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"Psychologists who specialize in organizational psychology have expertise in how organizational culture and development foster positive experiences for employees at all levels. They can analyze performance and workplace behavior and provide actionable feedback to employers."

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Written by

According to a recent Gallup poll, only one in three employees are engaged at work, a number that has decreased in recent years.

The poll found that 60% of people feel emotionally detached from work, and 19% report feeling miserable. Work-related stress is at an all-time high, with 44% of workers experiencing burdensome stress on a daily basis.

Gallup's study also found that employee disengagement is costing the global economy $7.8 trillion total-in addition to contributing to unhealthy work environments and employee mental health problems. This cost comes from lower productivity due to employee disengagement as well as turnover.

When employees leave frequently, more and more resources must be allocated to recruiting and training new workers. Additionally, if underlying workplace problems cause employees to quit, simply putting new hires into the same system will not fix the problem.

Those employees will be subject to the same problematic working conditions, dissatisfaction, and burnout, and more likely to quit, just like their predecessors.

Occasionally, someone will not be a good fit for a position or environment. However, if you're seeing many new employees leave after less than six months, it's time to look at the internal factors that might be driving employees away or burning them out.

Improving workplace culture and employee satisfaction

Solving this increasing challenge starts with determining problems within the workplace culture, and figuring out the factors that can improve employee wellbeing. The next steps are to mitigate disengagement and improve satisfaction, focusing on the factors that matter to and impact employees directly.

As work-related stress continues to increase, employers need to create an environment that fosters employee wellbeing.

While well-intentioned organizations might try to guess which interventions benefit their employees, this might do more harm than good. For example, the concept of a "work pizza party" has become an internet meme for workplace initiatives that do not actually benefit employees. In 2022, a nurse went viral on social media because her employer gave her a pet rock as an "appreciation" gift.

It's important to understand what initiatives and benefits improve employee wellbeing to avoid coming across as out of touch or condescending to employees.

This is where organizational psychology comes in.

Workplace shifts start at the top

Improving employee benefits, changing expectations, and expressing appreciation in ways that make employees feel valued must all come from positions of leadership.

This is part one of a blog series that will explore aspects of organizational psychology and employee wellbeing. We'll be discussing cultural shifts that can increase engagement and job satisfaction, accommodating and supporting employees, creating a psychologically safe and trauma-informed workplace, and how to support leadership in fostering a healthy work environment.

Let's dive in.

What is organizational psychology?

The American Psychological Association defines organizational psychology as "characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the workplace." Organizational psychology is one-half of the branch of psychology known as Industrial-Organizational psychology, or I-O Psychology.

Industrial considerations include determining what kind of candidate is the best fit for a particular position, and focuses on recruitment. Organizational considerations, on the other hand, look at the job itself, culture within the organization, management, and all the variables that impact how an individual behaves in their role at work.

In other words, how do we behave, interact, and function at work, and what factors contribute to satisfaction, retention, and productivity?

6 Areas of I/O Psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology cover a broad scope that can be broken down into six core components, all of which can be used to understand and improve the workplace:

Economic, Social, and Psychological Aspects: How people behave in the workplace environment and how economic factors contribute to and impact behavior.

Physical Aspects of the Work Environment: The concrete, physical aspects of working conditions, such as how the setup of an office impacts work.

Human Relationships: The impact of leadership's behavior towards employees on productivity and satisfaction.

Aptitudes and Motives: Helping employers understand how employees are motivated, and what incentives can help improve attitudes in the workplace.

Principles of Mental Health: When employees are mentally healthy, they do better work, and their lives are better.

Human Relations: What factors can improve communication and relationships between employees and management.

I/O Psychology Theories

The various components of organizational psychology, including job satisfaction and productivity, are based on academic theories behind human behavior, motivation, and emotion. There is a wealth of research and theory behind I/O psychology, and three theories that apply to performance in the workplace are job characteristics, social exchange, and equity.

Job Characteristics Theory

Job characteristics theory refers to overall job design, and how that impacts an employee's mental state and production. This theory allows leadership to analyze the specific job components that are helping or hindering employees, and what specific changes could improve the work output.

This includes how an employee feels about the specific tasks required by their job, relationships with leadership, and compensation. If an employee is bored by repetitive tasks, experiences excessive demands by management, or is not compensated a living wage, they are likely to have low satisfaction and burnout.

Some components are universal or at least very common. For example, underpaid employees are typically unhappy with their jobs. Other variables may depend on individual preferences, like what an employee likes to do or their personal strengths as they relate to the work environment.

Social Exchange Theory

According to social exchange theory, human relationships are built on an analysis of the costs and benefits of being in that relationship. If someone feels like they are putting too much effort into a relationship or the effort they exert is not reciprocated, they are likely to pull back or stop putting in their own emotional labor.

Of course, this applies to interpersonal relationships, including friendships and marriages, and it also applies to people's performance at a job. Employees who feel appreciated, respected, and rewarded for their hard work invest more into their work.

This theory is particularly relevant in a world where many have the option to start their own business. Employees may ask themselves, "What benefit does this job give me that I couldn't get working for myself?"

Equity Theory

Equity theory is exactly what it sounds like: humans are motivated by a sense of fairness and justice. Everyone has a mental calculator of the effort they put into jobs, tasks, relationships, etc, and what they feel they get in return.

If the ratio shifts, and an individual feels like they're putting in more than they're receiving, they're likely to feel dissatisfied or reduce their effort.

Why is organizational psychology important for the workplace?

Psychologists who specialize in organizational psychology have expertise in how organizational culture and development foster positive experiences for employees at all levels. They can analyze performance and workplace behavior and provide actionable feedback to employers.

In addition to these steps, organizational psychology focuses on ethics in the workplace. In a capitalistic society, it can be tempting to emphasize profits over everything else, but when you employ real human beings, you must also treat employees ethically. This will not only help them work harder for you, but it is the right thing to do.

Organizational psychology addresses both current employees and potential employees, recruitment tactics, training, productivity measures, quality of life at work and at home, and the impact on the organization's customers.

While there are overarching concepts, such as understanding what benefits tend to increase satisfaction, it is important to determine what individualized changes and interventions will benefit a specific organization.

It may be worthwhile to hire a professional consultant to analyze your workplace's culture and employee needs. They can provide concrete changes that will bring the most benefit to your workers.

Examples of organizational psychology in practice

Businesses can implement organizational psychology in various ways, depending on the company's values and goals. These interventions can improve satisfaction, reduce turnover, and increase productivity.

Organizational psychology can involve measuring employee satisfaction, determining what changes could make employees happier with their jobs, or decrease challenges or things they dislike about their roles.

It can also determine barriers to performance-figuring out what might be preventing employees from doing their best work-and identify accommodations that can improve procedures. Plus, it helps employers identify what kind of employee would be the best fit for each job and effectively recruit candidates who will perform best in the role.

How can organizational psychology help effectively support employees?

At the most obvious level, organizational psychology assesses the factors that can improve the organization through employee satisfaction, motivation, and retention. Stephen Covey says, "Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers."

There is a dated mentality that employers don't need to consider their employees' needs and wellbeing, but the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting trends have shown that workers are no longer tolerating poor treatment or substandard working conditions. Forbes and other business news outlets have called for re-evaluation of how businesses view and treat their employees.

It sounds simple: treat workers well so they want to keep doing good work for you.

This not only benefits your bottom line, but it means treating your employees ethically and appropriately. In other words, yes, an emphasis on organizational psychology can help profits, and it does right by your employees.
Employee wellbeing begins at work. Here are three ways to develop a workplace that reduces burnout while continually supporting wellbeing.
About the Author

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Dr. Amy Marschall, Spring Health Provider

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How Organizational Psychology Can Improve Workplace Culture and Employee Satisfaction - Spring Health

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Written by According to a recent Gallup poll, only one in three employees are engaged at work, a number that has decreased in recent years. The poll found that 60% of people feel emotionally detached from work, and 19% report feeling miserable.

