The theory of human relations and its application to organizations.

This theory of Industrial Psychology emphasizes the human component of work.

The world of work has changed a lot throughout history. From the typical trades of the Middle Ages to the large and small companies in which we work today, passing through the work in factories after the Industrial Revolution, changes have been taking place both in terms of the vision of work and in what it involves the worker or the way in which he or she should be treated.

Numerous studies have been carried out in this field by various disciplines such as psychology, some of them leading to changes in the way society and employers view workers and the importance of their well-being in their productivity.

While initially the worker was seen as a "lazy bum" who had to be motivated mainly by salary, it was gradually realized that there were a large number of factors that influence the worker, his productivity and his general well-being. This progressive change would be greatly helped by the Hawthorne studies and the development of the the development of the theory of human relationsWe are going to talk about it in this article.

Precedents in organizational psychology

Although the fact that the human and relational factor is important in the work environment is nowadays something considered common and logical, the truth is that at the time this notion was introduced it was a revolution. The fact is that the theory of human relationships, elaborated by Elton Mayobegan to develop around the 1930s.

At that time, the general conception of organizations and work in them was a classical vision, centered on production and which saw the worker as a lazy and idle entity that needed to be spurred on by the salary to work, or as a machine that had to be guided from the leadership positions (the only ones on whom the fact of organizing and dominating the company depended).

It was not until the emergence of psychology and its application to the labor and industrial environment that the factors affecting the worker would begin to be analyzed from a humanistic and psychological perspective. Thanks to this and to and a growing need to both humanize and democratize production (dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction (dissatisfaction, abuses and workers' revolts were frequent), a conception closer to the worker in the industrial environment would be developed.

The theory of human relations

The theory of human relations is a theory of organizational psychology, which proposes that the most important part of an organization is the human and interactive part and that the worker's behavior is more related to belonging to a social group, his well-being with the environment and the social norms existing within that group than to the type of task performed, how it is structured or the receipt of a specific salary (which was believed to be the worker's only motivator).

Basically, it establishes the importance of the social environment in which the worker develops and the psychological impact of this environment. and the psychological impact of that environment in explaining work behavior, performance and productivity.

In this theory, which appears as a reaction to the excessive control over the task that existed during the era, the focus of interest ceases to be on the task itself and how the organization is structured to focus on the worker and the network of social relationships and friendships relationships and friendships he or she forms within the organization.

Likewise, the worker is no longer seen as an independent element whose performance depends solely on his or her will, but rather as dependent to a large extent on his or her relationship with the group and how it is organized.

Moreover, thanks to the studies carried out, the power of the network and links that form informally among workers, the importance of the perception of social support and the impact of these processes in improving performance or reducing it are beginning to be taken into account in order to conform to the norm of the group to which they belong.. It would also allow the development of new systems and strategies aimed at improving and optimizing the development of the members of the organization, as well as aspects such as the assessment of communications and feedback to employees.

Hawthorne's experiments

The theory of human relations and subsequent developments derive from the aspects mentioned above, but probably one of the most relevant milestones that led to its birth were the Hawthorne experiments, conducted at the Hawthorne factory of Elton Mayo and other collaborators.

Initially these experiments were started in 1925 with the initial intention was to to search for a relationship between lighting and employee productivity.Mayo began to evaluate the working conditions (relatively good for the time) and the performance of the workers in different lighting conditions. In this aspect they did not find great variability, but they managed to locate other variables of great importance: the psychosocial ones.

After that, from 1928 to 1940, they began to analyze these humanistic and psychosocial factors. In a first phase, the working conditions and the effect of the feelings and emotions of the employees towards the work, the environment and even their role in it were analyzed. It emerged that personal consideration played a major role in employee performance and satisfaction..

It was in the second phase that one of the great divergences with the more classical theories was found: the behavior of workers was more closely linked to social and organizational factors than to their own individual characteristics. This was achieved through a series of interviews in which the researchers sought to get the workers to express their assessment of their work.

In a third phase, the work groups and the interaction between workers were analyzed, with experiments in which a payment system was used in which a high salary was only maintained if there was an increase in total production, to which the workers responded by standardizing their productivity in order to increase it little by little, initially reducing the level of the most efficient workers so that everyone could increase their total performance: sought to be consistent in their performance so that all members of the group could have some stability.

There was both a sanction against those who did not respect the group norm (those who did not comply with the informal norm were pressured) and a search for conformity in order to comply with the group norm. as well as a search for conformity with the majority..

The fourth and last phase focused on studying the interaction between the formal organization of the company and the informal organization of the employees, seeking an interaction in which workers could express their problems and conflicts. The conclusions of these experiments would lead to the generation of an interest in the employee and his or her ties, which would gradually expand.