Theory and Practice of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Introduction

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, or IOP, is a section of science that deals with a specific area of human behavior: the area of their work lives. The goal is to better understand and optimize the effectiveness of both the workforce and the organization (Rogelberg, 2017).

This is done through researching and consulting in several different main areas:

1. Team and organizational effectiveness;
2. Employee recruitment, retention and promotion;
3. Measuring and testing individual differences and abilities;
4. Training and development;
5. Performance management;
6.  Workplace health;
7. Employee attitudes, motivation and satisfaction;
8. Compensation and benefits;
9. Effective communication;
10. Change management
11. Employee discipline (Rogelberg, 2017).

Industrial and Organizational Psychology is both a science and a practice, meaning that  Industrial and Organizational Psychologists research for better understanding of the above topics, then they  put new methods into place to achieve certain goals within the organizational setting (Rogelberg, 2017).

The intent of this paper is to discuss the current beliefs, assumptions, and understandings about Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and how they tie into the topic of work life balance and work life conflict. This will more clearly define this area and outline where areas for future research and understanding lay (Rogelberg, 2017).

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

 Industrial and Organizational Psychology can be traced back as far as 1913 when Hugo Münsterberg advocated that the purpose of a new applied psychology was to connect laboratory science with the problems of business. During the late 19^th and early 20^th century, the main objectives were to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and decrease costs through standardization and simplification (Rogelberg, 2017). Therefore researchers such as Frederick Taylor and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth addressed these objectives by investigating and designing work to improve efficiency. Through the use of time and motion studies, a precedent was established for scientists to enter organizations creating the concept of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Rogelberg, 2017). In 1915 Lillian Gilbreth was the first individual to complete a doctoral dissertation on the application of psychology to the work of classroom teachers (Rogelberg, 2017). Today, the field has grown and gained extensive recognition. Membership in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the principal professional organizational of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, has increased more than 65% since 1991. Attendance at the annual SIOP conference has increased 400% in the last 20 years and is now approaching 4,000 attendees. Arguably, I/O is the fastest growing area of psychology (Rogelberg, 2017).

 As the concept of maximizing worker efficiency and productivity is further recognized as one of the most cost effective was of achieving organizational success, Industrial and Organizational Psychology will continue to grow over the next space of time.

Figure 1. History of Organizational Psychology (gradschools.com)

 As stated above, there are roughly eleven areas that Industrial and Organizational Psychologists focus on when practicing and studying Industrial and Organizational Psychology. The first of those involves working with groups or teams. When employees work in teams, challenges can arise. The goal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology is to help groups be cohesive (Rogelberg, 2017). Aside from a concern with what leads group members to remain with a group, the interest in group cohesiveness is also inspired by the assumption that more cohesive groups function better, at least in part because members of more cohesive groups presumably are more willing to exert themselves on behalf of the group. Evidence for this proposition is mixed, however. To address this issue, Brian Mullen and Carolyn Copper (1994) integrated the results of many studies on the relationship between group cohesiveness and group performance. Their conclusion is that group cohesiveness may better be viewed as a construct with different aspect, and that the aspect of cohesiveness that has to do with group members’ commitment to task performance and goal achievement is the most important in predicting group performance (Mullen & Copper, 1994).

 As employees are often considered the heart of the organization, another goal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology is to help with employee recruitment, retention and possible promotion. Although in simpler terms, these are technically Human Resource tasks, Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are able to help with areas such as defining effective selection and assessment processes, and also employee succession planning (Rogelberg, 2017). The next stage in this process is a keener awareness that leaders are critical, but there are other pivotal talent pools that must be acquired, developed, and managed proactively to achieve and sustain competitive advantage in a dynamic, global economy (Fulmer & Congers, 2004). In fact, a whole new Human Resource decision science is beginning to emerge that provides theory and tools for tying business strategy to talent pool identification, development, and investment (Fulmer & Congers, 2004).

Individual differences are overall a good thing for an organization. Mixing and maximizing the various abilities of the employees in the most efficient way is what Industrial and Organizational Psychologists seek to assist with. Teams, groups and organizations can be diverse. This diversity must be harnessed to make it a benefit. Diversity is overall a benefit to teams. Diversity works well when there is a high sense of cognition (Kearney, Gerbert, & Voelpel, 2009). However, if there is a lot of diversity in the form of age, or education level it can cause issues within teams. When teams can achieve cognition, the idea production can increase however as a benefit (Kearney, Gerbert, & Voelpel, 2009). This is what Industrial and Organizational Psychologists seek to assist with.

 Training and Development is another area of Human Resources that Industrial and Organizational Psychology deals with. Training and Development deals with areas that reach from on the job training, to diversity training, to performance feedback and appraisals to training need analysis (Rogelberg, 2017). Performance feedback is critical in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In their Job Characteristics model, Hackman and Oldham (1980) propose that the key to employee motivation lays within the specific job tasks themselves. However, the model also proposes that there are five core job features that serve as motivating factors in a job: “task variety, identity, significance, autonomy and feedback (Hackman & Oldham, 1980).” Feedback should be positive, but it will allow employees to feel involved and give them the direction they need in a positive way (Oldham & Fried, 2016). Performance feedback is a critical component in the area of training and development.

