management: Investigating Mediating Effects on Proactive Career Behaviors and Life and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 1495-1512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9488-x
Hirschi, A., Abessolo, M., & Froidevaux A. (2015). Hope as a Resource for Career Exploration: Examining Incremental and Cross-Lagged Effects. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 38-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.006
Karatepe, M. O. (2014). Hope, Work Engagement, and Organizationally Valued Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Study in the Hotel Industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 23, 678-698. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2014.855994
Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at Work: Positive Affect, Hope, and Optimism Mediate the Relationship between Dispositional Mindfulness, Work Engagement, and Well-Being. Mindfulness, 6, 1250-1262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0388-5
Michael, S. T. (2000). Hope Conquers Fear: Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks. In C. R. Snyder (Ed.), Handbook of Hope: Theory, Measures, and Applications (pp. 301-319). New York: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012654050-5/50018-X
Mowrer, O. H. (1960). Learning Theory and Behavior. New York, NY: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1037/10802-000
Paterson, A. T., Luthans, F., & Jeung, W. (2013). Thriving at Work: Impact of Psychological Capital and Supervisor Support. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 434-446. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1907
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Peterson, S. J., & Byron, K. (2008). Exploring the Role of Hope in Job Performance: Results from Four Studies. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 785-803. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.492
Pruyser, P. W. (1987). Maintaining Hope in Adversity. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 51, 463-474.
Rego, A., Sousa, F., Marques, C., & Cunha, M. P. (2012). Authentic Leadership Promoting Employees’ Psychological Capital and Creativity. Journal of Business Research, 65, 429-437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.003
Rego, A., Sousa, F., Marques, C., & Cunha, M. P. (2014). Hope and Positive Affect Mediating the Authentic Leadership and Creativity Relationship. Journal of Business Research, 67, 200-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.10.003
Rego, A., Sousa, F., Marques, C., Pina, E., & Cunha, M. P. (2012). Retail Employees’ Self-Efficacy and Hope Predicting Their Positive Affect and Creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 21, 923-945. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2011.610891
Reichard, J. R., Avey, B. J., Lopez, S., & Dollwet, M. (2013). Having the Will and Finding the Way: A Review and Meta-Analysis of Hope at Work. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.800903
Reis, D., & Hoppe, A. (2015). Change in Affective Well-Being on Change in Perceived Job Characteristics: The Mediating Role of Hope. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88, 19-40. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12076
Roche, M., Haar, J. M., & Luthans, F. (2014). The Role of Mindfulness and Psychological Capital on the Well-Being of Leaders. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19, 476-489. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037183
Santilli, S., Nota, L., Ginevra, M. C., & Soresi, S. (2014). Career Adaptability, Hope and Life Satisfaction in Workers with Intellectual Disability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85, 67-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.02.011
Scioli, A., Ricci, M., Nyugen, T., & Scioli, E. R. (2011). Hope: Its Nature and Measurement. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 3, 78-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020903
Sezgin, F., & Erdogan, O. (2015). Academic Optimism, Hope and Zest for Work as Predictors of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Perceived Success. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15, 7-19. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.1.2338
Sharabi, A., Sade, S., & Margalit, M. (2016). Virtual Connections, Personal Resources, Loneliness, and Academic Self-Efficacy among College Students with and without LD. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 31, 376-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1141542
Snyder, C. R. (1994). Hope and Optimism. Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, 2, 535-542.
Snyder, C. R. (1995). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Nurturing Hope. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 355-360. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1995.tb01764.x
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249-275. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01
Snyder, C. R., Cheavens, J., & Michael, S. T. (1999). Hoping. In C. R. Snyder (Ed.), Coping: The Psychology of What Works (pp. 205-231). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., & Harney, P. (1991). The Will and the Ways: Development and Validation of an Individual-Differences Measure of Hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570-585. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570
Snyder, C. R., LaPointe, A. B., Jeffrey Crowson, J., & Early, S. (1998). Preferences of High- and Low-Hope People for Self-Referential Input. Cognition & Emotion, 12, 807-823. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999398379448
Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J., Shorey, H. S., Rand, K. L., & Feldman, D. B. (2003). Hope Theory, Measurements, and Applications to School Psychology. School Psychology Quarterly, 18, 122-139. https://doi.org/10.1521/scpq.18.2.122.21854
Snyder, C. R., Shorey, H. S., Cheavens, J., Pulvers, K. M., Adams, V. H., & Wiklund, C. (2002). Hope and Academic Success in College. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 820-826. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.4.820
Stotland, E. (1969). The Psychology of Hope. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Strauss, K., Niven, K., McClelland, C., & Cheung, B. (2014). Hope and Optimism in the Face of Change: Contributions to Task Adaptivity. Journal of Business Psychology, 30, 733-745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9393-2
Sun, T., Zhao, X. W., Yang, L. B., & Fan, L. H. (2012). The Impact of Psychological Capital on Job Embeddedness and Job Performance among Nurses: A Structural Equation Approach. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68, 69-79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05715.x
Sung, Y., Turner, L. S., & Kaewchinda, M. (2011). Career Development Skills, Outcomes, and Hope among College Students. Journal of Career Development, 40, 127-145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845311431939
Valero, D., Hirschi, A., & Strauss, K. (2015). Hope in Adolescent Careers: Mediating Effects of Work Motivation on Career Outcomes in Swiss Apprentices. Journal of Career Development, 42, 381-395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845314566866
Valle, M. F., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2006). An Analysis of Hope as a Psychological Strength. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 393-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.03.005
Wang, H., Sui, Y., Luthans, F., Wang, D., & Wu, Y. (2014). Impact of Authentic Leadership on Performance: Role of Followers’ Positive Psychological Capital and Relational Processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 5-21. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1850
Woodbury, C. A. (1999). The Relationship of Anxiety, Locus of Control and Hope to Career Indecision of African American Students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 59, 4072.