occupational psychology

Answer

1. Occupational Psychology

   Work plays a crucial role in the wellbeing and health of workers, and it is crucial to identify the negative impacts upon workers of the present world of work in which technology has rapidly advanced (Cutler 2014). As a result of internationalization and globalization, employees presently feel more insecure in their jobs along with the negative impacts of the introduction of knowhow, like long working hours at visual show terminals, which have been shown to be detrimental to the workers’ health (Jilcha & Kitaw 2017). Robots as well as other computer-aided know-hows are currently taking over jobs that were previously done by human beings adds to employees’ worry regarding the future of their wages and jobs (Crutchfield & Roughton 2013). Both the physical and psychosocial well-being of employees is, therefore, under threat. The insecurity and instability in today’s work world for the promotion of healthy business and organizations as a component of primary prevention strategy (Shimazu et al. 2018). It is on this ground that occupational health psychology (OHP) is important. OHP refers to an interdisciplinary sphere of psychology that is concerned about the safety and health of workers at their workplaces (Hege et al. 2018). OHP is important since it addresses several major topics, like the effect of occupational stressors upon mental and physical health, the effect of unintentional unemployment on mental and physical health, family-work balance, and workplace violence, among other kinds of mistreatments, safety and accidents, along with interventions that are designed to protect or better worker health (Williams & Roberts 2018). The aim of this paper, therefore, is to provide an evaluation of the theories relating to occupational psychology, perceptions of individuals, attitudes, and behaviours of employees which have the potential of giving rise to organizational safety cultures.

   From the introduction, it can be deduced that occupational psychology is significant in safety and health. According to Lozier (2019), OHP was coined with the sole aim of focusing upon healthy workplaces wherein people could serve, produce, be valued, grow, and make use of their gifts and talents to realize high satisfaction, high performance, and wellbeing. Cutler (2014) adds that through its balanced approach to employees’ efficiency and wellbeing, OHP functions to better the quality of workers’ work-life and to extend the conceptualization of safety to encompass psychosocial factors within work environments, like interpersonal relations, climate leadership, and co-workers’ support (Salas-Vallina et al. 2018). OHP, thus, emphasizes on the significance of acknowledging the value of employees and integrating a positive strategy into present day work environment’s realities (Rubel et al. 2018). Additionally, OHP promotes a fundamental prevention approach, traditionally concentrating upon the eradication of risks to workers’ health and safety (Bang & Reio 2017) and upon the promotion of positive experiences, especially the development of healthy and safe work environments (Jilcha & Kitaw 2017). Crutchfield and Roughton (2013) point out that within healthy organizations, climate, culture, and good practices result in the creation of an environment that can enhance or promote employees’ safety and health along with organizational effectiveness. A healthy organization is favourable and conducive to successful and healthy business, thus, underlying the robust connection between workers’ wellbeing and profitability (Velásquez & D’aleman 2018).

   There are a number of factors that relate to occupational psychology of workers’ attitudes, perceptions, as well as employee behaviours which have the potential of giving rise to organizational safety cultures. From a positive psychology viewpoint, the main factors within a healthy and safe organization that need to be taken into consideration are the individual, spanning into the organizational, and into the inter-organizational processes (Spector & Pindek 2016). At the individual level, strategies and interventions that can be employed to better the psychological health of workers as well as to enhance organizational efficiency include improving workers’ motivation, providing feedbacks, and increasing employees’ participation (Liu et al. 2016). These interventions are intended at building strengths, bettering positive individual resources like resilience and emotional intelligence, and promoting welfare of employees within an organization (Piotrowski 2012).  The interventions, according to Maricutoiu and Sava (2012), can also be employed to bring about employees’ individual confidence, development, and forgiveness, psychological maturity, as well as better interaction with their fellow workers in a healthier as well as extra productive manner.

