As the COVID-19 outbreak rapidly evolved from a public health crisis into a broader threat that has fundamentally disrupted our nation’s civic and economic structures, SIOP has continued to actively seek ways to support its members and partners.

Please see the March 30, 2020 guidance on Congressional and Federal Agency Responses and Opportunities Regarding the COVID-19 Outbreak. Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC, will be posting weekly updates to this document.

SIOP’s first considerations are for your health and physical safety, as well as your professional well-being.  We are immensely proud of the work SIOP members, volunteers, and staff are doing to help each other and the wider community adapt to the exigencies of the times.

Montclair State University in NJ is excited to announce they are launching a new PhD Program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, with the inaugural class starting Fall 2020. Alongside the department’s recently launched Clinical PhD program, the I/O program is based on the scientist-practitioner model and provides students with extensive training in methods, statistics, and evidence-based approaches to industrial and organizational topics.

Learn more about the author at  http://resiliencealliance.com/linda-hoopes-phd/

​I am writing this article early in the US response to the coronavirus epidemic. Please consider how the ideas below apply to individuals, groups, organizations, and nations as we find our way through this crisis, and also about how we can build more resilience into our systems in the future.

Although I am passionate about helping people thrive in turbulence, I must confess that I sometimes get tired of hearing the word “resilience.” Just about every conversation that takes place about change, stress, crisis, or well-being includes the term, but its definitions vary widely. Here are a few examples:

Crises tend to bring out both the best and the worst in people. On one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has people picking up groceries for their elderly neighbors, sewing masks, and sending hand sanitizers to those in need. At the same time, others are hoarding toilet paper, spreading conspiracy theories on social media, and failing to follow health directives from authorities.

Hardly anyone is going through their normal routines of getting ready for work, commuting to the office, spending the day with colleagues, returning home, and enjoying evenings with family and friends. People are struggling with how to effectively work from home while simultaneously being their children’s primary education and day care provider. Health care workers and others deemed essential are working longer hours than ever before, whereas those in the restaurant, bar, entertainment, fitness, hospitality, airline, and cruise industries sit idle.  Consultants and gig economy workers have seen most sources of income dry up, and those still employed have no idea whether their companies will be in business next year. The disruptions to our daily routine, uncertainty about finances, concerns about becoming infected or losing loved ones, and isolation are creating unprecedented levels of stress. No one is going to be at their best under these circumstances; the COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm for our dark sides to emerge.