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"As an organizational psychologist who's been researching and advising leaders on workplace well-being for years, there are many practices that promote well-being, require minimal time and resources, and actually improve workplace productivity."

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Key points

While underestimating how much employees are struggling, leaders are having a hard time too.

Leaders need to make it safe for employees to talk about stuggling in the workplace

Leaders can cultivate flourishing in the workplace by making simple changes.

Tell your employees how they matter: Do your employees know how their work contributes to the overall goals of the team or the organization? If you have hired an employee, they play some role in contributing to the overall success of the company.

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While underestimating how much employees are struggling, leaders are having a hard time too. Leaders need to make it safe for employees to talk about stuggling in the workplace Leaders can cultivate flourishing in the workplace by making simple changes.

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COVID-19 and the future of work and organisational psychology

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COVID-19 and the future of work and organisational psychology

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Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

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Caroline Knight, Sharon K. Parker, and Anita C. Keller

Never before have so many people been forced to work from home so rapidly. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, how, where, and when work is done has changed massively in the space of weeks, often with little planning. It is not hard to imagine some of the challenges workers have faced: new routines need to be established; some people have been home schooling their children during the working day; and partners need to negotiate home working space. Further, some workers are worried they will lose their job and become part of the large and growing numbers of unemployed. ¹ It is therefore imperative to understand the mental health of people working from home and how to design such work to be healthy.

Even beyond the current situation, it is crucial to understand how to design remote work to protect and enhance worker well-being. Many companies are now jumping on the "flexible work bandwagon" because they have realized such practices can be effective. To ensure such flexible working is sustainable into the future, it is important to ensure they are designed to be psychologically healthy.
Psychological Distress During COVID-19
Preliminary results from a large study we launched in Australia revealed shocking results (Figure 1). During late April and early May 2020, well over one-third (39.3%, N = 301) of all participants working from home most days of the week (N = 798) reported high or very high levels of psychological distress. This is over triple the amount of people that the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports experiencing such distress in Australia in 2018 (13%). ²

Figure 1: Percentage of population experiencing high or very high psychological distress in Australia ². Note: Data from 2014-15, and 2018 were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics²; current data ("Now") was obtained from our study in April/May 2020; in the current study, a small minority of participants (N = 90) were from countries other than Australia.

Of course, many factors are likely to be contributing to this high distress, including general worries about the impact of COVID-19 on health and the economy. But given that work is a big part of our lives and has massively changed in recent weeks, is any of this distress related to the quality of people's work and their work arrangements while working from home?
Work and Psychological Distress
Some people thrive when working from home, appreciating the zero commute and greater autonomy to pace their own work. But the results we recently collected (April/May 2020) also show that some people are not thriving. We identified six aspects of work that were significantly and strongly correlated with poor psychological distress: technological issues, close monitoring/distrust; underload; job security; poor communication; and work-home interference. These work characteristics together predicted 48% of the variance in psychological distress after important demographics that could impact the results were taken into account (age & gender).

These work characteristics can help us understand why some people are experiencing such distress at this time and how improving work might be a powerful pathway to better mental health now and into the future. These predictors remained important even when experience working from home was taken into account, suggesting that both those new to home working, and those familiar with it, are experiencing these issues.
Predictor #1: Technological Hassles
We've all been there - the computer screen freezes, the audio disappears during a virtual meeting, the picture goes fuzzy and is out of sync with the audio - the number of things that can and do go wrong with the technology we use can sometimes seem endless. Problems like these are known to contribute to work stress and feeling frustrated. ³ In our sample, 6.4% (N = 50) of those working from home most of the time reported high or very high problems with technology, and this increased to 13.6% for those also experiencing high or very high distress.
Predictor #2: Close Monitoring and Distrust by One's Manager
11.7% of our participants commonly reported that they did not feel trusted by their manager to work from home. This increased greatly, to 25.9% for those experiencing high or very high distress. 18.5 % of this distressed group also reported feeling closely monitored by their manager. For example, 21.8% of these people agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that their manager was "always looking over my shoulder." When individuals perceive that they are being closely managed, they experience a lack of autonomy to carry out their job when, where, and how they choose. Yet established research shows that autonomy is important for well-being and work performance. 4, 5, 6 In our sample, 2.5% did not agree, or disagreed strongly, that they were able to choose their work schedule, and this increased to 5.3% for those experiencing high or very high distress.
Predictor #3: Underload
Not having enough to do at work, or being "underloaded," is increasingly being recognized as a reason for stress and low job satisfaction. ⁷ In our sample, 6.2% (N = 48) of the sample reported high or very high underload, which increased to 12% for those experiencing high or very high distress. Some people might be finding that they cannot carry out some tasks or job roles from home, such as checking office stocks and supplies, taking a shift on reception, or conducting health and safety checks. Not having enough to do, yet being expected to work, is a recipe for stress.
Predictor #4: Job insecurity
Job insecurity is currently particularly heightened for some home workers, who also report very high distress. The economy is suffering, and if people still have a job, they are likely to be worried about losing that job and the likelihood of obtaining replacement employment. In our sample, 9% (N = 44) reported high or very high job insecurity, which increased to 21.6% for those experiencing high or very high distress, with 26.4% (N = 49) of these people specifically believing they will "soon lose their job" and 33% (N = 61) feeling "uncertain about the future of their job."
Predictor #5: Poor Communication Through Technology
Honing the skill of communication through various different technological mediums is a necessary rite of passage for home workers. All too easily, a sender's seemingly innocuous message may be perceived differently by the recipient. ³ This problem was evident in our results, with 9.7% of our participants working from home most of the time reporting a high or very high amount of miscommunication through means such as email, Teams, and Zoom. This included perceiving that they had received rude electronic messages from colleagues and/or clients, or that others misinterpreted their own messages. For those experiencing high or very high distress, 14% agreed that miscommunication was high or very high.
Predictor #6: Work-Home Interference
Enforced working from home during the COVID-19 period meant that families were thrust together 24/7, with none of the usual daily childcare, school, and commuting routines that usually help carve out separate space for work and family. This meant that partners needed to negotiate working space, children needed to be simultaneously cared for and home schooled while working, and the boundaries between work and home merged. Research has established that such work-home interference has negative consequences for well-being and productivity, ⁸ and this appeared to be the case in our sample also. 13.5% of all those working from home most of the time agreed or strongly agreed that family matters interfered with their work, and this increased to 18.6% for those experiencing high or very high distress. Experience working from home was not related to distress, suggesting that individuals both with and without such experience were equally affected by work-home interference. This could be due to alterations to other family members' routines and schedules meaning that family demands arose that were previously effectively managed (e.g. caring for and homeschooling children) and competed with work demands.

Figure 2: A comparison of the percentage of participants in the whole sample (N = 798), compared to those experiencing high or very high psychological distress (N = 301), who agree or strongly agree that they are experiencing key work-related predictors of psychological distress
How can managers help promote employee well-being when working from home?
Is there anything that can be done about these work pressures that people are facing? Fortunately, a large body of research suggests that work can be designed to be more satisfying, less stressful and more productive 5,6,9. As managers are usually the people designing employees' jobs, they have a key role to play. Some strategies managers could adopt include:

#1: Encouraging employees to craft their jobs to make them more stimulatingManagers can help combat underload by encouraging employees to proactively craft their jobs ⁸ to increase the fit between their jobs and their interests and skills. Job crafting leads to increased engagement in work, better well-being, and performance 10,11,12. For example, encouraging employees to learn new work skills, suggest new projects, or expand the tasks at which they are particularly good.

