Industrial And Organizational Psychology Research Articles

Where the appliance of science needs translating: What can occupational psychology learn from Covid-19?

Where the appliance of science needs translating: What can occupational psychology learn from Covid-19?

Effect of 8- Weeks Coordination Training on Adaptive Spatial Ability of Young Cricket Players

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of 8- weeks coordination training on adaptive spatial ability of young cricket players. A total of 16 male (8 players in each group) cricket players age ranged from 12-15 years with mean & SD 14.23±1.67 years, from LNIPE cricket nursery, Gwalior selected as subjects for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to attain the objectives of the study. Vienna test system (VTS), a leading computerized psychological assessment tool was used for measuring adaptive spatial ability. The Vienna Test System SPORT is perfectly designed for sports psychology assessment. The psychometrically valid tool for profile analysis, talent assessment and development of training plans gives players and athletes a clear picture of their sports psychology profile – in terms of both skills and personality (Vienna Test System sports, 2017). Researcher analyzed the adaptive spatial ability in which how consistently in term of the same latent ability dimension is assessed in all respondents. Pre test post test control group design was adopted for this study. The training programme was carried out for a total duration of eight weeks. All subject, after having been informed objective of the study, gave their consent and volunteered to participate in this study. The training was carried out thrice a week on alternate days of the week for experimental group. ANCOVA was applied as statistical technique to analyze the effect of 8- weeks coordination training on adaptive spatial ability, the alpha level was set at 0.05. Statistical analysis of the data revealed there is significant difference in adaptive spatial ability as the f value found significant (p<0.05), Hence it may be inferred that 8- weeks coordination training is effective for improving adaptive spatial ability of young cricket players.

‘SELF-IE’ MODULE: A COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT SELF-CHANGE AND WORK-PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF LOW-PERFORMING CIVIL SERVANTS

Purpose of the study: This study aims to examine the impact of a psychoeducational module known as the ‘SELF-IE’ module in helping low-performing civil servants. It is measured through the self-change variables of emotional stability, psycho-spirituality, and behavioral adjustment among respondents, who attended 2017 Self-Change and Well-Being Programme that used the ‘SELF-IE’ module as the intervention. Methodology: This is a quasi-experimental study, in which the impact of the ‘SELF-IE’ module was determined by measuring the mean differences of the variables for both experimental and control groups. Data were collected from a total of 68 respondents using the Personal Well-Being Questionnaire (PWQ) consisting of 60 items divided into five different sections. Main Findings: There is a significant mean difference in all three measured variables (emotional stability, psycho-spirituality, and behavioral adjustment) between both experimental and control groups, which means that the intervention using the ‘SELF-IE’ module has a positive impact in self-change of the respondents in those variables. Applications of this study: The result of this study can provide useful information to help improve any self-development program for employees’ particularly in public organizational settings. The information should be beneficial for organizational counselors or industrial psychologists, and human resources or training managers. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study specifically enhances the human assessment performance in the Public Service Department (PSD), whereby the development of the ‘SELF-IE’ module has improved the current module used in public organizations’ employee assistance program (EAP).

Coping Skills Of Wildland Firefighters

Nearly 14,000 firefighters are employed to combat wildland fires resulting in 13 fatalities and 270 injuries per year. Their ability to cope during stressful situations is critical for optimal performance to prevent morbidity and mortality. PURPOSE: To quantify the coping skills of wildland firefighters. METHODS: Following written informed consent, a modified Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI): coping with adversity (COPE), peaking under pressure (PEAK), goal setting/mental preparation (GOAL), concentration (CONC), freedom from worry (FREE), confidence and achievement motivation (CONF), coachability (COACH), and personal coping resources (PCR) and a modified Sports Inventory for Pain (SIP): direct coping (COP), cognitive (COG), catastrophizing (CAT), avoidance (AVD), body awareness (BOD), and total coping response (TCR) were completed by 140 wildland firefighters (mean age = 28.5 ± 13.9 yrs). Data were grouped by occupation (hotshot, smokejumper), job description (supervisor, manager, worker), and years of experience (1-9, 10-19, 20+). Raw ACSI and SIP scores were converted to normalized standard scores (T-scores; mean =50, SD = 10). RESULTS: MANOVAs (Wilks’ λ criterion) had a significant main effect by job description (F8,139 = 1.919, p = .019) and years of experience, (F8,139 = 1.835, p =.027) but not occupation (F8,139 = 1.53). Post hoc analysis indicated that supervisors scored significantly higher on PEAK (p = .028) than managers and workers, respectively. Post hoc analysis indicated 20+ yrs of experience scored significantly higher on FREE (p = .031), while 10-19 yrs scored significantly higher on PEAK (p=.045). In terms of pain coping, MANOVA indicated a significant main effect by occupation (F6,139 = 3.104, p = .011). Post hoc analysis indicated that hotshots scored significantly higher on CAT (p = .014) AVD, (p = .002) but lower BOD (p = .008) than smokejumpers, respectively. No other significant main effects were observed. T-scores indicated average to lower than average (39-56) responses from wildland firefighters. CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended that occupational psychologists be employed to enhance the coping skills training involving wildland firefighters.

