Forensic psychology in the workplace: what is it and what is it for?

These are the aspects in which forensic psychology and organizational psychology overlap.

Within the multiple fields of forensic psychology, the labor psychology is one of the most booming in recent years.

In this article we will explore the main casuistries that this branch of legal psychology encounters within the world of organizations..

Expert psychology in the workplace: characteristics and functions

Psychology is more and more present in our lives, and being the work one of the main activities of the human being, this field was not going to be an exception. That is why forensic psychology in the workplace is becoming increasingly important, as the work of the expert psychologist is essential to help assess a number of pathologies and other issues related to the organizational environment.

In addition, health in the workplace is a very topical concern, and the legislation relating to it is becoming increasingly richer and more extensive.. This means that nowadays a series of pathologies of a psychological nature are contemplated, associated with the work activity, which sometimes require an expert report to prove their existence and take the appropriate legal measures to address the situation.

But in reality the work of the labor forensic psychologist can be much broader, since this discipline deals with very different problems. They can be grouped into four different types.

1. Ability to be hired

By law, in order to sign an employment contract, the person must be in full psychological capacity to act, so there may be cases in which, due to the existence of a certain psychopathology, the forensic psychologist must draw up an expert report to determine whether or not the person is capable of carrying out the work activity.For this reason, there may be cases in which, due to the existence of a certain psychopathology, the forensic psychologist has to draw up an expert report to determine whether or not the person is capable of carrying out the work activity..

2. Aptitude to be able to work

Another field in which the expert labor psychologist can act is the one that has to do with the aptitude to work, supposing that a case has arrived at the courts when there is a disagreement about if a worker is qualified to exercise a certain work, on having counted on a psychological pathology that, presumably, would be limiting him/her or preventing him from performing certain tasks, which are essential for that position.

3. Incapacity and disability

Of course, the role of expert psychology in the labor field is essential to evaluate certain cases of incapacity or disability whose origin comes from a psychopathology.

In this case, the expert would have to evaluate, first, if such psychopathology really exists, and second, if it is really preventing the normal exercise of his or her tasks in that job or in any other job. in that job or in any other job. This report will be crucial for the subsequent determination of the degree of incapacity granted, or disability, if the report concludes that, indeed, the worker is being prevented by the causes described above.

As with physical ailments, these evaluations are essential for a professional, in this case the expert psychologist, to ensure that a simulation is not taking place, as it is a relatively common problem in the context of compensation and subsidies, and therefore requires maximum guarantees to avoid fraud.

But there are also the opposite cases, in which the affected person, in spite of having a pathology that prevents him from performing his duties, tries to dissimulate in order to return to his job as soon as possible. These cases must also be identified in order to ensure their health first and foremost.

4. Occupational psychopathology

Finally, another important task of the forensic psychologist within the company would be to evaluate whether a psychopathology has been the result of an accident at work, and therefore has to be identified, in order to guarantee their health first and foremost.and should therefore be considered as such for legal purposes (benefits, deadlines, etc.).

Psychological risk factors at work

The work context is one of the environments in which the human being spends more time in his day to day, and therefore it is key to have under control all the psychosocial risk factors that can be generated in the workplace.Otherwise, employees could suffer consequences in their state of health, which can range from the first symptoms of stress to chronic ailments that affect the muscular, cardiac, respiratory, digestive, dermatological, within the physical symptoms, but of course also at the psychological level. In fact, there is usually a combination of physical and psychological symptoms.

These factors would therefore be considered as occupational hazards, and the organization must ensure that they are eliminated or reduced as far as possible so that workers suffer no or minimal consequences. or suffer only minimal consequences. This is an important aspect, and it is essential to take into account the characteristics of the person, since psychosocial factors are caused by the interaction between the individual and the environment.

For example, a task that a given person performs without any problem, such as phoning customers to sell them a product, may be an unaffordable challenge for a different person, who will suffer great anxiety every time he or she picks up the phone to call.

