Industrial and organizational psychologists work in four main contexts: academia, government, consulting firms, and business. The field of I-O psychology can be divided into three broad areas Figure 1 and Figure 2 : industrial, organizational, and human factors.
Industrial psychology is concerned with describing job requirements and assessing individuals for their ability to meet those requirements. In addition, once employees are hired, industrial psychology studies and develops ways to train, evaluate, and respond to those evaluations. As a consequence of its concern for candidate characteristics, industrial psychology must also consider issues of legality regarding discrimination in hiring.
Organizational psycholog y is a discipline interested in how the relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business. This includes studying worker satisfaction, motivation, and commitment.
As a result of its interest in worker wellbeing and relationships, organizational psychology also considers the subjects of harassment, including sexual harassment, and workplace violence. These studies can involve interactions as straightforward as the fit of a desk, chair, and computer to a human having to sit on the chair at the desk using the computer for several hours each day. They can also include the examination of how humans interact with complex displays and their ability to interpret them accurately and quickly.
In Europe, this field is referred to as ergonomics. Figure 1. Figure 2. Human factors psychology is the study of interactions between humans, tools, and work systems. This site also offers several I-O psychologist profiles.
You can also visit Psychology. Occupational health psychology OHP deals with the stress, diseases, and disorders that can affect employees as a result of the workplace. As such, the field is informed by research from the medical, biological, psychological, organizational, human factors, human resources, and industrial fields.
The responses for employees are not limited to the workplace as there may be some spillover into their personal lives outside of work, especially if there is not good work-life balance. The ultimate goal of an occupational health psychologist is to improve the overall health and well-being of an individual, and, as a result, increase the overall health of the organization Society for Occupational Health Psychology, In , the field of humanitarian work psychology HWP was developed as the brainchild of a small group of I-O psychologists who met at a conference.
Realizing they had a shared set of goals involving helping those who are underserved and underprivileged, the I-O psychologists formally formed the group in and have approximately members worldwide.
Although this is a small number, the group continues to expand. The group seeks to help marginalized members of society, such as low-income individuals, find work. In addition, they help to determine ways to deliver humanitarian aid during major catastrophes.
The Humanitarian Work Psychology group can also reach out to those in the local community who do not have the knowledge, skills, and abilities KSAs to be able to find gainful employment that would enable them to not need to receive aid. In both cases, humanitarian work psychologists try to help the underserved individuals develop KSAs that they can use to improve their lives and their current situations.
When ensuring these underserved individuals receive training or education, the focus is on skills that, once learned, will never be forgotten and can serve individuals throughout their lifetimes as they seek employment APA, The table below summarizes the main fields in I-O psychology, their focuses, and jobs within each field.
Industrial and organizational psychology had its origins in the early 20th century. Some of these researchers had been involved in work in the area of industrial psychology before World War I. Scott was one of the first psychologists to apply psychology to advertising, management, and personnel selection.
They are the first books to describe the use of psychology in the business world. In addition to their academic positions, these researchers also worked directly for businesses as consultants.
When the United States entered World War I in April , the work of psychologists working in this discipline expanded to include their contributions to military efforts. Today the APA performs a number of functions including holding conferences, accrediting university degree programs, and publishing scientific journals.
They developed the Army Alpha test to measure mental abilities. The Army Beta test was a non-verbal form of the test that was administered to illiterate and non-English-speaking draftees. This manager is responsible for meeting staffing needs in an organization.
One of the major concerns of job applicants is salary and benefit packages. This HR manager is responsible for surveying the industry standards for salary and things like insurance and other benefits to ensure that the company is competitive with others to attract quality applicants. The manager may also work with unions and organizations to determine what constitutes fair compensation for jobs.
Working with unions is also part of the responsibilities of this manager. He or she is involved in negotiations and disputes. The labor relations manager also serves as a liaison between the workers and management to develop labor policies.
This person creates training programs to meet the needs of employees in different departments. Department heads communicate needs to the manager who works to address deficiencies.
This may include upgrading the skills of an individual employee or an entire department. It also pertains to continuing education needs. The Health and Safety HR manager is responsible for being aware of workplace safety laws and OSHA policies to be certain his or her company is in compliance. Industrial-organizational psychology and human resources are similar fields in that both professionals are focused on making an organization an attractive workplace and keeping their employees happy.
Returning to the doctor reference mentioned above, the psychologist is the diagnostic physician and the HR manager is the attending physician or nurse who uses the diagnosis to create and carry out a treatment plan. Two major differences between the two professionals are the salaries and the educational requirements. When they are brought in as consultants, their research provides the HR manager with a framework upon which to build compensation and benefit packages, design trainings, create teambuilding exercises and more.
While an HR manager may handle all the issues addressed by the psychologist, they will do so from a different vantage point. HR management degrees are primarily business degrees.
They look at many employee problem areas from the standpoint of profit-loss and while psychology backgrounds are extremely useful, their attention is mainly upon the success of the company.
This is where the input of the IO psychologist is important because it looks at problems through the lens of motivation, reward, and personality. The psychologist uses tools like personality and behavioral assessments, psychometric testing and other methodology which may not be part of the managers skill set, to help design programs and procedures that will make workers happier and more productive in the workplace.
Plus, while the HR manager is concerned with day-to-day workplace stability and growth, the psychologist focuses on using research to suggest and design new programs that will address corporate deficiencies. They understand that most workplace problems aside from things like supply chain issues, cashflow and other solely business problems arise from individual worker issues that affect the whole company.
The projected job growth, according to the U. As the economy continues to grow, businesses will continue to look for qualified employees and ways to make the workplace an attractive place to work, which can put these jobs in demand.
Careers in industrial-organizational psychology and human resources can be rewarding as well as challenging for an individual who wants to play a role in helping make an organization as profitable as possible. AD organizationalpsychologydegrees. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us.
This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. Experience usually required: Graduate to a few years of experience depending on role. Specialized Recruitment Consultant : Same as Standard Recruitment Consultant except requires use of specialist field knowledge judgment when recruiting.
Experience usually required: At least 12 months experience in the specialized field. Roles require technical knowledge including IT, science, and engineering. Experience usually required: A few years experience working in a standard HRM recruitment role. Experience usually required: Many years experience working in a HRM role in a large corporate or professional services environment. Senior HR Services Consultant : Involves empowering managers in the uptake of HR initiatives and development of existing practical and progressive HR and people management strategies.
Experience usually required: Extensive number of years experience working in recruitment in a corporate environment. Recruitment Coordinator : Requires understanding of business and the ability to cultivate an environment of trust and collaboration.
Experience usually required: A few years experience working in HR recruitment in a management role.
0コメント