Factors Associated With Effective Implementation of Psychological Health Interventions in the Construction Industry

The staggering social and economic costs associated with psychological ill-being conditions among workers require efforts to mitigate its causes and effects through evidence-based psychological health interventions. However, such interventions in the workplace are not without challenges and obstacles. The purpose of the study is to identify influential factors associated with effective implementation of psychological health interventions in the construction industry. This study adopted the mixed-methods approach employing in sequence the methods of qualitative and quantitative research to achieve the aim of the study. A total of 53 interviews and 264 questionnaire surveys were conducted in Ghana with construction professionals, construction trade workers, regulatory personnel, and occupational health psychologist. The qualitative study revealed 18 influential factors associated with the implementation of psychological health interventions. These findings were confirmed by the quantitative survey to be statistically significant. A comparative analysis of the responses from the three groups of respondents showed some statistically significant differences in the ratings of the influential factors, which may be due to the group’s interest and diversity. The highly influential factors revealed in the quantitative study included willingness of employees to cooperate with the intervention procedures, perceptions on the benefits of the psychological health interventions, impact of stigmatization and discrimination, level of awareness on indicators of psychological health conditions, cost of implementing the intervention and extent of management commitment and support. This study offers valuable information for construction stakeholders and policymakers on factors to consider for successful psychological health management and interventions in the construction industry

The effect of pain management group on chronic pain and pain related co-morbidities and symptoms. A stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. A study protocol

IntroductionIn primary care settings, pain-management group therapy is a tool potentially cost-effective but very much underused. MethodsOur purpose here is to provide useful scientific information on the effect of pain-management group participation on chronic pain and pain-related co-morbidities and symptoms, as well as practical information for primary and occupational health services to initiate pain-management group activity.This study will be carried out at primary care Occupational Health Helsinki (Helsinki city employees' occupational health services), with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health as the research partner.This is a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial among both male and female municipal employees aged 18 to 65, all of whom had visited an occupational doctor, nurse, psychologist, or physiotherapist because of any chronic pain unrelated to malignant disease. An additional inclusion criterion is work disability risk being elevated, based on a short screening questionnaire (modified Örebro questionnaire). Each participant and each interviewer will be blinded at randomization. Three groups, 10 subjects in each, begin directly after recruitment with 6 weekly 2-h meetings and a follow-up meeting 6 months later. Three waiting-list groups begin 4 months later. Subjects complete self-administered questionnaires before and after the sixth meetings, also 6 months later. Primary outcomes are pain intensity, current work ability, pain self-efficacy, fear-avoidance beliefs, chronic pain acceptance, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, sickness absence days, and number of occupational health care contacts from OH's medical records. ResultsWe will publish our results in a peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Assessment of spatial neglect in clinical practice: A nationwide survey

ABSTRACT This study was part of a nationwide, anonymous, open Internet survey conducted amongst healthcare professionals in Denmark on the assessment and treatment of spatial neglect (SN). The objective was to describe knowledge and practices in the assessment of SN in current clinical practice across different healthcare sectors and professions. Data included the perceived prevalence, assessment methods and observations, subtypes and differential diagnostics of SN. A total of 525 professionals participated in the survey. The vast majority (81.5%) reported that assessment of SN was provided by their workplace. The median of perceived prevalence of SN was 35% (IQR 22–51) but major differences were found between professions. Occupational therapists and psychologists appeared to be most involved in assessment, whilst nursing staff and speech therapists were least involved. Subjective observations were the most common assessment method (90%). Conversely, systematic ADL observations, paper-and-pencil tests, confrontational tests and computerized tests were less common. The survey revealed large differences in the assessment methods and awareness of various aspects of SN symptoms (subtypes and differential diagnostics) between different healthcare professions. The results emphasize the need for international multidisciplinary clinical guidelines on how to assess SN and distinguish between different subtypes and differential diagnoses.

