Lecure 1

Why do people work?

For money? Would people still work if they did not need the money? If you became an instant millionaire.. would you still work?

Work Values

Intrinsic Values

▪ Interesting work ▪ Challenging work ▪ Learning new things ▪ Making important contributions ▪ Responsibility and autonomy ▪ Being creative

Extrinsic Values

▪ Pay ▪ Social contacts ▪ Status in wider community

Organizations can serve different work values

What is I-O psychology?

I-O psychology applies psychological principles, theory, and research to the work setting (p. 4-5)

Scientists who derive principles of individual, group, and organizational behavior through research. They are employed at (semi-)public organizations (e.g., universities, TNO) and private organizations. 21 What is I-O Psychology? Consultants and staff psychologists who develop scientific knowledge and apply it to the solution of problems at work. They are employed in (semi-) public and private organizations and consulting companies.

Teachers who train in the research and application of I-O psychology.

Consultants and staff psychologists who develop scientific knowledge and apply it to the solution of problems at work. They are employed in (semi-) public and private organizations and consulting companies.

Industrial-organizational psychology helps develop strategies that build better organizations

An I-O Psychologist can help organizations with:

1. Staffing and workforce development (Personnel or Industrial Psychology)

2. Enhancing motivation, team effectiveness, and organizational development (Organizational Psychology)

3. Work design and workplace climate issues (Human Engineering)

Common issues:

-employment discrimination

-psychosocial or physical health

-concept of ‘work-life balance’

-the ‘new world of work’

Special issues:

-sports

-humanitarian

-conflict areas

- special assessment

Scientist-Practitioner Model : Using scientific tools and research in the practice of I-O psychology (vs. relying on “best practices” or experience)

•Selection and placement

•Training and development

•Organizational development

•Performance measurement

•Quality of worklife

•Engineering psychology

The bottom line in any organization is performance.

26 What is I-O Psychology? Performance (job performance, creativity), motivation, leadership, and well-being are the key dependent variables in the I-O research program at the RuG

Changes in the Workplace since 1980

▪ Personal computing

▪ Telecommuting & virtual teams

▪ Videoconferencing

▪ Service vs. manufacturing

▪ Teams vs. the individual

▪ Little stability

▪ Family-friendly workplaces

▪ Global workplace

▪ Greater diversity

Why study I-O psychology?

Knowledge about I-O psychology pays off for your own professional career, regardless of profession.

▪ I-O psychology applies theories, models, and principles from all areas of psychology.

▪ Studying I-O psychology improves your understanding of how individuals and groups act, think, and feel in organizations.

▪ Our lay theories and beliefs about I-O psychology may be false, or may be correct only under a narrow set of circumstances.

Think about the similarities and differences about theories.

The Hawthorne Experiments (1927-1933):

The purpose was to investigate how characteristics of the work setting, i.e., intensity of illumination, rest breaks, and work hours, affect worker fatigue and performance.

Hawthorne-effect

The hypothesis: Light intensity affects worker productivity.

The discovery: The presence of the researchers was affecting the results because the employees enjoyed receiving attention and being the subject of study.

Main implications of the Hawthorne effect

■ Psychological and social factors are important in explaining employees’ job performance ---> Human Relations Movement

■ Afterwards, the scientific value of the Hawthorne studies has been criticized. However, the studies are still considered the major impetus behind the emphasis on understanding and dealing with human resources.

Why conduct I-O psychology research?

▪ Don’t think of theories in terms of “right” or “wrong”.

▪ Think of theories as either “helpful” or “not helpful”.

▪ Theories, models, or approaches complement each other.

▪ There is NO one “right” or “only” solution for (I-O) problems.

The contingency approach:

The effectiveness of any person, trait, or strategy often depends on the situation.

I-O psychologists specify situation-type variables (contingency factors, conditions, or moderators) that permit certain traits and behaviors to be effective within a given organizational context.

Fiedler (1968) was the first who explained leader behavior from a contingency perspective. Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership: Argues that the effectiveness of leader style depends on the kind of situation the leader is dealing with.

Fiendler’s contingency theory:

Effectiveness depends on the interaction of leader style and three situational characteristics:

■ Fiedler identified two distinct leader styles: relationshiporiented versus task-oriented.

■ Situational characteristics (contingency factors):

1. Leader-member relations (good versus poor).

2. Task structure (structured versus unstructured).

3. Position power (strong versus weak).

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Contingency factors, conditions or moderators.

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• Which leader style is most effective?

• Why are people motivated to join an organization?

• Why do people feel good or bad about their jobs?

• Why do people feel good or bad about being part of an organization?

• Why do some people perform well and others don’t?

• Why do some people stay with the same organization for 30 years whereas others seem to be constantly dissatisfied and change jobs every two years?

• Why do some employees care more about leader fairness than others?

•Etc…

Clinical and Health Psychology

World Health Organization: 15-30% of workers will experience a mental health problem – job stress and depressive disorders are common

Can/should we use the workplace to prevent mental health problems and provide solutions for referral and rehabilitation?