Why I'm Proud To Be An I/O Psychologist
Mike Campion
I'm proud to be an I/O Psychologist because:
- we strive to do research that is both practically and scientifically
meaningful.
- I can tell managers and executives that there is a whole body
of science behind my recommendations.
- I can tell students that what we teach is practically useful
in the real world.
- we are as much at home in the board room as in the class room,
and every room in between.
- we are skeptical of the latest management fads, and we require
proof that something works before we believe it.
- our knowledge is built on a foundation of nearly 100 years
of research.
- we are idealists. We seek perfection and improvement of the
world of work.
- we are pragmatists. We try to have an actual impact on organizations,
and we realize the practical constraints of the real world.
I'm proud to be an I/O Psychologist because:
- we collect and analyze data. Our conclusions are based on
facts.
- we develop and use theories to summarize our knowledge and
generalize them to new situations.
- we make predictions about the future. We don t just seek to
explain things after the fact.
- we attempt to change things rather than just explain them.
- we try to prove that our programs and interventions are worthwhile.
- we help enhance the effectiveness of organizations. We try
to increase the job performance of individual employees and groups,
as well as the efficiency of the organization as a whole.
- we are concerned with the welfare of the worker as well the
organization. Consider, for example, all of our research in areas
such as job satisfaction and attitudes, career development, work-family
issues, fairness and justice, job stress, safety, training, rewards,
ethics, and so on.
I'm proud to be an I/O Psychologist because:
- I can tell my kids that I design systems that help ensure
that the most capable and motivated people will get the good jobs,
and that bias and discrimination are eliminated.
- we develop training programs so that employees can acquire
the skills to perform their jobs effectively and feel a sense
of accomplishment.
- we develop pay systems that ensure that people are paid fairly
and equitably.
- if we want to, we can help design jobs, teams, and organizations
to maximize both satisfaction and efficiency.
- we develop performance appraisal systems that ensure that
the most meritorious employees are identified and rewarded. Hard
work will pay off, if we have anything to do with it.
- I can tell my mother that we make sure workers are happy.
We draw management attention to employee morale and help enhance
employee job satisfaction, commitment, and the quality of their
working life.
- we construct management development programs that help ensure
the future leadership of our organizations.
- we design career development systems that help people reach
their full potential.
- we are concerned with employee stress, and we try to understand
and lessen that stress through our research and our interventions.
- we help develop and transform entire organizations. We will
help lead America to a prosperous 21st century.
I'm proud to be an I/O Psychologist because:
- we are highly educated. Most of us have PhDs, which is the
highest educational degree offered in our country.
- our education combines the free-thinking of liberal arts and
the disciplined-thinking of science.
- we willingly share our knowledge with each other and with
those in other organizations and occupations. This is not true
of all professions. most of us do volunteer work for the our profession
at one point or another in our careers, if not regularly.
- we look for what is of value, not just for what is wrong.
We are critical of each other s work, but it is for the purpose
of the improvement of that work and the improvement of the field.
We recognize and reward excellence.
- most of us are very hard working, and our behavior is guided
by higher-order principles and standards. Perhaps because we study
work motivation and strive to increase the job performance of
others, most of us
- feel compelled to work extremely hard ourselves. That is probably
why it seems like an oxymoron to think of a lazy I/O Psychologist.
Finally, I'm proud to be an I/O Psychologist because of all
the wonderful people in this profession. As Ben Schneider said
a few years ago in his presidential speech, "the people make
the place."
|