The effect of pain management group on chronic pain and pain related co-morbidities and symptoms. A stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. A study protocol

IntroductionIn primary care settings, pain-management group therapy is a tool potentially cost-effective but very much underused. MethodsOur purpose here is to provide useful scientific information on the effect of pain-management group participation on chronic pain and pain-related co-morbidities and symptoms, as well as practical information for primary and occupational health services to initiate pain-management group activity.This study will be carried out at primary care Occupational Health Helsinki (Helsinki city employees' occupational health services), with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health as the research partner.This is a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial among both male and female municipal employees aged 18 to 65, all of whom had visited an occupational doctor, nurse, psychologist, or physiotherapist because of any chronic pain unrelated to malignant disease. An additional inclusion criterion is work disability risk being elevated, based on a short screening questionnaire (modified Örebro questionnaire). Each participant and each interviewer will be blinded at randomization.Three groups, 10 subjects in each, begin directly after recruitment with 6 weekly 2-h meetings and a follow-up meeting 6 months later. Three waiting-list groups begin 4 months later. Subjects complete self-administered questionnaires before and after the sixth meetings, also 6 months later. Primary outcomes are pain intensity, current work ability, pain self-efficacy, fear-avoidance beliefs, chronic pain acceptance, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, sickness absence days, and number of occupational health care contacts from OH's medical records. ResultsWe will publish our results in a peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Stress in de tandartspraktijk: ‘Ineens lukte werken niet meer’

Recent research indicates 20% of dentists to experience a high degree of stress, physical pain and distress, and insomnia, which is associated with loss of productivity, both in quantity and quality. Physical distress and pain, but also difficulties with colleagues, demanding patients or loss of productivity are clearly associated with the prevalence of stress. Stress complaints are often recognised too late. 2 fictitious cases from the daily practice of occupational health experts/ergonomists are discussed. The first case concerns a 45-year-old dentist who was referred to an occupational health expert regarding severe fatigue, listlessness and a sense of loss of control. After the occupational health expert had inventoried his full workload, it was shown not to have increased. With the help of relaxation therapy, a professional organiser and an organisational and business psychologist, the dentist was able to return to work full time after 9 months. In the second case, a 55-year-old endodontist presented with neck pain. The occupational health expert/ergonomist observed postural problems and stress. The client reported she suffered from fatigue. The endodontist did not acknowledge these stress issues and wanted to address improvement of posture in particular, which was effective. The occupational health expert was nevertheless able to introduce measures to reduce stress and fatigue; after some time, the endodontist enjoyed her return to work.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: TYPES, LEVELS AND RELATIONSHIP WITH PRACTICE OF HRM

