Seminar Lecture 5 2.17

Intersection btw psych & business
Solving workplace problems
Psych of adults
Normal population
At work or balancing work-life issues
The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime
- Your manager may have more impact on your mental health than your therapist or doctor. Having a good boss can literally change your life
Industrial:
- Testing (personality, intelligence, etc.)
- Recruitment, Selection, and Promotion
- Training & Dev.
- Performance eval & compensation
Organizational
- Leadership
- Employee motivation
- Organizational Dev.
- Workplace Health & Safety
Key Functions of IO Psychologists
- Recruitment: identify key skills and work ex. to attract & hire the best possible employees
- Training: train & dev. employees & leaders to help them be more successful at work
- Compensation: designing fair & rewarding pay structures for your organization
- Motivation & productivity: using techniques that motivate employees to do their best and increase productivity
- Performance Appraisal: Providing employees with feedback about performance--leading to increased engagement and productivity
Ways that IO Psychologists help ppl:
- Creating positive work culture
- Hiring best candidates
- Using research to improve decisions
- Rewarding & respecting employees
- Resolving conflicts
- Ensuring safe, fair, and ethical practices
I/O Psych is
- NOT counseling ppl at work
- Can be employee relations
  - Working to make sure employee concerns are heard
  - Investigate claims of harassment & discrimination
- Ppl spend a lot of time at work
Psych topics at work
- Memory & performance eval at work
- Using personality tests in hiring
- Prejudice/stereotyping--avoiding bias in interviews
- Why work teams fail
- Circadian rhythms and shiftwork
- Primary areas in psychology: social, cognitive, learning, personality, & motivation
- Ex.: Workplace issues
  - what's the best way to hire?
  - How can we eliminate bias in interviews?
  - How should workers be trained in this job?
  - What's the best way to measure work performance for individuals who work from home?
  - What factors influence job satisfaction and encourage people to stay with our company?
  - I've given my employees raises but they still quit, why?
What degree do I need?
- PhD: 5+ years
- Masters: most common, 2+ years
- Bachelors
- Licensing & Certifications:
  - You must be licensed to call your a "psychologist"--PhD level
    - Not many in I/O get licensed
  - Many HR professionals get a certification from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
    - Not required, but shows a lvl of knowledge & ex.
Job Titles:
- Talent acquisition specialist
- Job analyst
- Training designer
- HR generalist
- HR Business partner
- Organizational dev. specialist
- Comp. analyst
- benefits coordinator
- Employee survey designer/researcher
- Talent assessment manager
- Employee Relations specialist
I/O Psych Major:
- Requires:
  - Some Psych major requirement
  - I/O specific classes
  - ONE minor
  - More on I/O psych page
Job Opportunities & Pay
- In general, starting pay is lower for individuals w/Bachelor's degrees
- Master's lvl graduates often get starting salaries in the 70-80K range
Learn more:
- Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology--SIOP
  - Workplace trends
- Society for HR Management
  - MTSU student chapter
- Advisors:
  - Dr. Alex Jackson
  - Dr. Judy Van Hein