#2: Encouraging meaningful connections to improve communication and reduce the impact of hassles. Try to understand the issues your employees are experiencing. If technological issues are a concern, try to arrange better IT support. Encourage employees to talk ¹³ to each other about the challenges they are facing in their work, perhaps by setting up a morning tea. Talking about these things openly helps everyone understand that they are not alone and can reveal resolutions and acceptable new ways of working.

#3: Allowing employees flexibility and autonomyAn established body of research has long acknowledged that having control over where, when and how one's work is done is positive for well-being as well as other outcomes, such as performance and productivity 4,5,6,9. The flexibility to choose working hours, for example, could help reduce home-work conflict and enable employees to manage caring and other responsibilities effectively. It also demonstrates that you trust your employees, and that you are willing to support them in managing their home, work, and other demands.

In summary, the key point is that although distress is high, and several work factors related to working from home are likely to be contributing to this, there are things that managers can do to reduce the amount of distress that individuals are experiencing now and into the future, as working from home becomes more and more embedded in working life.

To find out more about this Thrive at Work from Home study and the findings, please click here.

For resources, blogs and video posts to help employees and managers thrive at work from home, please click here.

Meet the research team here.
About the authors Sharon Parker Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design
Sharon is a recipient of the ARC's Kathleen Fitzpatrick Award, and the 2016 Academy of Management OB Division Mentoring Award. Sharon is also a chief investigator in the ARC's Centre of Excellence in Population Aging Research (CEPAR) and leads the Organisations and the Mature Workforce research stream. Sharon's research focuses particularly on job and work design, and she is also interested in proactive behavior, change, well-being, development, and job performance. She has published more than 80 internationally refereed articles, including in top tier journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and the Annual Review of Psychology.
Caroline Knight Chief Investigator, Research Fellow, Centre for Transformative Work Design, Future of Work Institute, Curtin University
Caroline completed her PhD at the Institute of Work Psychology, The University of Sheffield, UK, in 2016. Her research interests surround work design, well-being, job crafting, and research methods. One of Caroline's projects involves co-leading a large longitudinal study, Work Across Life and Careers (WALC), to investigate the changing nature of work and its impact on outcomes such as health, well-being, cognition, memory, and identity. She has published in a number of top-tier management journals, including the Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Human Relations, the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, and the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Anita Keller Co-Investigator, Assistant Professor, Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen
Anita received her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and did her postdoc at Michigan State University, United States. Her research focuses on work design and occupational health psychology, and aims to shed light on how individuals' work experiences interact with their behaviour and well-being over time. Current projects investigate temporal patterns of self-regulation behavior at work and adaptation processes. Her work has been published in a number of top-tier outlets including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Journal of Organizational Behaviour.
From the Learning Resources for Practitioners (LRP) Committee:
Do you have expertise to share to help practitioners and the larger business community adapt during COVID-19 crisis? Feel free to contact Kimberly Adams, LRP Committee Chair, at kadams6006@gmail.com to discuss your idea and submission details. Thanks!

Find related, SIOP-curated resources on the Working Through COVID-19: Guidance for Organizations and Professionals page.

Find resources and advice on topics including work-life balance, worker well-being, managing remote teams, employee motivation and engagement, and organizational agility. New resources are being added on a regular basis.
References ¹ ² https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/F6CE5715FE4AC1B1CA257AA30014C725?Opendocument https://theconversation.com/90-out-of-work-with-one-weeks-notice-these-8-charts-show-the-unemployment-impacts-of-coronavirus-in-australia-136946
⁴Parker, S., Knight, C., & Ohly, S. (2017). The changing face of work design research: Past, present and future directions. In A. Wilkinson, N. A. Bacon, D. Lepak, & S. A. Snell (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of human resource management, 402-413. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

⁷Schaufeli, W., & Salanova, M. (2014). Burnout, boredom and engagement at the workplace. In M. C. W. Peeters, J. d. Jonge, & T. W. Taris (Eds.), An introduction to contemporary work psychology (pp. 293-320). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

⁸Grant, C. A., Wallace, L. M., & Spurgeon, P. C. (2013). An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker's job effectiveness, well‐being and work‐life balance. Employee Relations, 35(5): 527-546.

⁹Knight, C., & Parker, S. K. (2019). How work redesign interventions affect performance: An evidence-based model from a systematic review. Human Relations, 0018726719865604.

¹²Zhang, F., & Parker, S. K. (2019). Reorienting job crafting research: A hierarchical structure of job crafting concepts and integrative review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(2), 126-146. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2332

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Tripled Levels of Poor Mental Health: But There Is Plenty Managers Can Do

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Never before have so many people been forced to work from home so rapidly. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, how, where, and when work is done has changed massively in the space of weeks, often with little planning.

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Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

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I believe that it is our responsibility as organizational psychologists to share evidence-based recommendations for how to navigate a disrupted working world. To provide resources to anyone making the sudden transition to a 100% remote role. To help our HR and business leader partners seeking best practices and interventions that are proven to work. And right now, most remote employees are under an enormous amount of stress.

The job-demands resources model provides empirical evidence for the detrimental effect of workplace stress on our health, productivity and well-being (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Stress is caused by excess demands, which include any aspect of work that require effort and resources to complete and endure. Examples include demanding workloads, unpleasant or insufficient physical environments, and emotionally draining client interactions:

* Is your direct supervisor someone who supports you; has your back?
* Do you have enough time and the right tools to complete your job?

Yes, we have demands as employees, but also as humans working from home. For example:

* Do you have a designated workspace or home office?
* Are you also responsible for childcare? Trying to homeschool between Zoom calls?

Fortunately, we also have resources we can use to buffer or counteract the demands being placed on us in our remote work-life. Job resources refer to any physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects we can use to complete our work, achieve our goals, reduce the effect of remote work-life demands, and promote personal growth, learning, and development.

Examples of resources include:

* Helpful colleagues
* Regularly doing meaningful work
* And emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify and manage emotions in yourself and others. Not only can we use EQ to better manage our remote-work lives, but another beautiful thing about EQ is that it can be improved.
Here are four ways you can use EQ to take care of yourself and others as a remote worker.
Note that the following tips correspond directly to the four quadrants of EQ, shown in this image

1) How to better understand your emotional experience as a remote worker

The interesting thing about stress is that we all have different reactions to various stressors. Sure, certain life events (death of a spouse; divorce) are profoundly more stressfu l for most individuals. But when it comes to our day-to-day working experience, different demands trigger-and therefore stress out-people in different ways. We, therefore, need to have a good understanding of what features of our remote-life situation stress us out the most...so we have the right, personalized resources on hand to overcome or buffer that stress. Resources that meet our individual needs.

Take the time to figure out the unique demands placed on you by your specific remote work-life situation. Then, think through the resources you have available to you. Even better, what resources COULD you have if you exerted the time and effort to cultivate them? For example, daily exercise is proven to combat depression and anxiety. If you are not already exercising daily, why not start now? What's getting in the way?
2) How to use EQ to take care of your body and mind
When it comes to [not] working out, it often feels like it comes down to mind over matter-mentally willing myself to do my morning stretches or complete that 20-minute YouTube workout. But the relationship between body and mind also works the other way around: Working out helps us build our mental and emotional strength as well. It is often intimidating to try to incorporate a new fitness routine, especially if you don't have access to a gym or a yoga studio. I therefore recommend:

* Start small (e.g., a daily 10-minute yoga session rather than a few 60-minute full sessions per week)
* Begin with consistent, daily intentional actions (e.g., doing yoga immediately upon wake up)
* Turn deliberate behaviors into automatic habits (e.g., "I don't think about doing my daily yoga. I just wake up every day and do it.")

