Future Trends and Influences on Organisational Psychology

Beryl Hesketh

IO Conference 2009

• Insert picture of Manly

Overview• Unique Contribution of IO Psychology in Australia• Future Directions:

– Measurement– Theoretical and conceptual issues– Practical Applications and new areas of application

• Likely sources of influence on I/O Psychology• Final thoughts about future directions

Potential Unique Contribution of Australian Organisational Psychology

• Geographic

• Breadth of areas covered

• Cultural melting pot

Measurement, Theory and Applications: Source of Ideas

Future Developments in Measurement

– Longitudinal (time); realtime; Exploratory Sequential Data Analysis

– Multilevel– Scalability – big issue in Science and Engineering– Technology enhanced (eg web surveys – need to

include applets eg for fuzzy ratings).– Use of existing data bases (especially longitudinal)

including data mining– Non-linear – captured through visual analytics

Theoretical and Conceptual Issues:Future Directions

• Interplay of measurement and theory (more longitudinal data – lead to better process theories)

• Typology, Classification and Conceptual Conservatism

• Validity• P-E Fit adapted to IO-Context fit.

Typologies and Conceptual Conservatism• Classification and conceptual clarity is the foundation for

knowledge building in IO and in all science.• Eg: teams, criterion, personality dimensions, job

evaluation, performance etc.• BUT premature purity has several downsides:

– Reduces interdisciplinary ideas eg PCT– Makes it difficult to include other cultures– May not accurately reflect reality

• IO Psychologists need to understand the philosophy of science issues and be purposeful about them

Validity: Future Challenges and new applications

• New SIOP Journal, IOP, edited by Paul Sackett (invited articles but with opportunity for responses).

• Kevin Murphy “Content validation is useful for many things, but validity isn’t one of them”

• Application of Validity issues to higher Education (Graduate Attributes and Standards)

Future Directions for Practical Applications

• Applications in core areas of selection, training, career development, human factors and OD/change.

• Must focus on new fields– Education Australia’s 3rd largest export

earner– Health -- in urgent need of good IO, but

being done by health professionals– Alternative Energy Industries – retooling

and re-skilling for new energy distribution

Recruitment, Screening, Selection and establishing a Talent Pool

• More IO influence in HR – death of the PD• My experiences in Higher Education • Rob Silzer and Allan Church in IOP (the

new SIOP Journal): “The Pearls and Perils of Identifying Potential”

Dimension Structure of Potential:From Silzer and Church (2009)

Foundational dimensions - Consistent and stable, unlikely to develop or change

• Cognitive– Conceptual or strategic thinking– Cognitive abilities– Dealing with complexity

• Personality – Interpersonal skills, sociability– Dominance– Emotional stability, resilience

Growth dimensions - Facilitate or hinder growth and development in other areas

• Learning– Adaptability– Learning orientation – Open to feedback

• Motivation– Drive, energy, achievement orientation– Career ambition – Risk taking, results orientation

Career dimensions – early indicators of later career skills

• Leadership – Leadership capabilities, manage people (general)– Developing others– Influencing, challenging status quo, change management

• Performance– Performance record – career relevant– Career experiences

• Knowledge, values– Technical / functional skills & knowledge– Cultural fit – career relevant values and norms

Training: Future Directions

• On-line and IT supported, but much must be improved

• Integrate assessment into training• Bjork Thesis• Use of 3-G and virtual worlds

Human Factors/Ergonomics• Key Centre for Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Psychology• NICTA• Psychologists not interacting sufficiently with engineers and IT

Specialists• Develop common language – mathematics and modelling• Driving, traffic management, development

of training materials, healthand education systems.

Career Development• Coaching and mentoring• Talent scoping and growth• Work-life balance• Unemployment and underemployment• “Me Inc.” Metaphor.• Transitions – including retirement

Current Research: ARC Funded Longitudinal Retirement Study (With Barbara Griffin)

Aims1. Identify the different trajectories of change in

satisfaction and coping performance over retirement transitions among baby boomers

2. Extend earlier research using self-assessed longevity as a predictor of retirement timing, financial decisions and adjustment processes

3. Use the TWA as a Person-Environment fit retirement transition and adjustment model

4. Identify predictors of active and reactive patterns of adjustment in retirement transition.

E1: Abilities Required (Cognitive, Physical, Social)