Human resources are important assets of every organization. Recruitment and selection play an effective role in improving the organizational performance, because recruitment directly is relating with employee engagement. Employee engagement has emerged as a popular organizational concept in recent years. Employee engagement, strangely enough, has been a crucial priority of HR since before the term was using. It has become one of the leading priorities of human resource practitioners and senior managers in the organization today, so employee engagement has generated great deal of attention among many human resource practitioners. In present day, where is large-scale competition in the market, it is necessary for the organization to have engaged workforce for the survival and smooth functioning of the organization. Every organization wants to make the best utilization of its human resources in order to achieve competitive advantage in the market. When employees are engaged in their work, they have good relationships with their co-workers and working environment becomes better, are not only happy in their job, but also translate that satisfaction into higher productivity and profitability of the organization. High levels of engagement promote retention of talent, foster customer loyalty and improve organizational performance and stakeholder value. The paper discusses theoretical approaches to the significant concept and phenomenon of today – employee engagement and the factors behind it. In addition, the paper examined the type of employee engagement, problematic of individual and organizational engagement that affects organizational decisions. The aim of article is to identify the distinctive features of two types of engagement in the scientific literature employee engagement and organizational engagement, also connections reflecting the possible role of human resource management practices in the process of management of employee engagement. The purpose implies tasks: to reveal the essence of engagement and the factors that determine it ; also is presented a theoretical model of interfaces. The research methodology is the theoretical modeling of the phenomenon employee engagement from a human resource management perspective. The article is presenting in different sections such as meaning and concept of employee engagement, importance and factors influencing employee engagement and impact of employee engagement on organizational performance. The article consists of three logically interconnected parts. The introduction justifies relevance topics. The main part provides a review of literary sources, in which the authors examine the typology of engagement, distinguish types such as job engagement and organizational engagement. This section analyzes the relationship between characteristics and the influence of their design on employee engagement. This section also analyzes the conditions of formation and the results of the manifestation of employee engagement at the individual organizational levels, describes the connection of various aspects of this state with the practice of human resources management. In the final part, is given a theoretical model developed by the author – the main result of the article. It is a hypothetical model of the structure of employee engagement and how various human resources management practices shape employee engagement and how individual engagement of an employee transforms into a competitive advantage of organization. Data sources for the theoretical study described in this article are publications on the topic of engagement of such highly rated publications like Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology and The International Journal of Human Resource Management. The value of the results. This paper may serve as the basis for further research in the field of employee engagement generally and individual additional variable components. Research conclusions may have be used to build the organizational policy of the company in relation to the system human resource management.

Dr Ashley Weinberg – Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Policy Impact

Dr Ashley Weinberg – Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Policy Impact

Deborah Tom – Second Prize Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Practice

Deborah Tom – Second Prize Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Practice

Dr Kevin Teoh – Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Research Early Career

Dr Kevin Teoh – Winner Excellence in Occupational Psychology Research Early Career

Shelley Rubinstein – Winner Lifetime Contribution to Occupational Psychology

Shelley Rubinstein – Winner Lifetime Contribution to Occupational Psychology

Addressing the quality of communication with older cancer patients with cognitive deficits: Development of a communication skills training module.

Effective communication is an essential part of patient-centered care. The complexity of cancer care in older adults makes communication challenging, particularly when older patients have cognitive deficits and lose their autonomy. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a communication skills training module for health care providers (HCPs) who work with older adults with cancer, with or at risk of developing cognitive deficits. Using a pre-post single arm study design, 99 HCPs from a comprehensive cancer center in North-East USA, who worked primarily with geriatric patients, participated in the study. Participants included Advance Practice Providers (including Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants; n = 24, 24.2%); nurses (n = 23, 23.2%), social workers (n = 14, 14.1%), physicians (n = 13, 13.1%), and "other" HCPs (including occupational therapists, physical therapists, and psychologists; n = 20, 20.2%). The HCPs participated in a one-day geriatric communication skills training program in groups of 12-15 over a 2-year period. Participants complete pre-post surveys on module evaluation and perception of self-efficacy as well as pre-post video-recorded Standardized Patient Assessment (SPA) to evaluate communication skill uptake. Most participants evaluated the module positively; over 90% indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed with five of the six module evaluation items. HCPs' self-efficacy in communicating with cancer patients with cognitive deficits significantly increased from pre- to post-module training. There was a significant increase in the following communication skill use from pre- to post-training: checking patient preferences, declaring agenda, and inviting agenda. Results demonstrated a successful implementation of the program as evidenced through favorable program evaluation, significant gains in self-efficacy, as well as significant improvement in several communication skills.

Capturing Trends in Industrial-Organizational Psychology: A Shiny Web Application

ABSTRACT The present paper describes the purpose, and documents the primary functions of an open-source, Shiny web application developed for anyone interested in industrial-organizational psychology (trends.j-rigby.com). The application allows users to query the abstracts of over 150,000 peer-reviewed publications in 85 academic journals published in 1950 and thereafter that were sourced from Elsevier’s citation database, Scopus. Future goals include the incorporation of different frequency metrics and a peer-reviewed outlet recommendation system. Publication- and citation-related trends are plotted in accordance with the user-specified query, and publications meeting one’s query are displayed in tabular form, with an option to download a .csv of said table. All of the code and related materials, including the full database, are available via GitHub (https://github.com/jimmyrigby94/trends_in_io).

Historical Review of Occupational Psychological Health Research and Philosophy

Historical review on earlier research works provides a broader perspective on the subject area to help improve on current research efforts. Santayana, a philosopher in 1905, stated that when one does not remember the past, it is likely the same mistakes will be repeated in the future. Historical perspective also allows for possible right guesses to be made for future outcomes. This study conducts a historical review on occupational psychological health research, its evolution, and key research perspectives. A comprehensive review of pertinent literature was undertaken to understand the scientific concept of occupational psychology and applications. The historical review provides a perspective that occupational psychological health research is an excellent and important area for exploring behavioural issues in organisations and one in which an original contribution to research as well as practice can be made

Mental Health, Work Engagement and Meaningful Work-Role Fit of Industrial Psychologists: A Latent Profile Analysis

The purpose of this study was to identify distinctive mental health profiles for industrial psychologists based on the Mental Health Continuum. Further, it aimed to determine how these profiles differ with respect to work-role fit, meaningfulness and work engagement. It also aimed to investigate whether industrial psychologists within managerial or specialist differ in respect of different types of mental health. An online cross-sectional survey design was employed to draw a census sample (n = 274) from all South African industrial psychologists. A biographical questionnaire, the Work-Role Fit Scale, the Psychological Meaningfulness Scale, the Work Engagement Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form were administered. Descriptive statistics, correlations, latent profile analysis, MANOVAs and ANOVAs were computed. Three mental health profiles for industrial psychologists were identified: languishing, moderately mentally healthy and flourishing. Significant differences between the three mental health profiles and experiences of meaningful work-role fit and work engagement were found, but not between experiences of managerial roles. The results show that individuals with different mental health profiles, experience work and its related outcomes, differently. Therefore, in order to enhance meaningful work-role fit and work engagement of industrial psychologists, a one-size-fits-all model may not be appropriate.

“See Me, See Us”: Understanding the Intersections and Continued Marginalization of Adolescent Gifted Black Girls in U.S. Classrooms

In current research and theoretical models that address racial inequity or gender disparities in gifted education, there is a missing narrative around high-achieving/gifted Black girls and their experiences, as well as their disproportionate underrepresentation in gifted programming, services, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. This article highlights literature on adolescent gifted Black girls, in addition to exploring barriers and issues of marginalization that constrain the talent identification and development of this population. The study explores the narratives of gifted Black women and explores their counternarratives using Critical Race Theory and Frasier’s Talent Assessment Profile (F-TAP) framework. The article urges educators to use an intersectional lens to understand and address the needs of adolescent gifted Black girls, and provides practical tools to identify and develop talent.

Gender Dynamics in the Planning Workplace

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Planners’ workplaces are diversifying with respect to gender, but office culture and policies do not always reflect such change. Our research explores the influence of gender, management, and organizational characteristics on planners’ perceptions of workplace culture and benefits. We conducted a national survey with the APA’s Women and Planning Division in 2015 to assess whether planners’ perceptions regarding workplace culture and benefits differ by gender and organizational characteristics of the planning office. A limitation of the survey is the small self-selected sample of mostly female respondents. We combine feminist planning theory with workplace psychology theories of expectation states, role congruity, and representative bureaucracy, as well as transformational leadership, to explain workplace dynamics in planning agencies. Qualitative analysis shows problems with exclusive communication and equal opportunity are linked to management characteristics. To test this, we build five regression models on gender respect, exclusive communication, work–life benefits, flexibility perception, and equal opportunity. Our regression models control for gender, age, experience of respondent, and organizational characteristics. Our results indicate that gender respect, work–life benefits, and flexibility perception do not differ by gender. However, women are less likely to feel heard in their workplace (exclusive communication) or perceive equal opportunity. Workplaces with female management are more likely to show sensitivity to gender issues, support for flexible benefits, and equal opportunity for pay and advancement.Takeaway for practice: These results suggest planners feel they can raise gender issues and access flexibility benefits without prejudice. But planning workplaces need to address problems with exclusive communication and women’s perceptions of unequal opportunities for pay and advancement. Introducing gender-inclusive planning and leadership development curriculum to planning programs would prepare future planners; and ongoing training for management may improve behavior, communication, and benefits for all genders in planning workplaces.