Mastering the art of controlling your actions requires the emotional control to behave in alignment with your values and goals, rather than doing whatever feels best in the moment (i.e., not working out).
3) How to use EQ to better understand others in a virtual environment
Humans have evolved to quickly read and interpret non-verbal cues when interacting with others. Is this person telling the truth? Can I trust them? Are they part of my tribe?

This is why it is imperative to use video when trying to understand-and be understood-virtually. Encourage others to turn on their video by going first. Anecdotally, I have about a 95% conversion rate after nudging others to put on their video in response to me joining with mine.

Public service announcement: Beware of Zoom Fatigue. Get up from your desk frequently throughout the day to not only give your body a stretch but your eyeballs a break.
4) How EQ can help us better communicate and collaborate as virtual teams
A basic human need that commonly does NOT get met in virtual work settings is our need for connectedness. Human interaction. #IRL facetime. Although many of us claim to loath small talk and office chit chat, these human-to-human moments are good for our well-being as a communal species. They also help us better perform our job.

Working in a remote role requires that we intentionally create the water cooler conversations we otherwise have naturally in an office setting. I recommend scheduling virtual 1:1 "coffee breaks" with members of your team by doing the following:

* Book 15 minutes in your calendars
* Talk about anything BUT work
* Listen intently
* Share generously (any new playlists or recipes you'd recommend?)
* Meaningfully connect
* Wash, rinse, and repeat
The Learning Doesn't Need to Stop Here
If you like the above four tips and want a deeper dive into any of these best practices, you are in luck. I built a publicly available virtual course on Udemy entitled, "Making Remote Life Work." As a thank you for reading this article, I made a limited number of free vouchers available for anyone who accesses this link from this page:
https://www.mattinglysolutions.com/remote-work
Thank you for coming to SIOP's website and looking to I-O psychology for evidence-based best practices for navigating the current working world. Please come again soon and frequently. Especially as we learn to define the new normal together. Because work will never quite look the same ever again.

Learn more about the author at www.mattinglysolutions.com

From the Learning Resources for Practitioners (LRP) Committee:
Do you have expertise to share to help practitioners and the larger business community adapt during COVID-19 crisis? Feel free to contact Kimberly Adams, LRP Committee Chair, at kadams6006@gmail.com to discuss your idea and submission details. Thanks!

Find more resources for Working Through COVID-19 on SIOP's new Remote Work page .
Find resources and advice on topics including work-life balance, worker well-being, managing remote teams, employee motivation and engagement, and organizational agility. New resources are being added on a regular basis.

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Using emotional intelligence to take care of yourself and others in a virtual world

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Photo by visuals on Unsplash For those of us fortunate to still have jobs in a COVID-19 world, I'm right alongside you, learning how to navigate a 100% remote role in a 100% virtual marketplace. Although we're the lucky ones able to still perform our job during this unprecedented time...it doesn't mean this #remotelife is easy.

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"A qualified I/O psychologist or L&D specialist can develop training programs at the organizational level and job level, as well as a personal level for individual employees. I/Os can add value to L&D initiatives via facilitation of training sessions, defining the need or gaps for a certain initiative, building the learning strategy and framework for a training rollout, developing leadership and/or coaching executives, and providing performance and program metrics."

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A newly assigned senior leader from a leading bank was met with very high resistance from their team. So, they hired a consultant to do an offsite session to train the team members on Team Building. The session started as you might expect - the team members were not involved in the beginning, everybody was serious and standoffish; that is, until the leader had to leave the training session for a " more important thing." Then, everything changed - the team started to laugh, they became more relaxed and open to learning.
What went wrong in the training program?
A very common belief is that if individual behaviors are modified, organizational behavior changes will follow. Employees aren't cooperating enough? Let's train them on the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for being a good team member. The above example may seem unusual, but it isn't. Improper identification of training needs is one of the biggest reasons why training fails. The core issue in this example is not a lack of teamwork, but rather something more profound which wasn't identified initially to have the proper intervention.

Each year in the United States alone, organizations spend about $135 billion in training employees - but all that money may not ultimately improve the workplace as the skills which are trained to may not actually transfer to the job. Focusing not only on improving training and development of employees, but an overall improvement of the training process, in general, will allow for greater adoption of trained skills.
How can an I/O psychologist or Learning and development specialist support an organization?
A qualified I/O psychologist or L&D specialist can develop training programs at the organizational level and job level, as well as a personal level for individual employees. I/Os can add value to L&D initiatives via facilitation of training sessions, defining the need or gaps for a certain initiative, building the learning strategy and framework for a training rollout, developing leadership and/or coaching executives, and providing performance and program metrics.

I/Os or Learning Specialists can create a framework that aligns with an organization's values and competency models and provide a guideline to ensure consistency across all Learning and Development programs. As a result, the organization will benefit from development programs aligned with appropriate career paths.

The positive outcome of the Learning and Development program ultimately lies in adequately diagnosing the hurdles to success. For example, if training programs are ineffective, step back and reassess if the training needs are correctly identified and aligned with the organization's strategy. If training is required, train employees. If the organization's reward system is encouraging the wrong behaviors, change the reward system.

The key is to identify what is preventing the individual and the team from making a difference in performance. Once the obstacle is identified, remove it to achieve higher performance.
SIOP - Role of I/Os in L&D HBR - The Future of Leadership Development HBR - Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development

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Applying I/O psychology in Learning and Development

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A newly assigned senior leader from a leading bank was met with very high resistance from their team. So, they hired a consultant to do an offsite session to train the team members on Team Building.

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"...personality testing has also gotten more rigorous in recent years. Organizational psychologists have developed assessments that are more fair and grounded in research. Some of these tests use the “Big Five” personality traits, which psychologists have found to be consistent across populations: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

“Human behavior is complex, people are complex, situations are complex,” said Ben Dattner, an organizational psychologist and executive coach, noting that studying personalities in all their complexity is still helpful for career development. “Psychometrics can help identify what are some potential areas where a person might need coaching or feedback, or where a person might have blind spots.”

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The $2 Billion Question of Who You Are at Work

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Employers are finding personality tests — measuring how employees think and feel — more useful than ever while navigating hybrid work. But the tests are not always up-to-date.

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The impact of remote work and mediated communication frequency on isolation and psychological distress

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The impact of remote work and mediated communication frequency on isolation and psychological distress

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Caught in the Middle: 10 Tips for Managers Leading From Home

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“My immediate manager and his wife are both working from home and have kept their children in day care prior to being at home. After over a month at home they are still unable to handle their two children and their work. I am unable to rely on my manager for the things I need him for.” Since millio…

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Addressing Social Dynamics

Conflict Resolution

Workspace Ergonomics

Opening Communication Channels

Policies and Programs

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How IO Psychologists Improve the Work Experience

Addressing Social Dynamics

Conflict Resolution

Workspace Ergonomics

Opening Communication Channels

Policies and Programs

An industrial-organizational (IO) psychologist has a lot to offer businesses and organizations of any size, including helping them manage the stress levels of their employees. There are dozens of different environmental and social factors that contribute to occupational stress, so business leaders often struggle to address them all. IO professionals help both employers and employees by improving the quality of the experience for everyone.

1. Addressing Social Dynamics

Many companies don't actively observe or manage interpersonal relationships formed between the people within their organization. While this is not necessarily a problem, it can create serious issues if hostile relations develop between employees. IO psychologists leverage their training and experience to identify problems in the natural social dynamic of the workplace, including systems of authority and recourse. They also help reduce the incidence of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace.

2. Conflict Resolution

Along with improving the general social dynamics of a workplace, psychologists can also encourage and mediate conflict resolution. Unresolved conflicts between any members of an organization are a prime source of occupational stress for everyone around them. Resolving conflicts is rarely a painless experience, but it can be an effective tool when handled with tact and professionalism.

3. Workspace Ergonomics

Stress is a combined effect based on an individual's mental and physical state. While emotional and social forces are largely responsible for shaping this condition, the limitations or discomforts of the physical space are also relevant. IO psychologists help businesses improve their equipment, layouts, and operations to better accommodate workers. Many modern organizations incorporate opportunities for exercise and other fitness amenities as a natural outlet that allows their employees to escape stress throughout the day.

4. Opening Communication Channels

Effective management and worker satisfaction are both inextricably linked to the ability of all parties within an organization to communicate with each other. Business leaders who are able to listen to their employees and learn from them enjoy many more opportunities to improve every aspect of their operations. Industrial psychologists help facilitate this process by opening avenues for communicate that allow for meaningful and constructive dialogue throughout an organization. This can also include coaching executives and managers to better express themselves when communicating with employees.

5. Policies and Programs

Solutions to occupational stress largely depend on the scale and nature of the organization in question. While organizational psychologists apply general metrics to some aspects of their evaluations, they also need to create policies and programs customized for a specific organization. They play a key role in designing, implementing and improving programs that benefit both employers and employees, according to the American Psychological Association.

Conclusion

A single stressful day isn't much to worry about, but consistent exposure to a hostile work environment can be devastating for employee health and the employer's growth. Failing to address this issue can lead to the loss of qualified workers and a less loyal workforce, which have a significant impact on overall productivity. IO psychologists are an indispensable asset for managing occupational stress in an effective and responsible way.
Related Resources:

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5 Ways I-O Psychologists Help Alleviate Occupational Stress - Organizational Psychology Degrees

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Addressing Social Dynamics Conflict Resolution Workspace Ergonomics Opening Communication Channels Policies and Programs An industrial-organizational (IO) psychologist has a lot to offer businesses and organizations of any size, including helping them manage the stress levels of their employees. There are dozens of different environmental and social factors that contribute to occupational stress, so business leaders often struggle to address them all.

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Remote Work Decreases Psychological and Physical Stress Responses, but Full-Remote Work Increases Presenteeism

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Remote Work Decreases Psychological and Physical Stress Responses, but Full-Remote Work Increases Presenteeism

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Each day, as the confirmed Covid-19 cases rise across the United States, more state and local governments announce restrictions on the public's ability to congregate to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and to "flatten the curve."

To date, nearly 73 million California, New York and Illinois residents are under a "stay-at-home" order until further notice, exempting only "essential" workers such as health care professionals, bank tellers and garbage collectors. Pennsylvania ordered all "non-life-threatening" businesses to close, or face enforcement actions starting tomorrow. Of the remaining states and territories, 46 have closed schools and 37 have closed or limited bars, restaurants and gyms.

For non-essential workers, public health officials are urging U.S. employers nationwide to allow teleworking and are encouraging people to wash hands regularly and to adopt prudent "social distance" behaviors: maintain a 6-foot distance from other people and limit outings to essential-only trips to the grocery store and the pharmacy.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers, which recommends "flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), to increase the physical distance among employees and between employees."

Under normal circumstances, employers usually have months to prepare telework policies, distribute necessary technology and conduct training. But these decisions are being made, or being mandated, with little time to prepare. Even employers with existing telecommuting policies aren't experienced in managing an entirely remote workforce.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a unique, fast-moving situation affecting how employees work and how managers manage. But its uniqueness may produce positive outcomes, according to Emily Medvin, Ph.D., research scientist at HumRRO in Alexandria, Va., whose research has focused on teleworking, particularly its effect on manager-employee relationships.

"The uncertainty of telework usually revolves around the fact that some people work remotely and some don't," she explains. "With the whole team teleworking, you don't have to worry about your manager forgetting you exist because you're the only one not in the office, or that you're missing out on important, informal interactions or that your co-workers harbor some jealousy over your arrangement."

Furthermore, when it's in response to a public health crisis, urged on by government officials and public health experts, any prior resistance by managers to allow teleworking quickly dissipates, Medvin notes.

The next few weeks may enhance manager-employee relationships, build trust and encourage more teleworking post-crisis, if the situation is handled well. Below are tips and resources to help you manage your newfound virtual work environment.

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Effective Virtual Management Skills for Covid-19 Teleworking

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Each day, as the confirmed Covid-19 cases rise across the United States, more state and local governments announce restrictions on the public's ability to congregate to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and to "flatten the curve."

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OPs work to

create a healthy work environment

increase employee satisfaction

develop new employee training

Industrial-organizational psychologists can:

coach workers as well as managers on how to improve workplace dynamics and employee performance

conduct leadership training

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A person considering a degree or career in psychology may wonder, " Why is industrial-organizational psychology important?" While other specialties of psychology delve into a particular person's personality and mental health issues that they are facing, industrial and organizational psychology (IO) takes a somewhat different approach. IO psychology professionals assess and improve individual, group, and organizational dynamics in the work environment. They can recommend strategies to improve organizational structure and human relations. They use their training in psychological principles to create:

a healthy work environment

increase employee satisfaction

develop new employee training

Having an I O psychology professional in the organization can also improve employee productivity. When you learn what industrial organizational psychologists study, you'll understand why this branch of psychology is important. You might even decide to choose this specialty when earning your psychology degree or choosing a job!

What is Industrial Psychology?

Industrial-organizational psychology is the study of individual, group and organizational dynamics in a work environment. Industrial and organizational psychology also goes by other names including:

business psychology

employment psychology

industrial psychology

management psychology

occupational psychology

organizational psychology

work psychology

What do Industrial Organizational Psychologists Do?

By using human psychology principles to study behavior in a place of work, industrial psychology professionals can determine:

how well teams communicate

whether or not workers are invested in the company

overall job satisfaction

improve employee productivity

All these factors contribute to an employee's productivity, efficiency, and absenteeism rate. These are important because they directly impact an organization's bottom line and its ability to meet deliverables. The importance of industrial psychology is largely rooted in these practitioners' ability to:

Industrial psychology also uses psychological principles to develop evidence-based procedures for:

Essentially, the field consists of conducting research into workplace dynamics and applying research findings to optimize business efficiency and employee satisfaction in the work environment.

It's important to note that the one-on-one work that an industrial-organizational psychologist may do is very different from the one-on-one work done by a traditional psychologist. IO psychologists are not trained in diagnosing mental disorders, and they don't dig deep into the psyche of a worker or manager. Rather, they evaluate personality traits and human behavior as they pertain to the person's work.

While most industrial-organizational psychologists focus on the work environment, the specialty of industrial psychology doesn't necessarily have to be connected to work in the traditional sense - it can be applied to any type of purpose-driven activity. An industrial psychologist can be very helpful to sports teams and volunteer efforts as well.

Where do Industrial Psychologists Work?

People who choose industrial psychology may find themselves working in many different areas. Some industrial psychologists:

And when it comes to work environments, industrial psychologists can support human resources departments in a variety of settings including factories and Fortune 500 companies!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the scientific research and development services industry has the highest concentration of employees who are industrial-organizational psychologists. This industry is followed by the management, scientific, and technical consulting services industry. State governments have the third-highest concentration of industrial-organizational psychologist employees, and the management industry (specifically, management of companies and enterprises) has the fourth highest. These numbers do not count self-employed industrial-organizational psychologists. It's important to remember that many industrial psychology experts work for themselves on a freelance basis.

How Does an Industrial Psychologist Solve Workplace Problems?