At home At work

In the Community

Coping Behaviour

At home At work

In the Community

Satisfaction

P1: Current Ability

(Cognitive, Physical, Social)

E3/P3 Adjustment Behaviour

Proactive

eg post-retirement work, seek advice

Reactive

eg reduce activity, modify expectationsE2: Reinforcers Supplied

eg finance

housing

health care

P2: Needs & Values

eg independence

activity

social relationships

Environment Person Outcomes

Successful Aging

Predictors of Adjustment

Subjective longevity

Personality

Self-efficacy

Demographic variables

Sub Study of the NSW 45 and Up Study:Five year longitudinal study

• A population-based cohort study managed by the NSW Sax Institute

• Largest study of healthy ageing ever undertaken in the Southern Hemisphere

• 250,000 men and women aged 45 years and over from the NSW general population

Subjective Life Expectancy

• Time is central to retirement decisions, but rarely studied• Self-estimates establish ‘mental’ blocks of time within

which individuals apportion transitioning activities bearing in mind health and income.

• Self-estimates of likely age at death predict actual mortality (Prem & Debats, 2006; Siegel, Bradley, & Kasl, 2003)

• A stronger predictor of retirement age than current income, expected retirement income, or self-reported health (Hesketh & Griffin, 2007)

Ratings of Health, well-being, finance etc

Graphic rating of age at death

Current age

Graphic rating of retirement age

Prediction of Post-retirement Work (Griffin & Hesketh, 2008)

• Post-retirement work has individual, organizational, and societal benefits

• First study of paid and volunteer work• Participants

– 987 workers over the age of 45– 752 retirees

• Multinomial logistic regressions

Findings

• “Tired of work” was predictive of lower intentions to work in retirement (paid, volunteer or both) and of actual retirement work

• “Overload” in current work predicted a greater intention to engage in paid work or volunteer work in retirement (work addiction).

• Expected retirement satisfaction increased the odds of intending to engage in volunteer work rather than paid work; retirees with higher satisfaction were more likely to have done volunteer work rather than paid work

• Females intended to, and actually engaged in, volunteer work more than males

• Higher levels of education predicted intentions and actual engagement in paid work

End of the brief aside relating to our research

Last section of the talk will focus on contextual issues

Future Directions: Environmental Scan

The broader external environmentOrganisationsPsychology and our own field

EXTERNAL CONTEXTClimate change and extreme events

Consider issues of adaptability

Implications for new industries

Green Psychology

Hawkesbury EIF climate chg facilities

SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, UWS

Domestic solar hydrogen production unit including roof solar panel, showing a range of domestic application of hydrogen fuel.

What’s happening in Higher Education?

• 3rd largest export industry• Flexible delivery, but lag in staff competence• Assessment – norm versus criterion referencing• Quality, Quality and more Quality ERA• Cultural sensitivity• Governance and accountability good compared

to the corporate sector

What’s Happening in Health?• Huge emphasis on quality• Industrial relations, inter-professional teams• Rapidly changing technologies and techniques• Health Informatics – for management systems, data

storage, aids to diagnosis and RESEARCH potential• Human capability development and retention (training of

nurses and other health professionals) enormously challenging.

Our Field 1963-2007(Casio & Aguinis, 2008;JAP)

• IO Research has a disconnect with practical concerns• My own scan of published JAP articles suggests that

relevance is mixed• Move of IO academics into management; may reflect the

difficulty of keeping science and practice together• Areas that could help narrow the academic practice

divide:

Areas to reduce the Divide (Casio & Aguinis, 2008)• Traditional areas of practice (My view)• Leadership development• Compensation and benefits (executive compensation)• Work-life issues; work intensification• Retirement of baby boomers; Attitudes toward ageing• Talent management• Culture transformation and managing change• Increasing diversity• Globalisation; Ethics and ethical leadership

Four last ideas : All implicit in Bob’s first Keynote

• Adaptability• Optimism• Reach of IO Psychology

– Embed ourselves in content; tasks of leaders; understand the business of our clients

– New industries and areas (Health & Ed).

Future Ideas for Postgraduate IO Training

• Integrate coursework and professional practice into a PhD

• Shared coursework across universities –delivered using technology

• Research Training Network concept (NICTA), including partnerships overseas.

Future Directions for the IO Conference

• Keep up the good work• Keep it broad – invite engineers and managers• Keep researchers and practitioners together

(have satellite meetings if necessary)• Engage Asia to a greater extent (2013)