Updates From the Alliance for Organizational Psychology

The Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP) met on October 21, 2024 with the Board of Delegates composed of (in alphabetical order):

• Brazilian Society of Organizational and Work Psychology (SBPOT)
• Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CSIOP)
• College of Organisational Psychologists (COPS) of the Australian Psychological Society
• European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP)
• International Association of Applied Psychology–Division 1: Work & Organizational Psychology (IAAP-Div 1)
• Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)

The two new associations of the federated Alliance are SBPOT from Brazil and COPS from Australia. Brazil has about 66,500 professionals trained in work and organizational psychology (WOP) and SBPOT, founded in 2001, has roughly 202 members (professionals and students). SBPOT’s mission is to build strategies and interventions that promote, preserve, and restore quality of life and well-being of people at work. Its purpose is to “foster, promote and share applied scientific knowledge and technology in WOP” (give WOP away through books, journals, and conferences). Its future plans are to expand and strengthen the WOP community, share content to ease professional development and teaching of WOP, maintain its journal’s sustainability and expand its reach, hold a memorable XII CBPOT (conference), and develop new streams of income. The challenges it sees today for the discipline include digital transformation, mental health at work, diversity and inclusion, changing work relations, and precarious work.

In Australia, COPS is one of the nine colleges of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). It has about 1,000 members (APS has about 20,000 members). Each state has a branch of COPS. Its focus is on professional development and future concerns are shared with those of Brazil.

We warmly welcome both associations and are excited about the partnership!

AOP’s plans for the future include hosting three sessions at the upcoming 2025 SIOP Conference and 2025 EAWOP Congress. With kudos to Committee Chair Julia Haas, the AOP’s sessions at SIOP include:

• Carrying the “Reconciliatory Burden”: I-O’s Role in Improving Indigenous Employment
• Leading Organizations in a Time of Global Instability: A Focus on Trust
• Issues, Considerations, and Impact of Migration on the Workplace

Sessions at EAWOP are still finalizing.

The Big Tent’s Laura Dryjanska shared activities of the initiative and invites all people who have connections with leadership of local industrial, work, and organizational psychology (IWOP) groups around the world to join the Big Tent. If you are interested, please contact us here: https://alliancefororganizationalpsychology.com/contact-us.

The AOP also has on the horizon a publication initiative around the Declaration of Identity. We invite you to read more about the Declaration here: https://alliancefororganizationalpsychology.com/declaration-of-identity

For the upcoming conferences (SIOP and EAWOP), the AOP plans to host meetings to strengthen connections with delegates and gather more information about needs and future initiatives. In the upcoming quarter, the Alliance will be publishing its inaugural quarterly newsletter. The AOP also intends to facilitate increased collaboration and communication to advance our field and foster greater advocacy. Understanding the needs and challenges of global IWOP associations will be critical to this goal. Finally, we plan on holding a 1-day global summit for leadership of IWOP associations around the world.

Please reach out to the AOP if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions.