What is work psychology? Characteristics and areas of work

This is what defines the branch of psychology dedicated to the context of work and performance.

Beyond the field of care for patients with psychological problems, there are many other branches of psychology that can be applied to very diverse contexts. In fact, one of those with the most employment opportunities is only indirectly related to the world of disorders: it is work psychology, linked to the world of organizations and business.

Throughout this article we will see a brief summary of what work psychology (also called "work psychology") is. (also called "work psychology") and what are its fields of intervention.

Characteristics of work psychology

As its name indicates, the work psychology is that one that is responsible for the study of behavior in the workplace and the implementation of behavior modification programs in the workplace. in the workplace.

It usually focuses on work associated with the context of professions and trades, that is, work that is divided into specialists and is part of people's career path, allowing them to obtain something in return (even if this "something" is not reduced to a salary or income).

On the other hand, work psychology understands that work is almost always performed in a social context, so it also takes into account the dynamics of the work environment. team dynamics, leadership processes, and everything that takes place within companies and business relationships, are also taken into account. and business relationships.

It is for this reason that this branch of psychology overlaps a lot with organizational psychology.It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them, as they form the same field of research and psychological intervention.

Areas of work

These are the main thematic areas in which work is carried out in work psychology.

Motivation

Motivation is key both in companies and in one-person professional projects.

Sometimes, the idea is good, the material resources are available, the necessary knowledge is available, but the desire to participate in the work project is lacking. In these cases, it is necessary that a specialist analyzes the case and proposes changes to generate a work context in which motivation finally emerges and everything starts to work. finally emerges and everything starts to work smoothly.

2. Leadership

Something as simple as knowing how to lead can make a difference both in the performance obtained and in the feelings produced by working in a certain institution (and, consequently, in the incentives to stay in it). For this reason, work psychology is also working to propose changes in the way of communicating, of managing incidents, of proposing incentives, of setting an example, etc.etc.

3. Personnel selection

The selection of personnel is essential for a group of workers to function well, given that some parts of the organization depend on others. For this reason, experts in work psychology can work both by work both performing these filtering processes and defining the job position to be filled..

4. Training of workers

Many times, workers do not have to be trained in areas of expertise that they already master, but in other skills that are necessary to perform well but are not "the core" of what they do on a daily basis, what defines their position and distinguishes it from the rest. For example: managing emotions, learning safety protocols, communication skills, etc. In order to avoid imbalances in these areas, Many organizations offer courses or workshops so that employees can learn and train new knowledge and skills..

5. Performance

This is one of the most important areas of intervention in occupational psychology: knowing how to drive programs to boost performance is key in many aspects.This can determine whether a project will be viable in the medium or long term or not.

This is where incentives, team configuration, the ability to correct workflow defects, the degree to which workers know how to manage stress in certain situations, and even the design of workspaces and the tools used to work come into play.

6. Internal communication

Internal communication is also part of the job, since it is necessary to know how to coordinate and, at the same time, to be clear about the general way of working in the organization. Knowing how to create the routes along which the flow of communication will go is complex, because it requires taking into account many variables, and many of them are not technical, but psychological.

7. Work climate

The work climate defines the type of attitudes and feelings that emanate from the work context, both from the facilities in which they are located and from the work environment.The work climate defines the type of attitudes and feelings that the work environment gives off, both from the facilities in which the work is done and from the way of working and the type of people that make up the team. Therefore, it is an important factor that in practice is essential to the values of the company.

Are you interested in training in this field of psychology?

If you are considering training and becoming a professional in this area of work, you may be interested in the University Master's Degree in Selection and Talent Management organized by the University of Malaga..

This post-university training program consists of internships in leading companies in their sector and two blocks of theoretical and practical learning that can also be taken as individual postgraduate courses: University Expert in Talent Selection and University Expert in Training, Personal and Organizational Development. In total, the entire Master's Degree consists of 75 ECTs.

With a teaching team made up of experts in the world of business and labor and organizational psychology, in the Master's program it is possible to learn about aspects as varied as personnel selection, processes for attracting and retaining talent in the workforce, the development of training plans for workers, the use of new technologies in Human Resources, team leadership, and more. For all these reasons, it is not surprising that 80% of graduates get paid extracurricular internships.

To see more information about the Master's Degree, as well as its contact details, access this page.

Bibliographical references:

• Cooper, C.; Robertson, I. (2004). International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
• Dierdorff, E.C.; Surface, E.A. (2008). Assessing training needs: Do work experience and capability matter?. Human Performance, 21: pp. 28 - 48.
• Dormann, C.; Zapf, D. (2002). Social stressors at work, irritation, and depressive symptoms: Accounting for unmeasured third variables in a multi-wave study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75 (1), 33–58.
• Zedeck, S. (2010). APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.