Recent meta-analyses of positive organizational psychology interventions (POPIs) suggest that interventions that target and improve hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (HERO) can be highly effective at improving well-being and positive functioning at work. However, many studies to date have been conducted with samples from the US and other Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies, which raise the concern about the generalizability of theory-driven POPIs. The aim of this study was to examine if the underlying mechanism of one of the most successful POPIs to date, positive psychological capital (PsyCap) based on the HERO model, predicts positive functioning at work across diverse geographical regions and cultures. Using Qualtrics Panel data collected from 3860 employees across 15 nations (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States), we found that PsyCap is strongly associated with workplace proactivity, proficiency, adaptivity, and overall work performance across all 15 nations. The results suggest that efforts to develop PsyCap may be effective across national cultures and could be a robust approach for enhancing positive functioning in the global workplace.

Behavioral performance indicators linked to traits of adaptability and proactivity have been increasingly promoted in workplace management initiatives as predictors of high performance and employee potential (Grant and Ashford, 2008; Griffin et al., 2007). While these behaviors have been found to be helpful heuristics in Western workplace research samples, additional insight would help managers understand how they vary across geographical regions amidst rapidly expanding multinational markets. This study aimed to examine the relationship between workplace performance behaviors of adaptability and proactivity across diverse geographical regions, including North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. Using data gathered from professional employees from global companies, the study sample consisted of 3,860 participants working across 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States). The results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between work performance adaptability and proactivity across countries, though a much smaller effect across groupings based on subsets of high versus low economic gross domestic product (GDP). Implications for talent management approaches to better develop these constructs cross-culturally are discussed.

This chapter discusses the relevance and role of structural racism and equity, critical race theory, and social justice perspectives in evaluation. We also suggest opportunities for formally educating the next generation of evaluators about ways to identify and address these topics in practice. One of the ways our field can remediate a long history of relegating the importance of these topics is by revamping evaluator training with expanded pedagogy that includes self‐reflection about positionality, and experiential activities aimed at cultivating evaluators who are better equipped to address pressing justice, disparity, and social and public health issues in contemporary global evaluation practice.