   At the level of group, a healthy business environment or group is one that respects its members, listens to their members’ views, tolerates various styles, opinions, and views, and aims at achieving win-win situations (Ribeiro 2014). Focus is upon team building, group training, creative thinking, and workplace interpersonal civility (Kelloway & Barling 2010) in terms of relational culture, relational decency, and relational preparedness for positive interactions with other workers, which function to minimize conflict(s) within organizations (Perrewe et al. 2014). According to behaviour based safety systems (BBSS), these factors are help in building robust connections and the social support that is required to face today’s world’s complexities of work as well as to preserve a sense of wellbeing (Schaufeli 2004). Thus, organizations should understand and develop organizational behavioural approaches that function to promote and make sure good safety performance of their employees since this way, they will be able to minimize and manage errors that can jeopardize health and safety within a workplace as supported by the BBSS. 

    

   At the level of an organization, organizations try to ensure that their organizations are extra efficient as well as happy places for their employees to work in and extra competitive within the global work arena. Organizations do this by creating open cultures that are characterized by sustained innovation and creativity as well as by promoting an organizational climate that backs up leadership styles and positive associations for the empowerment of workers via self-organization and autonomy (Hege et al. 2018). On the inter-organizational level, concentration is given to the making of organizations’ boundaries extra fluid and bettering the relations between organizations. Networking, partnerships, and community engagement are crucial at this level (Williams & Roberts 2018). As such, it is significant for organizations to promote networking in order to foster employees’ performance as well as business prospects (Lozier 2019). Equally crucial are community programs and initiatives that involve workers in certain kinds of community works, like teaching the less privileged, renovating/refurbishing buildings, and so on (Rubel et al. 2018).

   Another factor is employee’s perception and attitude of the safety culture approach since this impacts an organization’s safety performance. Piotrowski (2012) states that an organization that has psychologically safe culture enhances employees’ wellbeing, employees’ organizational commitment, and employees’ job satisfaction. Contrarily, if an organization has a negative culture, its effectiveness can be undermined. According to BBSS, this explains why organizations that have a culture of endless chaotic urgency and fear have work environments that are characterized with common low morale and burnouts (Ribeiro 2014). This is because organizational cultures function to influence the motivation, behaviours, and attitudes of managers, workers, and supervisors. Organizational culture influences the perceptions, working practices, management and understanding of organizational safety and health. This according to BBSS, implies that there is a need to understand organizational behavioural approaches to promote as well as to make sure good safety performance by employees of an organization, including strategies for minimizing and managing human error

   Another factor is the influence of organizations’ management commitment and employees’ commitment. According to Schaufeli (2004), commitment of an organization’s management to safety along with active worker engagement in safety and health via sufficient allocation of resources, placing employees’ safety before production, designation of health and safety obligations to supervisors and managers, offering timely responses to health and safety action plans, holding consultative meetings with workers on health and safety issues, and making of decisions are among the crucial factors that function to contribute to an organization’s safety and health culture. 

   Further, elements and concepts of psychology of management and leadership functions is another factor that relates to occupational psychology.  Maricutoiu and Sava (2012) state that competence factors within an organization include skills and knowledge, qualifications, and evaluation of competencies and training. To influence an organization’s culture, the organization should make sure that its workers are trained on matters related to health and safety and their professional lines as these trainings goa long way to enhance workers’ understanding and management of their workplaces (Perrewe et al. 2014). Good and regular trainings will entice employees and help an organization maintain its top talents for long since their employees will have a feeling that they belong and are valued. Another crucial factor is communication regarding an organization’s health and safety culture. Among the identified major causes of accidents in workplaces is poor communication. Good communication is based upon shared views and beliefs of the significance of health and safety as well as mutual trust and confidence in effectiveness and efficiency of preventive mechanisms (Kelloway & Barling 2010). Whether formal or informal, communication within an organization is a sure bet in influencing employees’ perceptions, their attitudes, as well as behaviours, and this has the potential of giving rise to an organizational safety cultures.

   In conclusion, there are several factors relating to occupational psychology of individual attitudes, perceptions, as well as employee behaviours which have the potential of giving rise to organizational safety cultures. The factors include employees’ participation, organizational flexibility and reliance, trust, sustainability, and employees’ growth and development.