To assess all these risks quantitative methods are used, such as questionnaires and the like, which are easy and inexpensive to carry out, as well as qualitative methods.This would include more extensive interviews, which provide us with much more information but are also more costly in terms of resources.

Psychopathology at work

We will now explore some of the psychopathological problems that may occur more commonly in the work environment, as a result of the psychosocial risk factors discussed above.

1. Stress at work

Job stress is the most frequent pathology in this context.. It involves a series of physiological and emotional symptoms. Its onset is caused by the perception of a mismatch between the physical and psychological resources that the person possesses and the constraints of his or her job. This imbalance can come from environmental conditions (noise, light, etc.), the characteristics of the tasks to be performed (repetitive, complex, etc.), unclear roles, problematic interpersonal relationships, and more.

The most common causes are usually an excessive workload, relationship problems with superiors or colleagues, or a perception of lack of control over the activity to be performed. But, as we have already said all these issues depend to a large extent on the characteristics of the person him/herself.The fact that what triggers work stress for one person does not do so for others is a matter that depends on each individual, logically.

As stress at work can come from very diverse causes, the form of evaluation has to be broad, so that none of the factors that may be affecting the employee escape us. Moreover, as we have already seen, they must always be studied in relation to the subject, since perception will always be subjective and what matters is how the individual feels it, because that is what is really affecting him or her.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that stress becomes pathological when it is sustained over time or when its intensity is too high, since a peak of stress at a specific moment would not constitute a psychopathology. In fact, many studies confirm that a moderate level of stress makes people more efficient in their performance.

Burnout syndrome

Burnout syndrome is a concept that has become popular in recent times.. It occurs when the stressful situation at work has been maintained for so long that its effects have become chronic. A person suffering from burn-out is going to have a very negative conception of his job as well as those who are there. He will experience mental exhaustion and will feel depersonalized and ineffective.

Likewise, to evaluate this disorder it is necessary to consider absolutely all the variables that may be affecting it, but more importantly, also the person's own perception of them, as this is the key that will explain where the problem comes from. There are specific scales to evaluate burnout, such as the MBI..

3. Psychological harassment

Another phenomenon about which much has been written in recent years is mobbing, or psychological harassment at work, which has been the subject of many studies in the field of expert psychology in the workplace.

It is very important not to confuse possible interpersonal difficulties, with superiors or colleagues, with the behavior that mobbing really involves, which consists of a continuous psychological mistreatment of the individual. The causes of this harassment may be related to work factors, but it does not necessarily have to be so.

To be able to speak of mobbing, the psychological harassment must be prolonged over time, it cannot be a single event happening in isolation (which would be an interpersonal conflict). (which would be an interpersonal conflict). These behaviors are exercised from a position of power that does not necessarily correspond to the hierarchy occupied in the company, since the harassment can come from a colleague of equal rank or even from a subordinate.

The ways in which psychological harassment can occur at work are grouped into these five categories:

• Conduct against reputation.
• Conduct against job performance.
• Manipulation of information.
• Unequal treatment.
• Degradation in the organizational chart.

It is essential to identify cases of psychological harassment as soon as possible and put an end to them.It is essential to identify cases of psychological harassment as soon as possible and put an end to them, as their repercussions go far beyond the workplace and can have physical and psychological effects and even cause problems in social and family relationships. In the most extreme cases it can lead to suicide, so it is a very serious issue that must be controlled so that it never occurs, and if it does occur, that it is resolved as quickly as possible.

Bibliographic references:

• Clemente, M. (2016). Manual de psicología jurídica laboral. Madrid. Delta Publicaciones Universitarias.
• Trijueque, D.G., Acevedo, R.T., Marina, S.D. (2017). Forensic psychology in the workplace: a theoretical approach. Praxis.
• Trijueque, D.G. (2007). Psychological bullying in the workplace: an approach from forensic psychology. Psicopatología Clínica Legal y Forense.