Module 4 Flashcards
What are industrial and organizational psychologists doing?
Industrial and organizational psychologists are helping employers and employees navigate as COVID-19 reshapes the world of work
Who is Charlene Zhang?
Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologist Charlene Zhang, PhD, is among the millions of employees who now work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which displaced most office workers to their kitchens and living rooms back in March 2020. But even though Zhang spent her time in graduate school researching the science of remote work, she often has to remind herself not to let the lines between work and home life blur.
What is the plus side for Charlene Zhang?
On the plus side, she can start working whenever she wants.
What did Zhang say?
“But then I find myself checking emails all the time,” said Zhang. “I need to put in a conscious effort to separate work and life.”
Aside from being an industrial psychologist what other role does Zhang have?
Zhang is just one participant in a global, unplanned experiment in transforming work virtually overnight, whether workers stayed on the job in circumstances that were now life-threatening or had to transform their homes into offices, often with children as unwitting officemates.
What is changing dramatically within the context of work?
Attitudes about work are already changing dramatically.
What is an example of attitudes changing in the workplace?
For one, employees are reassessing work-life balance. APA’s 2021 Work and Well-being Survey, for example, found that prioritizing mental health has become more important to 59% of employees since the pandemic began. Research by Microsoft suggests that 41% of workers worldwide are considering leaving their current employers.
Who coined the term “Great Resignation”?
Texas A&M University management professor and psychologist Anthony Klotz, PhD, coined the term the “Great Resignation” to describe the phenomenon. (For a look at how COVID is forcing women out of the workforce, see “Women’s Workforce Losses”)
What did Cort Rudolph, PhD say?
“The 1918 flu pandemic shaped how workers approach work,” said Cort Rudolph, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Saint Louis University, noting that the resulting uprisings over unsafe working conditions helped usher in employer-sponsored insurance and workplace safety improvements (Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 1–2, 2021). Now, he said, instead of succumbing to the temptation to return to business as usual, society needs to consider what we’ve learned during this pandemic and reshape work again.
Who is Cort Rudolph?
an associate professor of psychology at Saint Louis University
What is a key priority (in terms of work)?
Finding ways to improve remote work is a key priority.
What did Zhang and her colleagues do when workplaces sent many workers home?
When workplaces sent many workers home in 2020, Zhang and colleagues took advantage of Twitter to gather real-time data about how employees across the English-speaking world were responding (Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 106, No. 6, 2021).
What did Zhang and her colleagues find in their study?
Their analysis revealed many upsides, such as increased productivity, no commute, and the ability to structure workdays as desired. But while workers enjoyed “not sitting in a cubicle all day,” said Zhang, many—especially parents—reported that working from home was stressful because of blurred boundaries and competing demands from family also at home.
How can managers help mitigate these challenges?
Managers can help mitigate these challenges by equipping workers with proper home office setups, helping employees maintain structure by setting aside times for meetings, and encouraging colleagues to engage with each other via frequent check-ins.
What are other I/O psychologists focusing on?
Other I/O psychologists are focusing on specific elements of the work-from-home experience.
What did Kristen Shockley, PhD do?
Kristen Shockley, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Georgia, has examined the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue (Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 106, No. 8, 2021).
Who is Kristen Shockley?
Kristen Shockley, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Georgia
What did Shockley find in their experiment?
In an experiment in which employees were randomly assigned to have cameras either on or off for 2 weeks and then switch conditions for 2 additional weeks, Shockley and colleagues found that having cameras on resulted in employees—especially women and recent hires— feeling more fatigued, less engaged in meetings, and less like they had a voice in meetings.
What did Shockley say?
“The self-presentation that goes with having the camera on is cognitively taxing,” explained Shockley. “You’re looking at yourself and being hypervigilant about how people are reacting to you.”
What does Shockley hope to do in future research?
In future research, Shockley hopes to investigate whether using avatars or side-view cameras that simulate a typical meeting space would help.
What did Darrin Grelle say?
For members of marginalized groups, such as non-White workers and sexual and gender minorities, working from home can feel more comfortable, said Darrin Grelle, PhD, principal research scientist at SHL, a company with offices around the world that helps employers select the best employees.
Who is Darrin Grelle, PhD?
principal research scientist at SHL
What is SHL?
a company with offices around the world that helps employers select the best employee
What else did Grelle say?
“Speaking as a gay man, the way you act in the office may not be the way you act at home, and that uses up emotional and psychological resources,” he said. “If you’re working remotely, you don’t have to do that as much, and, therefore, you have more cognitive resources to get your work done.”
What did Dianne Nilsen, PhD say?
It’s not just employees who are benefiting from remote work, said psychologist Dianne Nilsen, PhD, a managing partner and executive consultant at Curphy Leadership Solutions, a business strategy consulting firm.
Who is Dianne Nilsen?
a managing partner and executive consultant at Curphy Leadership Solutions and a coauthor of an APA Div. 14 (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) tip sheet on optimizing remote work
What company is Curphy Leadership Solutions?
a business strategy consulting firm
What else has the pandemic demonstrated?