Every workplace has problems. Some of those could be unique to the people who work there, and others could be common based on the type of work that is done. Every problem will be somewhat different based on the people and place involved. An industrial-organizational psychologist uses psychological principles to assess group and individual employee characteristics in a place of work as well as the:

They also work in the area of organizational development by improving the organizational structure. Industrial psychologists identify problems and use research to choose and implement solutions. Industrial psychology solutions are designed to improve employee performance in the workplace.

An industrial psychologist looks at particular questions to solve workplace problems. For example, they might ask how decisions are made. The industrial-organizational psychologist might also ask how effective the communications are between colleagues or between workers and the management team.

Because of their extensive training in human behavior and in managing workplace problems, industrial psychology professionals may sometimes need to help a workplace identify an issue before developing a strategy to manage it. For example, a manager may find that their employees all seem to be disinterested in work and very unfocused. They may not be able to figure out what's causing the issue. In this case, a psychologist would be able to evaluate the workplace as a whole and speak with individual employees. Based on those findings, the psychologist could develop a plan to help increase job satisfaction and motivation.

What Types of Research do Industrial Psychology Professionals Do?

The types of research used in industrial psychology vary widely. Industrial psychology professionals may:

Most use a combination of different research methods. Because industrial psychologists are trained as both researchers and practitioners, most people in this field both conduct research and apply it. However, some industrial psychology experts (mostly those working in academia) may focus purely on research. Others focus purely on the application of that research.

IO psychologists conduct research to draw conclusions that allow them to better help businesses achieve their goals. Some examples include:

Some research is very specific - for example, it may involve looking into how both negative humor and positive humor impact human behavior and the work environment as a whole. Other research may examine the effects that diversity has on a workforce.

An industrial-organizational psychologist can also conduct research related to interactions in the workplace. They use their data to analyze findings and find out which problem-solving methods work and which ones do not. These industrial psychology activities can result in a business that is better for workers and more profitable.

Applications of Industrial-Organizational Psychology Research

There are many applications for the work of an industrial-organizational psychologist, explains the American Psychological Association. Often, industrial-organizational psychologists identify areas in need of more training programs or organizational development in a particular workplace. They can:

The beauty of industrial psychology is its ability to not only find the reasoning behind workplace problems but also to use that knowledge to create a solution.

Depending on a business's needs, an industrial-organizational psychologist may work with employees on an individual level. Industrial-organizational psychologists can:

coach workers as well as managers on how to improve workplace dynamics and employee performance

conduct leadership training

In high-level companies working toward maximum efficiency, these psychologists may:

In some cases, psychologists may work one-on-one with CEOs to help them improve the way they relate to other people.

Many of these psychologists primarily focus on creating and maintaining harmony and productivity in the workplace. Some can apply their knowledge to improve a company's marketing tactics. For example, they may conduct research into a given company's customers to evaluate customer needs and customer satisfaction. From there, they can help companies revise their marketing strategies to be more effective. Because industrial-organizational psychologists have a nuanced understanding of human behavior, they are well equipped to be able to predict how customers will respond to a new marketing strategy.

Some industrial psychology professionals are asked to apply their knowledge to specific procedures. For instance, a company's hiring practices are vital to its success, but there is a wide range of laws that apply to the process. If a company is looking to change its hiring procedures, it may ask an industrial-occupational psychologist to review the new procedure for effectiveness and ensure that the process won't violate any existing hiring laws.

Depending on the population that an industrial-organizational psychologist works with, both the research and its application may be very specific. For example, astronauts who work at NASA have to face psychological challenges that the vast majority of people do not. When in outer space, they are in very close quarters, and they have to deal with the psychological impact of being very far from home. Being in a drastically different environment - like one with very little gravity - can also cause psychological issues. These issues can be personally damaging, but they also can compromise the safety of everyone involved in the mission.

For these reasons, NASA works with industrial-organizational psychologists. These psychologists determine what future research needs to be done to reduce the risk of psychological harm to astronauts and ensure that the mission goals are met. Of course, most industrial-organizational psychologists probably won't be working with missions to outer space, but the NASA example is an illustration of one of many diverse applications of industrial-organizational psychology research.

Related Resource: What Are Psychomotor Skills?

Why Industrial Psychology Is Essential for Business

At first glance, uninitiated people may not see the need for an industrial psychologist in the workplace. After all, in theory, managers are supposed to identify issues in the workforce and then do their best to solve them.

Most managers don't have a deep understanding of psychology or human behavior though. They often aren't well-equipped to solve issues in the workplace. Industrial-organizational psychologists, on the other hand, have several years of intensive training. Most start with a bachelor's degree in psychology or human resources, as very few schools offer undergraduate psychology degrees with a focus on I O psychology. After earning their degree, candidates then earn a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology. A master's degree is enough to start a career, but many people in the field pursue a doctorate.

Additionally, most workplace problems can benefit from an outside perspective. Since managers are closer to the daily goings-on of a workplace, they often are too close to a given situation to be able to strategize a way to fix it. But an industrial-organizational psychologist can bring both their training and a new perspective to solve workplace issues.

Sometimes, these psychologists work in a company's human resources department. This is more common in very large companies. But in many cases, industrial-organizational psychologists work either as independent consultants or as part of a management consulting firm. They are often hired by different organizations to solve existing problems. Since they have a vast knowledge of current research methods on workplace dynamics, an industrial psychologist can often quickly strategize a way to get a business back on track.

Every businessperson knows that dysfunctional organizational dynamics, low employee morale, and high turnover rates lead to loss of profit over time. With the services of an industrial-organizational psychologist, a business is likely to see increased focus and employee productivity. And since employees will likely be happier, they are likely to stick around. Businesses will be less likely to need to spend money on human resources efforts to:

The Growing Importance of Industrial Psychology

As more and more businesses begin to realize the important role industrial psychology plays in the workplace, jobs in the field will grow at a faster than average pace. This is especially true in the private sector of the economy. In fact, in 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics called industrial psychology the fastest-growing occupation in the United States. Between 2019 and 2029, it's estimated that employment in the field will grow by 2.5%. As a growing field, industrial psychology offers some very exciting opportunities.

Surprisingly, many people know very little about it or have not heard of it at all. Most high-value companies and larger corporations already know about the field or work with industrial-organizational psychologists. Unfortunately, there are smaller companies that haven't discovered the benefits of hiring or consulting with someone with an education in industrial psychology.

Companies that use an IO psychologist understand the value they provide to their organization. As a result, people in this field are generally paid fairly well. As of 2019, the median salary was $92,880. The relatively high pay is likely to draw more people to industrial psychology as it continues to grow.

Conclusion

If you want a career that makes a positive difference in human behavior in the workplace, IO psychology might be right for you! The industrial organizational psychologists definition according to the APA is a psychologist whose role is to study "human behavior in the work environment and applies general psychological principles to work-related issues and problems." As an IO psychologist, you'll strive to improve areas like:

Personnel selection

Personnel training

Employee evaluation

Working conditions

Accident prevention

Job analysis

Job satisfaction

Leadership

Team effectiveness

Work motivation

These are the rewarding job functions of an industrial psychology professional. Knowing, " Why is industrial-organizational psychology important? " could also help a person promote the profession and explain to others exactly what it is that they do in their job.

Related Resources:

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The Importance of Industrial Psychology in the Workplace - Organizational Psychology Degrees

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A person considering a degree or career in psychology may wonder, " Why is industrial-organizational psychology important?" While other specialties of psychology delve into a particular person's personality and mental health issues that they are facing, industrial and organizational psychology (IO) takes a somewhat different approach.

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A Hot Topics Paper Prepared by the SIOP Visibility Committee: Improving Communication in Virtual Teams

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A Hot Topics Paper Prepared by the SIOP Visibility Committee: Improving Communication in Virtual Teams

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A man from a company based in North Brabant is working from home and watching and advised from the ... [+]
NurPhoto via Getty Images

I've given a lot of thought to this in the last few weeks. Many of my customers are in finance, tech, healthcare, defence and emergency services. We're not going to have the luxury of stopping working. Many may be consigned to remote working, and the rest will want to avoid contact with non-urgent personnel and do all paperwork remotely.

On the one hand, remote working is something that some neurominorities prefer - we can focus better than in busy offices and hyperfocus on our work unimpeded. So for some of us, this situation could be a chance to show employers how productive we are remotely.

On the other hand, many of us thrive on the energy of teams and find communication via electronic media a drain on our cognitive skills. In addition, evidence suggests that in general, remote workers suffer with increased anxiety (let alone in times of stress). Without regular informal communication our teamwork could suffer and relationships may strain. Additionally disability support needs to be factored in to the cognitive load of changing the rules of communication, and the ongoing need for accommodations and adjustments.

So as part of your business continuity planning, here's my six top tips for managing remote working during this crisis.
Tip One: Acknowledge
Take some time to acknowledge the difficulties. Communicate your plan. Explain that you don't expect to hold conference calls and get the same level of engagement as you might in a face-to-face. Your team will benefit from knowing that it's okay to find this hard, that they are allowed to talk about it. For those of us prone to missing social signals, using text / email / phone only is littered with opportunities to misinterpret; we might get more things wrong than normal and need support to avoid conflict. Let everyone know that you are prioritising good relationships and comms.
Tip Two: Mitigate Remote Comms Strain
Video conferencing will be an easier cognitive load on the brain than phone calls. Failing that, provide some basic visuals for people to look at while you are talking, even if they are simple bullet points on a word document. Take breaks during long calls or conferences. We sometimes break into sets of 2-way phone calls for detailed work and then come back to the whole group to de-brief.

Please also be super mindful of people with sight or hearing loss - this could be devastating without the tools they rely on day to day. Reach out directly to ask how to accommodate - there are a bunch of awesome tech enhancements for these employees, and now is the time to use them.
Tip Three: Make Time For Emotional Check Ins
There are a bunch of ways to build this in. You can start your meetings by checking in with everyone first rather than diving into business. A good question is "what's on top for everyone?" If people are talking about personal things, let them digress and give more leeway that you might normally; they are going to need it if they are isolated. You can also ask "for this meeting to be ideal, it will be like what?" Spending time clarifying meeting goals and purpose might be pedestrian but when we're all a bit discombobulated it can be really grounding.

You can also make specific time for social webinars. A morning / lunch / evening check in, or a 15 min virtual coffee break with everyone who is remote will help hold the isolation at bay and give forum for the informal chit chat that we rely on during normal office based interaction, which could be really bonding and helpful.
Tip Four: Don't Defer Disability Support
People who are receiving coaching, or preparing for accommodation/adjustment assessment still need to be progressed. This can be done remotely and, though it may not be as comprehensive, my research has shown that remote services can still accommodate at least 50% of what is needed. For employees who may be feeling stressed and alienated without support, the current situation is not going to help. We want everyone working at their best and for that we should maintain their support packages. For front line workers, maintaining the coaching support that has been in progress might be critical factor to performing at their best in this peak period. Just as you would permit time out of the working day for this under normal circumstances, you still need to do so during the disruption.
Tip Five: Organise Online Wellbeing Workshops
If this situation is prolonged, or if you are running an organisation involved in front line work, organising facilitated wellbeing workshops might help with the emotional labor. A workplace wellbeing psychologist, for example, can host webinar small group meetings or one-to-ones where people have an opportunity to download and decompress, with a positive focus on exercising the control we do have over our situation. Getting ahead of this before people become fatigued or overwhelmed will be key.
Tip Six: Set Boundaries
The most widely reporting detrimental factor of home-based working is lack of boundaries between 'on' and 'off' duty. Help your staff turn off in the evening with reminders and role model yourself by sticking to office hours - use delayed send if you are working off hours. Talk to the teams about setting up a 'working area' in the house that is then packed away to avoid looking at it when trying to relax.
Go Well...
Always the optimist, I hope that we can use this period to mitigate the worst of this virus and keep surges manageable, whilst also learning a lot about our working practices. For certain, the whole world is on a steep learning curve right now and we will look back on this as a pivotal moment in how we organise our institutions. Let's apply what we already to know from solid psychological research to support our colleagues to work at their best in more flexible and resilient practices.

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Remote Working, Disability Support And Anxiety - Six Tips To Managing Staff In The COVID Crisis

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I've given a lot of thought to this in the last few weeks. Many of my customers are in finance, tech, healthcare, defence and emergency services. We're not going to have the luxury of stopping working. Many may be consigned to remote working, and the rest will want to avoid contact with non-urgent personnel and do all paperwork remotely.

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Getting Engaged: Top Tips for an Engaged Workforce

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Getting Engaged: Top Tips for an Engaged Workforce

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1.    Support from the organization
2.    Support from coworkers
3.    Engaging in daily planning
4.    Taking leisure time to relax

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Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

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Anita C. Keller, Caroline Knight, Sharon K. Parker

The outbreak of COVID-19 forced many companies to adopt remote work practices, including many who traditionally did not support flexible work arrangements. Several of these companies have now embraced remote working, claiming people's productivity during this time means they will allow more flexibility in the future.

But are managers prepared for such a shift? Do organizations have in place what is needed for workers to be productive at home over the much longer haul? In our study of approximately 1,300 employees working from home, a clear majority of employees, report being about as productive now (33.7%), or even more productive (37.5%), than before COVID-19, with 28.8% indicating they are less productive.

We investigated what sets high performing employees apart from employees who do not perceive they are performing well. In our analysis, we found four factors that stand out and help employees to perform more effectively when working at home ¹ :

1. Support from the organization
2. Support from coworkers
3. Engaging in daily planning
4. Taking leisure time to relax

These four factors help us understand how to sustain effective working from home in the longer term.

Ensure workers are supported to work remotely

Around two-thirds of participants in our study indicated that they received support from their organization to help them work from home. For example, some organizations provided additional equipment such as laptops, cameras, external screens; actively created opportunities for coworkers to meet informally; and allowed their employees the flexibility and autonomy to decide when and how they complete their work (see Figure 1). Somewhat fewer organizations (around 60%) provided training and guidance such as how to effectively use new software and technology.

Figure 1. Percentage of employees agreeing or disagreeing on statements about receiving additional organizational support to work from home.

Importantly, those employees who received additional training and guidance, equipment, easily accessible opportunities for interactions among coworkers, and autonomy were also the ones who reported performing more effectively, with poorer performers having less support for remote work arrangements. These organizational measures are worth the investment. First, they provide the practical support employees need to carry out their tasks. Second, they convey their commitment to, and care for, their workers, which further motivates employee effort.

As the length of time people work from home extends, more support for workers may be needed, for example, to have an ergonomic workspace or to ease financial worries and help cover additional costs (e.g., internet connection). Managers should signal an open ear for such requests and employees should let their managers know what would help them be productive at this time.

Reach out to coworkers for daily support

In our analysis, coworker support was especially relevant for feeling productive. Coworker support means that people feel their colleagues are looking out for them, and are willing to provide assistance, advice, and even simply the opportunity to share experiences and stories. It can be easier to discuss the challenges of working from home with coworkers than with their supervisor, as employees often worry about their performance evaluation being compromised if they admit too many struggles to their supervisor.

This result underscores our finding above that employees perform better when their organizations create opportunities for them to easily and informally meet with each other. Managers are encouraged to create opportunities for their employees to exchange their challenges, solutions, and best practices with each other. Strategies could include organizing regular virtual coffee meetings or setting up a buddy system by teaming up every employee with another employee.

