Things Every Business Needs to Know About Industrial-organizational Psychology

Things Every Business Needs to Know About Industrial-organizational Psychology

Industrial-Organizational Psychology refers to the study of individuals in formal organizations, including the workplace. Industrial-organizational psychologists perform a wide array of tasks, including studying employee attitudes & behavior, evaluating organizations & workplaces, conducting leadership training, and more. The objective of organizational psychologists is to study and understand human behavior in a formal workplace.

Defining Industrial-organizational Psychology

Industrial-organizational psychology has two major sides, industrial and organizational sides, namely.

The industrial side involves looking at how to match individuals to specific job roles.

People working in this area are responsible for assessing employee characteristics and match them to jobs in which they are likely to excel. Other functions of the industrial side of psychology of organizations include giving training to employees, developing job performance standards, and assessing job performance.

The organizational side of psychology focuses more on understanding how organizations affect an employee’s behavior. Organizational structures, management styles, social norms, and role expectations are the factors that can highly influence how individuals behave in an organization.

By understanding these factors, IO psychologists aim to improve individual performance and well-being while ensuring the overall welfare of the organization.

Key Subject Areas

Most industrial-organizational psychologists work in the following areas:

Also read: Implementing Change in Workplaces for Ensuring Organizational Development

• Employee selection: This involves assessing employee selection, such as screening tests to determine if the applicant is qualified for a particular job role.
• Ergonomics: The field of ergonomics involves developing procedures and equipment to enhance job performance and minimize injury.
• Organizational development: IO psychologists help improve organizations, usually through increasing profits, redesigning products, and improving the overall organizational structure.
• Performance management: This area involves developing assessment tools and techniques to decide whether employees are performing well in their jobs.
• Training and development: Psychologists work to determine the type of skills necessary to perform specific jobs and develop and assess employee training programs.
• Work-life: This area focuses extensively on improving employee satisfaction and enhancing the productivity of the entire workforce. IO psychologists work to find ways to make jobs more rewarding. They come up with unique programs that improve the quality of work in the workplace.
• Employee motivation: Professionals use psychological principles to help keep workers motivated in their jobs.
• Employee testing: IO psychologists often use psychological tests and principles to help organizations select candidates ideal for a specific job role.
• Leadership: IO psychologists help leaders develop better strategies or train managers to manage employees’ leadership skills effectively.
• Product design: Some IO psychologists work to develop consumer products.
• Workplace diversity: Psychology professionals in this field help organizations develop unique and effective hiring practices that foster greater diversity and train employees to embrace diversity and inclusion.

If you are looking to enhance your organization’s overall performance by employing the best-in-class behavioral tools, KW Productions is here to help. We are known for measuring organizational culture, administering psychology-based assessments and tests to ensure long-term success. If you have further queries, feel free to contact us.