 Leadership management is an important area of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology recognizes several modern leadership theories such as Transitional Leadership, Servant Leadership and Contingency Leadership. Understanding these leadership styles and theories and teaching leaders to become more effective is one goal for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists (Rogelberg, 2017). In addition, it is important that Industrial and Organizational Psychologists not only teach leaders how to be good leaders, but that Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are good leaders. Industrial and Organizational Psychologists should be Transformational Leaders (Rogelberg, 2017). Transformational leadership moves past meeting the current needs s of a group or organization and pushes them towards achievement and growth (Stewart, 2006). It is about constant growth and improvement (Stewart, 2006). Therefore, when Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are working with an organization, this is exactly what Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are trying to help the organization do. Transformational Leaders are commonly associated with the characteristics of creativity, vision, and passion (Stewart, 2006).

 Employee wellbeing, attitudes and motivation are fairly interrelated in the study of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Boredom, burnout, and morale can all affect commitment and productivity (Rogelberg, 2017). The concept of the motivation of the workforce is explained by a simple fact: the motivation of the workforce is directly linked to a human. This means that an organizations productivity and efficiency is controlled ultimately by complex being which creates, consumes, feels, yearns and suffers. Therefore when the workforce is composed of healthy, happy, motivated workers, it can be more productive, and, as such, sustainable over the long term period (Bošković, 2017). In Bošković’s study (2017) he showed that once income is satisfied, these other psychological factors are a company’s best opportunity to increase productivity by increasing job satisfaction. This area is the heart of what makes Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Understanding why people do what they do and feel what they feel, in the workplace.

 Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are often used to help an organization better define or design their Organizational Structure. This is an important aspect of communication as communication is a key element of an organization design (Kottke & Agars, 2007). Organizational structure refers to the formal and informal manner in which people, job tasks, and other organizational resources are configured and coordinated (Kottke & Agars, 2007). Although organizational structure sounds like a singular characteristic, it is composed of a number of dimensions, because there are multiple ways the employees within an organization and the job tasks that are carried out can be structured. Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are often tasked with consulting on the Organizational Structure because facilitating the communication throughout the organization can be the most challenging aspect (Kottke & Agars, 2007).

 While much of Industrial and Organizational Psychology deals with growing and developing and protecting employees and leaders in one aspect or another, Industrial and Organizational Psychologists also assist in the issue of undesirable employee behavior (Rogelberg, 2017). Again, Industrial and Organizational Psychology deals with why employees do what they do at work. So, undesirable employee behavior needs more than discipline, it needs understanding and prevention. Prevention cannot be attained without understanding. Undesirable behavior spans from absenteeism to bullying to theft. Prevention is key however, discipline is often needed as well. Undesirable behavior can be dealt with in a positive manner that hopefully will lead both the employee and the organization through a growth and learning experience (Rogelberg, 2017).

 Employee wellbeing is a crucial aspect of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. As burnout can affect motivation, keeping employees healthy mentally and physically is an important task for organizations wanting to maximize efficiency (Rogelberg, 2017). In addition, absenteeism as discussed above can be prevented by simply increasing overall employee wellbeing. According to the American Psychological Association–commissioned annual Stress in America survey, in 2014, work was the second leading source of stress reported by 60% of all qualified respondents (Sharp, 2017). A wide variety of work-related environmental conditions and occupational stressors affect the well-being of employees. These work-related factors trigger a stress response characterized by the activation of the body’s physiological systems that prepare it for fight or flight (Sharp, 2017). Some occupational stressors may be intrinsic to the job, such as excessive workload and work pace, abnormally long work hours, shift work, or harmful environmental and ergonomic conditions. This stress can have physiological, psychological and behavioral consequences on employees (Sharp, 2017).

 Another aspect of well-being that Industrial and Organizational Psychologists seek to protect is security at work (Rogelberg, 2017). That may be job security or it may be physical safety and protection from workplace bullying.  Although security can be considered a subjective term, employees need security, it is a basic human need and if it is unmet in the workplace, there will be consequences to employee commitment and productivity (Rogelberg, 2017).

 Wellbeing is a broad area that Industrial and Organizational Psychologists deal with. It is also an area that provides a lot of room for future research and understanding. Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are not medical doctors, however they do seek to protect the wellbeing of employees in the workplace in as many ways as possible. In addition, they seek to protect the organization from the consequences that follow along with not protecting that employee wellbeing (Rogelberg, 2017). Burnout, as a prime example of something that can massively affect wellbeing, can be managed and prevented when it is well understood. One reason employees experience burnout, and leave their workplace, is due to their inability to achieve work life balance (Major, 2017). This is an area where there is still room for future research and understanding, if organizations can more effectively help their employees achieve a positive work life balance they will in turn maximize their own productivity by ensuring they have happy, healthy, motivation and committed workers on staff (Rogelberg, 2017).

Work Life Balance in Industrial and Organizational Psychology

 Work and family are considered the primary domains in a person’s life. The interface between the work and family domains of life is studied across psychology subfields but Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are interested primarily in how interactions between work life and family life, or more broadly the non-work aspects of one’s life, influence important individual and organizational outcomes (Major, 2017).

 Work life conflict has become an increasingly discussed issue as the need for dual income households has risen in the past several years. Dual-career couples have been increasing in number, particularly in industrialized nations, over the past several decades (Major, 2017). Part of this increase can be attributed to societal shifts in gender roles, in that traditional families in which the husband is the breadwinner and the wife is the homemaker are becoming less common (Major, 2017). Another contributing factor is the increase in the number of women entering the workforce and the increase in the number of women pursuing advanced degrees. Dual career families are more common and there are some implication of this trend that are affecting organizations as well as their employees (Major, 2017).

 One of the most widely noted challenges for dual-career families is that it can be mentally and physically draining if both partners are pursuing careers and also managing family and life role obligations. The theoretical concept describing this phenomenon is work-family conflict, in which role pressures from work and family roles are mutually incompatible in some respect, and this incompatibility leads to decreased performance (Major, 2017). Work-family conflict can be time based, when the time spent in one role decreases the time available for another domain; strain based, when strain felt as a result of one role is negatively affecting performance in another domain; or behavior based, when behaviors transferred from one domain to another hinder performance in the other domain (Major, 2017).

 The alternative to work life conflict is work life balance and this balance is the state workers seek to achieve. Work life balance applies to all workers not just dual income households and not just workers with families at home. However, research has shown that these factors make it harder for workers to achieve work life balance (Laurijssen & Glorieux, 2013). Although there is widespread agreement on the desirability of work–life balance, scholars are not consistent in the way they define it. Early conceptualizations of work–life balance treated it as the absence of work–life conflict, a perspective less popular today. Researchers have also treated work–life balance as indicative of equally high involvement in work and non-work roles. At present, the notion of equal role investments has been supplanted by the idea that what constitutes balance is more individually determined (Major, 2017). In other words, work life balance isn’t a science, it’s a perception. Each individual defining their own concept of this balance.

 Numerous antecedents of work–life conflict have been studied. Research shows that work stressors, lack of control or unpredictability in work routines or scheduling, long work hours, high work demands, and job stress are all associated with greater work–life conflict (Major, 2017). Work–life conflict also tends to be greater for those who have more children, younger children, high caregiving demands such as elderly parents or chronically ill children, little family support, and high family stress. Often, however, antecedents do not have simple direct effects on work–life conflict. For example, although long work hours are generally associated with greater work–family conflict, this is especially the case when an individual is required to work more hours than desired (Major, 2017).

 This is where Industrial and Organizational Psychcologists get concerned with work life balance. When employees have work life conflict, it affects their wellbeing overall. Employee turnover is becoming an increasingly known consequence of work life conflict. Oludayo, Falola, Obianuju, and Demilade (2018) showed that work life balance can predict employee behaviors, one of those behaviors being turnover intention. The study concluded that factors such as work leave arrangement, employee time out, flexible working arrangements, social support and dependent care can all be predictors of behavioral outcomes within the workplace (Oludayo, Falola, Obianuju & Demilade, 2018). The authors concluded their study by suggesting to managers that encouraging and supporting employees in achieving work life balance managers will help inspire acceptable workplace behaviors and decrease turnover rates (Oludayo, Falola, Obianuju & Demilade, 2018). Identifying what will most help managers assist their employees with achieving work life balance is the role of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

 As work life balance is an objective perception of the individual solutions are not often one size fits all for organizations and employees. This is the area that needs future research in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. We need to better understand the various factors that can affect work life balance for employees, and how altering these factors can make a more positive or negative difference on the employees’ perception of this balance.

Summary

 Industrial and Organizational Psychology is no longer a new area of science. It is fully recognized as a viable and needed study and practice. As society and working trends evolve, the area of Industrial and Organizational Psychology will evolve along with it to meet current needs.

 Employees are the heart of any organization. They are the workforce, therefore maximizing their productivity is the goal of all organizations. This doesn’t need to be a costly endeavor. Simply understanding the employees and what makes them perform as they do, will allow organizations to harness their strength and avoid their weaknesses. Meeting the needs of employees is far less challenging when the needs and the priority of the needs is understood. In addition, familiarization with the consequences of an unsatisfied workforce is pivotal in avoiding undesirable behaviors and effects.

 While, behaviors, communication, retention, training, leadership, compensation, performance and diversity management are all areas Industrial and Organizational Psychologists seek to research and improve practice in, well-being is perhaps the area that needs the most future attention. The work has evolved and it is clearly recognized that workers should be healthy in order to be productive. That health incorporates both their physiological and mental needs.

 Work life balance is not a new concept, however it is becoming more recognized as a key area that must be protected in order for employees to perform in their most productive state while in the workplace.  Existing research has shown how some factors can affect work life balance for employees, but it has also show that balance is not affected equally by these various factors across the board. This is certainly an important area for future research- the continuous defining of these factors and their specific effect on the perception of work life balance.

References

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