I/O & a 17th Century Saint, Part 2

Last week Jessica introduced the colloquium we attended on the 350th anniversary of the death of St. Vincent DePaul, Sustaining A Healthy Workplace. Healthy workplaces are characterized by the fulfillment of psychological needs, positive relationships, and clean and safe work environments. In her post, Jessica outlined the concept of considering one’s physical environment as a variable for job stress and burnout and the idea of Drug Abuse Treatment as “Dirty Jobs.” She points out that as IO psychologists we typically conduct our work inside clean, white-collar environments.   Jessica ended her post by calling us to action, challenging us to return to the basic principle from which we came – to help others.

Jessica is not the only one who feels strongly about building healthy organizations. The National Institute on Drug Abuse illustrated their support by allocating grants totaling $7.5 million to Dr. Lillian Eby allowing her to study, among other issues, burnout and job stress amongst Drug Abuse counselors (80% of who are in recovery themselves). Even yet, some may still be wondering….what does this have to do with me, why should I care?

As Dr. Eby stated, everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity. This tenant is not only the basis for Principle E of the American Psychological Association’s Code of Ethics, but it also serves as a part of corporate social responsibility. Additionally, job burnout and stress have serious financial implications for organizations. In the past year alone employees have missed 156 million workdays, companies have spent $40 billion on health-related work-issues, and at least 500 lawsuits have been filed with payouts totally between $40 – $50 billion.

Naturally, the next question is… how can IO Psychology make a difference? In part, we can continue doing what we do now – working towards maximizing the fit between employees and organizations and advocating for clean and safe workplaces. Moreover, we can encourage companies to take interest in the well-being of their employees and in creating work conditions that satisfy psychological needs (i.e. developing positive relationships, belonging to a team, being valued for creativity, etc…). Training and development programs can be created to improve individual skills. Perhaps most importantly – we can shift the focus of research to the groups who need us the most. After all, is that not why many of us first took interest in psychology, so that we may be able to help those who need us the most?

 

For more information on the great things Dr. Lillian Eby is doing, visit: http://psychology.uga.edu/people/bios/faculty/Lillian_T_Eby.php

The above information was confirmed in the lecture “Sustaining a Healthy Workplace” (L. Eby, personal communication, 18 May, 2010).