The pandemic has also demonstrated to once-reluctant organizational leaders that productivity doesn’t falter when employees aren’t in the office.
What did Nilsen say?
“A lot of employers are seeing increased profitability; business is even better with people working from home,” said Nilsen. In fact, she said, the enhanced work-life balance remote work allows has become such a perk that she expects remote or hybrid arrangements to become the norm post-pandemic. “Those organizations that are insisting on butts in seats are having a very hard time recruiting and retaining people,” she said.
True or False. The statistics do not bear out what Nilsen said.
FALSE.
The statistics bear that out. According to market research firm Medallia’s 2021 Return to Work consumer insights study, fewer than 1 in 5 employees currently working remotely want to return to an exclusively in-person workplace. Instead, most prefer a hybrid arrangement, with 2 or 3 days of in-person work per week as the “sweet spot.” About half of workers said they would be very or somewhat likely to seek employment elsewhere if their preferred setup was not available.
What is hybrid work?
Hybrid work, which offers the best of both worlds, will be the wave of the future
Who made the prediction about hybrid work?
I/O psychologist Tammy Allen, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida
What else did Allen say?
“Ease of collaboration remains an issue,” she said. “There are still benefits of having face-to- face interactions, but people don’t need to be in the office 9 to 5 every day.” Employers shouldn’t just have half their workforce come in Mondays and Wednesdays and the other half come in Tuesdays and Thursdays, Allen said.
What did Allen say that managers should focus on?
Instead, managers should focus on activities and ensure that team members are all in the office on the same days. “I have a colleague who has to go into work but then is just on Zoom meetings all day because the people he needs to work with are working from home,” Allen said. “You don’t need to go into an office just to do more Zoom.” Managers should also evaluate employees not on the amount of time they spend at work but on the impact they’re making with their work, she added.
Have the majority of workers enjoyed the luxury of working from home? And why?
Of course, the majority of workers haven’t enjoyed the luxury of working from home; many jobs simply can’t be performed remotely.
According to a poll, what is the percentage of the total workforce working remotely in May 2020 (the height of the pandemic)?
Even at the height of pandemic-induced teleworking in May 2020, only 35% of the total workforce was working remotely, according to a poll from the market research and analytics company Leger, commissioned by The Atlantic magazine.
What have those who have been at physical workplaces since the beginning of the pandemic feeling?
Those who have been at physical workplaces since the pandemic’s beginning—especially health care professionals—are burned out.
What did a 2021 KFF/Washington Post poll find?
A 2021 KFF/Washington Post poll, for example, found that 3 in 10 health care professionals have considered leaving the field.
What has Rebecca Richey done?
To help such workers, the University of Colorado’s Rebecca Richey, PsyD, has developed a brief cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention for women working in health care (Psychotherapy, advance online publication, 2021).
What is the difference between Richey’s CBT and traditional CBT?
In contrast to traditional CBT, this intervention goes beyond challenging distorted thinking patterns to challenging sexism, racism, and other factors contributing to stress for this population.
What did Richey say?
“It [her version of CBT intervention] empowers workers to use their voice to say this isn’t a problem with me; it’s a situation that’s not okay,” said Richey, an assistant professor of internal medicine and lead psychologist at the university’s Women’s Integrated Services in Health clinic.
Who is Rebecca Richey?
an assistant professor of internal medicine and lead psychologist at the university’s Women’s Integrated Services in Health clinic
What is one case that occurred in Richey’s CBT intervention?
In one case, a health care worker tasked with working extra night shifts despite being a single mother used skills developed from Richey’s intervention to successfully challenge a boss who claimed her reluctance stemmed from not being a team player.
What are vaccine mandates doing?
In addition, vaccine mandates are helping to make workplaces feel safer.
What did Biden do in the summer of 2021?
In the summer of 2021, President Joe Bidenannouncedfederal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans—including vaccination or weekly testing for employees of organizations with more than 100 workers, vaccination for employees of health care facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding, and vaccination for executive branch employees and federal contractors.
What did Anthony Markman say?
Mandates are also an effective way to persuade many resistant employees to get vaccinated, according to psychology professor Arthur Markman, PhD, of the University of Texas at Austin, who studies decision-making (The Conversation, Sept. 23, 2021).
Who is Anthony Markman?
psychology professor of the University of Texas at Austin, who studies decision-making (The Conversation, Sept. 23, 2021).
What else do mandates do for employees?
For those who have made their opposition to vaccination public via social media, for example, mandates provide face- saving “social cover” to get the shot, mandates also help tip the balance of evidence toward vaccination for employees who are wavering.
What did Allison Gabriel, PhD say?
Employers also shouldn’t simply assume that their employees want to return to the norms of their pre-pandemic workplaces, said Allison Gabriel, PhD. Employers shouldn’t assume that employees want to keep working at all, said Gabriel, pointing to the Great Resignation. “There’s an assumption that everybody wants to return to work, that everyone is grateful and thrilled,” she said. “That’s not what we’re seeing.”
Who is Allison Gabriel?
a professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management
What does Gabriel think that is needed?