Employees, too, can take actions to garner support from their colleagues, especially as the necessity to work from home extends. Reaching out to connect with coworkers that you have not seen for a while, inviting others to join a team project, or having a short informal conversation at the beginning of any team meeting are three simple ways that employees can build and maintain strong social support.

Create daily to-do lists and schedules

Working from home, often with no direct social contact with coworkers and often with high autonomy, makes it easy to dedicate too much time on less important tasks or to get distracted by hobbies, home chores, TV, or surfing the internet for some amusement.

In our analysis, employees who reported planning most of their days reported higher job performance. Daily planning helps employees to keep their focus on the tasks at hand and not get sidetracked by distractions. For example, writing a to-do list for the day ahead, thinking about the most important goals and tasks, and scheduling work activities helps people to structure the day, and feel in control of time. Also important is to not make plans for every minute of the day but to add buffer times. During these buffer times, unplanned tasks can be handled which might be essential now, given the uncontrollable and unforeseeable situation many employees are currently confronted with.

Managers should encourage people to plan their days and ask team members to share with each other their tips for staying focused. Employees, meantime, can make use of time management strategies like the Pomodoro technique to maintain their performance.

Take time to relax and re-energize

It might sound paradoxical, but our analysis shows that taking time in the day to relax, to connect with loved ones, and to engage in hobbies helps employees to stay productive while working from home. It has long been recognized that it is important for employees to make sure they recover from work by mentally distancing themselves from job tasks and engaging in leisure activities. Such 'recovery' activities not only support employees in their dealing with stress, but also boost their performance when they return to work. During the pandemic, recovery is more important than ever. For many people, most life domains now take place at home, so the boundaries between private and professional life have blurred. It is too easy to continue working and not take time for oneself.

Importantly, our study shows that simply 'mentally' distancing oneself from work-such as by trying not to think about job tasks after hours-is not enough for a performance boost. Only employees who actively took the time to relax and who engaged in enjoyable leisure activities also reported higher work performance.

Managers should encourage employees to take regular breaks, and not expect people to work constantly without time for recovery. Role modeling this behavior is also important. For employees, adhering to a work schedule and a to-do-list (as recommended above) will help to carve out time for leisure activities. We recommend building in regular and short rest breaks into the day, and then engaging in non-work activities in the evening.

The bottom line from our study is that we should not assume that working from home is automatically more-or less-productive; it can be either. The support people get from their organizations and co-workers, as well as their time management skills and strategies for breaks and relaxation - are what make the difference.
More results on our "thrive at work from home" study can be found here. Please click here for evidence-based resources and tips on how to work effectively from home, including how to maintain employees' work 'mojo' via the Pomodoro technique and how to build in rest breaks.
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1 To rule out alternative explanations, our analyses factored out age, the degree to which one's tasks can be performed at home, underload, and caring responsibilities.
About the authors
Sharon Parker
Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design
Sharon is a recipient of the ARC's Kathleen Fitzpatrick Award, and the 2016 Academy of Management OB Division Mentoring Award. Sharon is also a chief investigator in the ARC's Centre of Excellence in Population Aging Research (CEPAR) and leads the Organisations and the Mature Workforce research stream. Sharon's research focuses particularly on job and work design, and she is also interested in proactive behavior, change, well-being, development, and job performance. She has published more than 80 internationally refereed articles, including in top tier journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and the Annual Review of Psychology.

Caroline Knight
Chief Investigator, Research Fellow, Centre for Transformative Work Design, Future of Work Institute, Curtin University
Caroline completed her PhD at the Institute of Work Psychology, The University of Sheffield, UK, in 2016. Her research interests surround work design, well-being, job crafting, and research methods. One of Caroline's projects involves co-leading a large longitudinal study, Work Across Life and Careers (WALC), to investigate the changing nature of work and its impact on outcomes such as health, well-being, cognition, memory, and identity. She has published in a number of top-tier management journals, including the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Relations, the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, and the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.

Anita Keller
Co-Investigator, Assistant Professor, Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen
Anita received her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and did her postdoc at Michigan State University, United States. Her research focuses on work design and occupational health psychology and aims to shed light on how individuals' work experiences interact with their behavior and well-being over time. Current projects investigate temporal patterns of self-regulation behavior at work and adaptation processes. Her work has been published in a number of top-tier outlets including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Journal of Organizational Behavior.

From the Learning Resources for Practitioners (LRP) Committee:

Do you have expertise to share to help practitioners and the larger business community adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic? Feel free to contact Kimberly Adams, LRP Committee Chair, at kadams6006@gmail.com to discuss your idea and submission details. Thanks!

Find more resources for adapting to work in the age of COVID-19 on SIOP's Remote Work page.

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Boosting Job Performance When Working from Home: Four Key Strategies

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The outbreak of COVID-19 forced many companies to adopt remote work practices, including many who traditionally did not support flexible work arrangements. Several of these companies have now embraced remote working, claiming people's productivity during this time means they will allow more flexibility in the future. But are managers prepared for such a shift?

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Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners

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You wouldn't put a football team on the field without coaching the players first, so why run a business without ever coaching your employees? This type of question-and the realization it inspires-has led many businesses to embrace the idea of coaching. The problem is, not all coaching is effective.

What Is Coaching?

A lot of businesses think of coaching as a way to correct performance problems with employees or management. But that's not what coaching is best at, because coaching is not remedial training. Instead, coaching is about identifying and developing existing skills and attributes with the goal of creating a high-performance workforce or management team. Coaches don't reprimand, they encourage.

That said, not all coaching utilizes the same methods. In fact, there are two main types of coaching: belief-based and evidence-based. Belief-based coaching uses techniques drawn from conventional wisdom and tradition. Evidence-based coaching, on the other hand, uses techniques that have been scientifically tested for effectiveness. Where belief-based coaches simply accept the efficacy of their methods, evidence-based coaches rely on methods backed by research and data.

Does Coaching Work?

Yes, studies repeatedly show that coaching works, ¹ even with front-line employees. ² Those who receive coaching are more likely to meet performance goals. However, if you're going to embrace coaching, you should use evidence-based methods developed by the industrial and organizational psychology field.

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology explores all aspects of human behavior in the workplace, and many industrial psychologists specifically study how we develop workplace skills. Through their research, they uncover what actually works and doesn't work when it comes to improving employee performance. Unlike many so-called experts in coaching, industrial psychologists don't base coaching theories or advice on opinion. Their conclusions are based on the scientific evidence they gather. This is what makes evidence-based coaching so powerful. The methods are scientifically proven to be effective.

How Do You Institute Effective Coaching?

Coaching can be performed by managers, peers, or outside consultants. But no matter who is handling the coaching, there are some key steps your organization can take to ensure you achieve a good return on your investment. These include:

How Can You Learn More About Coaching and I-O Psych?

If you want to become an expert in coaching and/or help develop evidence-based coaching methods, consider earning an MS or PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Both of these psychology degrees can help you gain the skills and knowledge you need for a career in industrial psychology.

Earning your master's or doctorate in psychology may seem daunting, but online education can make achieving your educational goals possible. Through an online university, you can earn a master's in psychology or PhD in psychology without moving to be near a university campus or leaving your job to complete your coursework. Instead, you can earn an online PhD in psychology on a schedule that works for you and allows you to complete the majority of your degree requirements from home.

Online master's and PhD in psychology programs make it more possible than ever to earn the degree you need to play an important role in evidence-based coaching.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology degree programs online. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.
¹Source: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2013.837499 ²Source: http://gradworks.umi.com/10/03/10032410.html

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.

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clinical mental health counseling online programs

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You wouldn't put a football team on the field without coaching the players first, so why run a business without ever coaching your employees? This type of question-and the realization it inspires-has led many businesses to embrace the idea of coaching. The problem is, not all coaching is effective.