SIOP Members in the News
Clif Boutelle
It seems SIOP members are being called upon more and more to provide their expertise for news stories about work-related issues. (We have no scientific evidence of that, just our gut-feeling from working with reporters and seeing their stories.) We do know that reporters are becoming more aware of I-O and that many of them consider SIOP members to be excellent resources. Thats based upon frequent contact with reportersmany of them repeat callers.
The increased exposure is the result of SIOP members willing to take the time to talk with media representatives. That willingness is greatly aiding efforts to increase the visibility of I-O.
When talking with reporters, SIOP members are encouraged to identify themselves as I-O psychologists and use the occasion to promote the profession. There is still a tendency on the part of the media to identify their sources only by title and not mention I-O. But that will slowly happen.
Gaining media attention is not a short dash or a one-shot deal, but rather it is often like a long run in which relationships are built over time, paying off as reporters learn more about I-O and the expertise that SIOP members possess.
Following are some of the press mentions that have occurred during recent months:
Joel Widzer of JlwConsulting in Tustin, CA was included in a Nov. 9 Boston Globe article about back-in-the-office stress that road warriors often encounter following business trips. Widzer, who works with companies on travel issues, said One of the most stressful points of any business trip is returning to the office. He cited a 1997 study that found that employees who travel the mostfour or more times a year overseas for extended staysseek mental-health therapy three times more often than their stay-at-home counterparts.
Robert Hogan of Hogan Assessment Systems in Tulsa, OK and Paul Babiak of HRBackOffice in Hopewell Jct., NY were contributors to an article on psychological testing in the November issue of
Business 2.0. Hogan said that, based upon the personality tests he has administered the past 3 decades, at least 55% of managers in American corporations are unfit for their jobs. Web-based tests that screen corporate executives are surging in popularity, the article claims, and can be traced to the recent wave of financial scandals.
The article also references a B-Scan test designed by Babiak and a colleague that will make its debut early next year. The test can indicate if an executive is a subcriminal psychopath. Babiak notes that subcriminal psychopaths tend to show up more in management ranks than elsewhere in companies.
Several SIOP members were interviewed for an October 30 ABC News story on psychological testing.
Ann Marie Ryan, professor of psychology at Michigan State University and past SIOP president, cautioned that companies must exercise great care in selecting appropriate tests. Not every test is useful in predicting job performance, she said.
Frank Schmidt, a professor of human resources at the University of Iowas Henry B. Tippie College of Business, attributed the rise in testing to a more competitive economy and more research showing the results of such tests are not biased against any particular demographic group.
Richard Jeanneret of Jeanneret & Associates in Houston noted that measuring the personalities of workers have gained more importance in the workplace in recent years. We used to focus more on cognitive skills, he said. Robert Hogan of Hogan Assessment Systems in Tulsa, OK said tests are developed to explore a persons bright side, dark side, and inside. Testing is necessary because the right questions can reveal qualities that an interviewer might not uncover in a job interview.
Bryanne Cordeiro, a doctoral candidate at Penn State, was a co-researcher of a study that found that men who take time off for family are generally regarded more negatively in the workplace than women who take family leave. The research report has appeared in several media, including the October 28
San Jose Business Journal.
For an October 27 Time magazine article on educational testing and the promising development of a new test to augment the SAT,
Wayne Camara, vice-president of research for the College Board, which produces the SAT, noted that the ability to predict college performance from a testany testhasnt improved much in the past 50 years. One potential problem is that students may be tempted to bluff their answersa problem that employer-administered personality tests have.
Linda Gottfredson, education professor at the University of Delaware, said that solving math problems cannot be faked, but You can fake conscientiousness.
Ben Dattner of Dattner Consulting in New York City, contributed to an October 22
Chicago Tribune article about desperate job hunters who jump at the first offer, which can, in the long run, lead to career setbacks. Interviewers can smell fear (in a candidate), so its important to present yourself as a good strategic fit even for a transition job. And dont be too eager to ask about money and benefits. That can signal an interviewer that you are motivated only by your own shaky situation, he added.
Also, for a story in the November issue of HR Magazine on how companies can best communicate with employees during a cost-cutting process, Dattner said that providing false assurances to employees about the companys financial health while simultaneously asking for their help in cost cutting usually does more harm than good. Managements messages must be credible during economic slowdowns, he said.
Dattner also contributed to various news reports in The Washington Post (October 18), Newsday.com (October 23), the October issue of
Entrepreneur magazine, and The Wall Street Journal (October 28).
Richard Davis, director of organizational development at CPI/Hazell and Associates in Toronto, wrote an October 3 article for the Toronto
Globe and Mail about executive integration. Research indicates that approximately 40 percent of external senior executive hires are unsuccessful, he says. Davis provides a detailed process, focusing on properly integrating the new executive into the corporate culture (something that many companies ignore) so that the new person will be successful. Integration should be treated as a process, not as an event. Successful integration happens over time, he added.
The September issue of HR Magazine features a profile on Fred Frank, CEO of TalentKeepers in Maitland, FL. The article focuses on his long history of innovation, including one of the earliest (the 1980s) applications of computer technology in assessment centers. His current company specializes in teaching managers the keys to employee retention.