What’s needed, said Gabriel, is a deeper dive into the emotional complexities of work during COVID (Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 1–2, 2021).
What has the pandemic led many workers to realize?
The pandemic hasled many workers to realize their jobs no longer align with their broader goals, she said. Others may feel fearful or resentful about being forced back into situations that are still dangerous.
What did Gabriel say in terms of employees’ realizations?
Said Gabriel, “This is a crucial moment to step back and figure out new ways of doing things rather than making a big rush to the old way of working.”
What are the all-time highs across professions and among already strained healthcare workers?
Burnout and stress are at all-time highs across professions, and among already strained health care workers.
What are burnout and stress exacerbated by?
They are exacerbated by the politicization of mask-wearing and other unrelenting stressors.
What has the COVID-19 pandemic introduced?
From longer work hours to increased demands at home, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced new stressors to nearly every domain of life.
What has happened to the stressors as the world heads into the 3rd year of the pandemic?
As the world heads into the 3rd year of the pandemic, these stressors have become persistent and indefinite, heightening everyone’s risk of burnout.
What are the professions who are facing an even higher risk with stressors?
Anyone exposed to chronically stressful conditions can experience burnout, but human services employees, first responders, and those in educational services are at an even higher risk, especially as the public continues to resist COVID-19 prevention measures.
What is burnout according to the World Health Organization?
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy (World Health Organization, 2019).
What are the results of the survey on the stressors?
- As in 2020, American workers across the board saw heightened rates of burnout in 2021, and according to APA’s 2021 Work and Well-being Survey of 1,501 U.S. adult workers, 79% of employees had experienced work-related stress in the month before the survey.
- Nearly 3 in 5 employees reported negative impacts of work-related stress, including lack of interest, motivation, or energy (26%) and lack of effort at work (19%).
- Meanwhile, 36% reported cognitive weariness, 32% reported emotional exhaustion, and an astounding 44% reported physical fatigue—a 38% increase since 2019.
TRUE OR FALSE. Some occupations are more vulnerable than others to the effects of burnout.
TRUE.
Some occupations are more vulnerable than others to the effects of burnout. Christina Maslach, PhD, a professor emerita of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a core researcher at the university’s Healthy Workplaces Center, said teachers and health care workers are uniquely prone to high rates of burnout, as was the case even before the pandemic.
Who is Christina Maslach, PhD?
a professor emerita of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a core researcher at the university’s Healthy Workplaces Center
What did Christina Maslach, PhD say?
She said teachers and health care workers are uniquely prone to high rates of burnout, as was the case even before the pandemic. “We’ve known people in these occupations have always had higher rates of burnout, but it’s been so much harder to keep up with the demands during a pandemic in caretaking professions,” Maslach said.
What else has Michael P. Leiter noticed about burnout?
While APA’s data suggest persistent workplace stress has contributed to reduced efficacy and exhaustion, Michael P. Leiter, PhD, an honorary professor of organizational psychology at Melbourne’s Deakin University and an organizational psychologist who studies burnout, said he’s noticed increased cynicism, too, another classic sign of burnout.
Who is Michael P. Leiter, PhD?
an honorary professor of organizational psychology at Melbourne’s Deakin University and an organizational psychologist
What did Leiter say?
Issues like the politicization of masks and vaccines and feelings of lack of support from the government and workplaces have caused workers—especially those in public-facing jobs—to become cynical about their jobs and about the public in general. “This kind of cynicism is powerful because it undermines the people’s feelings about the value of their work, which can help motivate them during hard times,” Leiter said.
What else has Maslach said?
Because these pandemic-related stressors likely won’t stop anytime soon, stress-reducing measures should be top of mind for employers and legislators alike. “As demands increase, organizations need to focus on maintaining balance, taking things off the plate when they add something new,” Maslach said. That’s especially important in health care settings, she added, where attrition rates are especially high.
What are some organizations doing on burnout?
Some organizations are already responding, sometimes with the help of psychologists.
What has a June 2021 article from the Washington Post said that companies are doing (in terms of burnout)?
A June 2021 article in The Washington Post highlighted that companies of varying sizes and in many industries are finding new ways to ensure employee well-being, from increased time off to offering such services as after-school tutoring and childcare.
What are psychologists continuing to do in health care?
In health care, psychologists continue to explore how to create better balance for front-line workers.
What is Craig Rooney, PhD doing?
Psychologist Craig Rooney, PhD, program director of the Office of Clinician Well-Being at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, is working to launch a physician leadership development program that will hopefully prevent downstream effects of burnout in health care settings. Other health care organizations can adopt a similar approach to promote resilience among clinicians, especially as hospitals across the country continue to face ongoing strain.
Who is Craig Rooney, PhD?
program director of the Office of Clinician Well-Being at the University of Missouri School of Medicine
What does Leiter hope that workplaces do?
Leiter hopes workplaces across the board will continue to pay attention, starting with listening to employees about their needs and responding with flexibility. “Employers could reduce the propensity for burnout, but rigidity will only cause more burnout in workplaces,” he said.
