Lecture 1 Introduction to work psychology
Work psychology
- Work psychology: behaviour, motivation of employees doing the work
- Organization psychology: context around the work
- Personnel psychology: person-job fit
- Psychology
Behaviour
Motivations
Thoughts and emotions
- Work
Goal-directed behaviour
Coordinated activity
In exchange for something
The importance of work
- Time structure & regular activity
- Opportunities for social contact
- Sharing of a common purpose
- Social identity or status
- Personal development
Early work psychology
1850-1930
- Just after the industrial revolution
- Mainly factory work
- Poor conditions: long hours, low wages, minimal protection
- Division of labour
- Simple, boring, repetitive work
- Key question: how can we motivate workers and increase productivity?
Scientific Management (Taylorism)
- Goal: to maximise efficiency
- Two assumptions: employees are (1) lazy and (2) stupid
- To tackle stupidity: simplify and standardise the duties
Divide complex tasks into simple subtasks
Determine the best way to carry out these subtasks
Train the employees according to this “one best way”
Select the best employees for each subtask
, - To tackle laziness:
Managers supervise and control employees extensively
Pay-for-performance systems
Impact of Taylorism
- Short-term: increase in productivity
- Long-term: low work morale (disengaged employees, high sickness absence, angry unions,
strikes)
Human Relations Movement
1930-present
- Work should be adapted to people, attention for:
Human needs and limitations
Working conditions
Well-being, motivation and satisfaction
Contemporary work psychology
- Focuses on maximising productivity while safeguarding employee well-being/health
- Objective = sustainable performance
- Task requirements – worker characteristics – worker health and well-being
The X-model
Framework to understand the work and the people doing the work. Prevent burn-out, increase
productivity, etc.
,Block 1: Work characteristics
- Work content
Tasks, workload, autonomy, complexity, variety, role,
responsibilities, role ambiguity
- Working conditions
Physical demands, safety, technology, ergonomics,
vibrations, lifting, hygiene, radiation, hazardous
substances
- Working relationships
Social support, social safety, psychological contract, leadership, decision making,
feedback, communication, teamwork
- Terms of employment
Working times, working from home, agreements in the flexibility of work hours, pay,
days of leave, training opportunities, benefits, job security, career prospects…
Block 2: Personal characteristics
- Personality
- Experience
- Physical capacities
- Information processing capacity
Habitual processing capacity / TRAIT
“Trait”
Inter-individual differences
Current processing differences
Intra-individual differences
Fatigue (energy to exert effort)
Motivation (willingness to exert effort)
Block 3: Work behaviour
A set of
- Coordinated and goal-directed activities
- That require sustained effort (mental and/or physical)
- Conducted in exchange for something else
Block 4: Work outcomes
- Quality and quantity of products and services
- Environmental changes
- Financial results
, Block 5: Personal outcomes
Such as:
- Health and well-being (stress)
- Job satisfaction
Blocks 4 and 5
- Outcomes for the organisation and person
- Block 4 and Block 5 may also clash
Sustainable employability!
Feedback loops
- Good performance (4) responsible for more difficult tasks (1)
- Poor performance (4) heavier workload (1)
- Suffers from wrist pain/RSI (5) less resilient (2)
- Tired (5) different experience of work situation (1)
Developments
Developments relevant for organisations
- Influence on work
Technologies
Globalization
Pandemic
Ageing
Examples of changes
- The nature of work (block 1)
Changed from physical demanding jobs to service focused or knowledge focused jobs
Less people do physical demanding jobs
People spend more time sitting at work than they used to
- The workforce (block 2)
More diverse workforce
Globalization
- Flexibility (block 1)
Most people still work at location but the amount of people who work (partially)
from home has increased
- Organization (block 1)
Platform companies e.g. uber, take away.
Employees have no contact with the employer, but you just work with an app
- Offices (block 1)
People have less office space nowadays
Work psychology
- Work psychology: behaviour, motivation of employees doing the work
- Organization psychology: context around the work
- Personnel psychology: person-job fit
- Psychology
Behaviour
Motivations
Thoughts and emotions
- Work
Goal-directed behaviour
Coordinated activity
In exchange for something
The importance of work
- Time structure & regular activity
- Opportunities for social contact
- Sharing of a common purpose
- Social identity or status
- Personal development
Early work psychology
1850-1930
- Just after the industrial revolution
- Mainly factory work
- Poor conditions: long hours, low wages, minimal protection
- Division of labour
- Simple, boring, repetitive work
- Key question: how can we motivate workers and increase productivity?
Scientific Management (Taylorism)
- Goal: to maximise efficiency
- Two assumptions: employees are (1) lazy and (2) stupid
- To tackle stupidity: simplify and standardise the duties
Divide complex tasks into simple subtasks
Determine the best way to carry out these subtasks
Train the employees according to this “one best way”
Select the best employees for each subtask
, - To tackle laziness:
Managers supervise and control employees extensively
Pay-for-performance systems
Impact of Taylorism
- Short-term: increase in productivity
- Long-term: low work morale (disengaged employees, high sickness absence, angry unions,
strikes)
Human Relations Movement
1930-present
- Work should be adapted to people, attention for:
Human needs and limitations
Working conditions
Well-being, motivation and satisfaction
Contemporary work psychology
- Focuses on maximising productivity while safeguarding employee well-being/health
- Objective = sustainable performance
- Task requirements – worker characteristics – worker health and well-being
The X-model
Framework to understand the work and the people doing the work. Prevent burn-out, increase
productivity, etc.
,Block 1: Work characteristics
- Work content
Tasks, workload, autonomy, complexity, variety, role,
responsibilities, role ambiguity
- Working conditions
Physical demands, safety, technology, ergonomics,
vibrations, lifting, hygiene, radiation, hazardous
substances
- Working relationships
Social support, social safety, psychological contract, leadership, decision making,
feedback, communication, teamwork
- Terms of employment
Working times, working from home, agreements in the flexibility of work hours, pay,
days of leave, training opportunities, benefits, job security, career prospects…
Block 2: Personal characteristics
- Personality
- Experience
- Physical capacities
- Information processing capacity
Habitual processing capacity / TRAIT
“Trait”
Inter-individual differences
Current processing differences
Intra-individual differences
Fatigue (energy to exert effort)
Motivation (willingness to exert effort)
Block 3: Work behaviour
A set of
- Coordinated and goal-directed activities
- That require sustained effort (mental and/or physical)
- Conducted in exchange for something else
Block 4: Work outcomes
- Quality and quantity of products and services
- Environmental changes
- Financial results
, Block 5: Personal outcomes
Such as:
- Health and well-being (stress)
- Job satisfaction
Blocks 4 and 5
- Outcomes for the organisation and person
- Block 4 and Block 5 may also clash
Sustainable employability!
Feedback loops
- Good performance (4) responsible for more difficult tasks (1)
- Poor performance (4) heavier workload (1)
- Suffers from wrist pain/RSI (5) less resilient (2)
- Tired (5) different experience of work situation (1)
Developments
Developments relevant for organisations
- Influence on work
Technologies
Globalization
Pandemic
Ageing
Examples of changes
- The nature of work (block 1)
Changed from physical demanding jobs to service focused or knowledge focused jobs
Less people do physical demanding jobs
People spend more time sitting at work than they used to
- The workforce (block 2)
More diverse workforce
Globalization
- Flexibility (block 1)
Most people still work at location but the amount of people who work (partially)
from home has increased
- Organization (block 1)
Platform companies e.g. uber, take away.
Employees have no contact with the employer, but you just work with an app
- Offices (block 1)
People have less office space nowadays
