Applying psychology in the Workplace

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Applying psychology in the Workplace

• Hazel Braithwaite MSc CPsychol
• Business Psychologist
• Work Performance Coaching

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Overview

• What does an Occupational Psychologist do?
• Examples
• Psychology input
• Practicalities
• How to become an Occupational Psychologist
• Summary any Qs

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Occupational Psychology

• Occupational psychologists are concerned with
  the performance of people at work and in
  training, how organisations function and how
  individuals and small groups behave at work. The
  term 'organisation' is used to describe a group
  of people working together with a common purpose
  or goal.

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Levels of operation
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Working with the organisation

• eg
• Business models
• Competency models
• HR procedures
• Organisational culture
• Top team work
• Organisational structure

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Working with teams

• eg
• Objectives goals
• Leadership motivation
• Team working
• Interpersonal relations
• Work environment

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Working with individuals

• Eg
• Assessment
• Selection
• Performance appraisal
• Training needs
• Professional development
• Personal development

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Some work areas in more detail - overview

• Assessment selection
• Team building
• Coaching one-on-one

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Specialist interviewing
Design of Selection process
Interview training
Assessment Selection
Psychometrics
Job analysis
Design Competency Frameworks
Assessment Development Centres
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Why use Psychometrics?

• Evidence, not impressions
• Objective
• More compete coverage of competencies
• Cognitive abilities can be tested
• Uncover unexpected areas of weakness
• Fair to candidates
• Reliable assessment of candidates

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Competencies - include

• Knowledge
• Skills
• Personal attributes

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Competencies - examples

• Knowledge
• Communication
• Planning organising
• Influencing assertiveness
• Customer focus
• Team working
• Commercial awareness
• Problem solving decision making
• Achievement driven

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Understanding Work styles
Vision Clarify goals values
Co-operation Win-win
Openness honesty
Team Building Facilitation
Decision-making
Conflict resolution
Engagement
Leadership style
Communicating effectively
soft skills or tough skills??!!...
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Teamwork building blocks
Mike Woodcock 1979
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Work pressure/ Managing stress
Inter-personal skills
Asking Qs listening
Management/leadership style
Work-life balance
Personality/work style preferences
Communicating assertively
Coaching (individual)
Self-awareness
Confidence/ Self-esteem
Performance Enhancing Thinking
Blocking emotions
Responsibility/ Pro-activity
Time project management
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Work Performance Coaching

• Helping you to improve your performance and
  well-being at work and in everyday life
• Coaching Psychology is for enhancing well-being
  and performance in personal and work domains
  underpinned by models of coaching grounded in
  established adult learning or psychological
  approaches. (adapted Grant Palmer, 2002)

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A state of wellbeing enables us to work more
effectively.
(a state of) Wellbeing
(Effective) Work Performance
Effective working enhances our feeling of
wellbeing.
Braithwaite 2005
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Influential schools of thought - examples

• Work style preferences Carl Jung
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy eg Stephen Palmer
• Ego States / Transactional Analysis Eric Berne
• Personal Construct Theory George Kelly
• Gestalt Theory
• Positive Psychology Martin Seligman
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Daniel Goleman
• Cognitive Psychology eg Donald Norman

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Other theoretical models/concepts techniques
used - examples

• Affirmative inquiry
• Learning Styles
• Motivation models
• Organisational Culture models
• Stress models

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Contribution of Psychology knowledge training

• Objective
• Sound
• Reference to theoretical models
• Reference to research data
• Use research principles

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Suggested reading - to get an applied flavour

• www.pocketbook.co.uk eg
• Emotional Intelligence
• Influencing
• Assertiveness
• Israel et al (2000) Your Mind at Work
• Neenan Dryden (2002) Life Coaching A
  Cognitive Behavioural Approach

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Reference books for practical techniques -
examples

• Whitney et al (2002) Encyclopedia of Positive
  Questions Vol 1 Using Appreciative Inquiry to
  bring out the best in your organisation
• Jankowicz (2004) The Easy Guide to Repertory Grids

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Practicalities

• Ethics
• Challenges
• Rewards
• Opportunities

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Ethical considerations

• Confidentiality
• Who is the client?
• Working within the boundary of ones professional
  expertise

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Professional challenges

• Confidentiality
• Loyalty to individuals
• Trust
• Working for the greater good
• The organisation vs. the individual
• Whose objectives?
• Stuckness resistance to change

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Commercial challenges

• Finding the business
• Selling an intangible service
• Proving your worth
• Pricing the job
• Keeping up-to-date with your industry
• Which accreditations?

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Rewards

• See people organisations moving forward
• Opportunity for intuition creativity
• Varied non-routine
• Recognition
• Great opportunity for professional personal
  development
• The pay!

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Employment opportunities

• Employed vs. self-employed
• Specialist vs. generalist
• Early career later career
• Internal consultancy
• Business Psychology consultancies
• General Management consultancies
• Public sector

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Considerations whats important to you?

• Security of income
• Work experience/credibility
• Contacts base / network
• Variety
• Work hours flexibility
• Control of own career
• Supervision peer availability

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Stop Press!! Statutory Regulation
Starting July 2009
Still going through parliament
BPS Register
Health Professions Council Register
Watch this space! www.bps.org.uk
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Areas of Chartered Status

• Clinical Psychology
• Counselling Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Occupational Psychology
• Sport Exercise Psychology
• Teaching and Research in Psychology

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For all psychology specialisms you must have
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Graduate Basis for Registration(GBR)

• You can get the GBR by completing a qualification
  accredited by the BPS at a 22 honours standard,
  these include
• Accredited Undergraduate Degrees
• Accredited Conversion Courses
• The Societys Qualifying Examination

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Becoming qualified - overview
Psychology degree or equivalent
QOccPsych stage 1 Knowledge research (part 1)
MSc course or equivalent
QOccPsych stage 2 Practice research (part 2)
supervised practice (2 years plus)
Chartered Occupational Psychologist
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BPS Occupational Psychology areas

• Counselling personal development
• Employee relations and motivation
• Organisational development
• Personnel selection assessment
• Design of environments and of work
• Human-machine interaction
• Performance appraisal and career development
• Training
• (as listed in the Directory of Chartered
  Psychologists)

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Steps to becoming qualified

• BSc in Psychology graduate membership of the
  BPS
• Work experience, ideally
• Engage a supervisor
• Enrol for the Qualification in Occupational
  Psychology QOccPsych Join the Division of
  Occupational Psychology - Conditional
  Registration
• MSc Occupational Psychology Stage 1 QOccPsych
• Enrol for QOccPsych join DOP if you didnt
  before! too late?
• Two years plus supervised Occupational Psychology
  experience log everything! Stage 2 QOccPsych
• Successfully pass QOccPsych
• Full member of the DOP Chartered Status

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www.bps.org.uk

• For up to date information about
• Accredited courses
• Routes to Chartered Status
• Specialist Registers
• Professional divisions
• Visit the Societys website.

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Other professional organisations

• THE ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGISTSThe ABP
  is a community of professionals who are business
  led, and psychology-focussed, who share a common
  purpose to bring the best from research and
  applied psychology to the business world.
  www.theabp.org
• Chartered Institute of Personnel Development
  www.cipd.co.uk
• Special Group in Coaching Psychology (BPS)
  www.sgcp.org.uk
• Association for coachingwww.assocationforcoaching
  .org

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Questions

• What will you remember from todays session?
• What interests you in Occupational Psychology?
• What more do you want to find out?