Relationships of workplace couplesnon-married coworkers who work closely togetherwere the subject of September 24
Wall Street Journal Cubicle Culture column, and Lilli Friedland, a consultant with Executive Advisors in Los Angeles, and
Dory Hollander, president of WiseWorkplaces in Arlington, Va., were called upon for their expertise. Friedland says that problems among colleagues include mounting resentments, poor communication, or growing apart. I have to teach them how to grow together. Hollander adds malefemale relationships differ from same-sex workplace friendships in that were sort of wired in our malefemale relationships to take on supportive roles, as opposed to same-sex relationships which tend to be more dominative or competitive.
The September issue of The Talent Economy quotes Jonathan Canger, vice-president of research and development at Human Resource Management Center in Tampa, FL, about how employment statistics can be used as a signal as to whether the economy is improving. He says it is only one factor and that employment growth must be looked at carefully before making any declarations about economic health.
A front-page story in the September 9 USA Today called upon Ken Siegel, president of Impact Group Inc. of Beverly Hills, CA, and
Tom Lee, professor of human resource management at the University of Washington, for their expertise. The story dealt with the growing importance of B players: those workers in the solid middle and who are neither A players or weak workers. They comprise the largest percentage of the workforce and a companys long-term success often rests with them. Siegel said that top executives too often focus only on those executives they consider promising. Lee noted that B players are devoted to their jobs as well as their communities. They have different motivations than the driven A players and represent solid assets to their organizations.
Job stress and burnout was the subject of September 1 story on MSNBC.com by senior writer Jane Weaver, which featured comments from
Ronald Downey, a professor of I-O psychology at Kansas State University. Layoffs and long hours are taking their toll on workers family lives, productivity, and health. Households with two working parents or single parent are especially vulnerable to burnout from work overload, said Downey.
A study conducted by Cheri Ostroff, a professor of psychology at Columbia University Teachers College, and
Leanne Atwater, a professor of management at Arizona State University West, received widespread national media coverage in August and September. The study suggests that managers who work with women earn less than men in similar circumstances. It addition, their research showed that the average age of workers under a manager can affect his or her pay. The further that average is from 40younger or olderthe less money the manager is likely to earn. Their study appeared in
The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, The Miami Herald, The Washington Times, and MSNBC as well as other media.
Virginia Huber, a professor of management and organization at the University of Washington, was interviewed August 22 on NPRs
All Things Considered. She discussed the use of puzzle problems to examine critical thinking skills of job applicants by the Microsoft Corporation.
Paul Mastrangelo of Genesee Survey Services Inc. in Rochester, NY was interviewed for an August 19 story on Workopolis.com, Canadas largest jobs Web site. The story was based on a presentation at the American Psychological Association conference in Toronto. He noted that research shows between 8085% of employees use their work computers for personal use. However, thats not all bad, he said. Sometimes nonproductive use of the computer, such as doing online banking, can lead to productivity later because it saves the worker the time spent leaving the office to pay bills. Mastrangelo said that fewer than 10% of workers use their computers counterproductively.
John Aiello, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, and Dory Hollander, president of WiseWorkplaces in Arlington, Va., added their thoughts to an Aug. 18 story in the
Raleigh News and Observer about how employees feel when others use their desk. Having ones own desk creates a sense of comfort and control for workers; sharing this space often causes tension between employees, stokes insecurities and affects production. It may seem a trivial issue, they admit, but desk sharing can cause office problems.
A story in the August 14 issue of The Daytona Beach News Journal about the use of incentives to encourage workers to improve their performance quoted
Robert Hirschfeld, a professor of management at the University of Georgia, who has researched the impact of incentives. He warns handing out prizes is no simple task because the practice can backfire. Ideally, he says, employers should find workers who like their jobs regardless of the perks.
A story in the August 11 Crains Chicago Business cites Jennifer Thompsons take on a workplace trend of people with dual careers. The director of the industrial psychology program at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Thompson notes that dual careerists are individuals with a variety of interests or passions and a two-track career allows them to pursue more of those passions.
Workers, hassled from their morning commute, are not the most pleasant of coworkers; in fact, they can be abusive and disruptive in the workplace, according to a study conducted by
David Van Rooy of Florida International University that was reported in the August 7 edition of
USA Today. Its not the distance of the commute, rather its the congestion that makes people testy. He measured drivers anxiety levels when they had 6-mile or 18-mile commutes in light or heavy traffic. The more congested the road and the longer heavy traffic lasted, the more depressed, anxious, and frustrated people became, he said.
Bowling Green State University associate professor of psychology Steve Jex was quoted in a
Psychology Today (May/June issue) story about workplace justice. The article cited a study from Finland noting that workplaces rated as having low justice correlated with higher percentages of employees taking sick leave. Jex said research shows that employees health is adversely affected by workplace bullying and psychological violence. Organizations are getting more harsh, what with layoffs and people being escorted off the premises.
SIOP members are encouraged to let us know when they have been quoted or contributed to a newspaper or magazine story or have been interviewed on radio and television about a workplace issue. Or, if you know of a SIOP colleague who has been mentioned in a news story, please let us know.
When possible, send copies of the articles to SIOP at PO Box 87, Bowling Green, OH 43402, or tell us about them by e-mailing
siop@siop.org, or fax to 419-352-2645.
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