Psychology assignment

Answer

1. Occupational Health Psychology (OHP)

   Occupational health psychology (OHP) refers to an interdisciplinary area of psychology that majors in the health quality and safety of workers. OHP focuses on the association between psychosocial factors in the workplace to the development, management, and promotion of the health of workers and that of their associated families. According to psychologists, the field of psychology needs to take a closer look and active participation in research and practice to limit the possibilities of occupational injuries, stress and illness among workers (Blomme, Kodden & Beasley, 2015).  Although study and practice with regards to OHP cover a wide range of sections, the new domain is of high relevance as it pays much heed on the primary prevention of organizational risk factors of injury, stress and illness at the workplace (Beehr, 2019, pg. 1). Majorly, it concerns the use of psychology to enhance the protection and promotion of the safety, health and general well-being of workers. This paper seeks to assess the factors relating to occupational psychology of individual perceptions, attitudes and employee, which give rise to organizational safety cultures.

   Concepts and Elements of Psychology of Leadership and Management functions

   Leadership is an essential component of evaluating and giving direction to the function of management. Anywhere with an organized group of individuals operating towards a similar target, quality leadership is of the essence. According to Bergh (2017), a leadership power steers the power of integration. The psychology of leadership cultivates a dual-focused management framework that operates to the best of individuals and what favours the interests and wellbeing of people at work. Leaders are required to have a work ethic and attitude that empowers workers in an assigned role from the top to the bottom of a corporation. The psychology of leadership requires a leader to develop an in-depth understanding of their worldview and those of other people. Effective leadership and management functions necessitate capitalization on strengths and management of weaknesses (Spector & Pindek, 2016, pg. 420). The building blocks of power include talents, knowledge and skills that naturally occur out of the patterns of thought, behaviour and feelings. To excel in any aspect of a role, one must have strength. Organizational psychology of leadership also necessitates ethics to enable leaders to employ truth and loyalty when approaching problem situations (Obholzer 2018, pg. 200).

   The five management functions of organizing, planning, staffing, controlling and directing are cultivated through decision making, which is considered a unique subset of the managerial role of problem-solving. Creating a plan is the first administrative function that is attributed to the introduction of a new facility, program or service, which may be of relevance after the success of the previous initiatives that were incomplete (Shimazu, 2019). Planning brings about the objective. Organizing as a function establishes intentional relationship patterns between staff and available resources to achieve the goals. Managers must put strategies in place to ensure that work is held in a way that favours the wellbeing and safety of employees to avoid any incidences that compromise their wellness and development (Beehr, 2019, pg. 1). Directing occurs out of the capability to initiate an action, lead, motivate and continuously communicate with staff over issues affecting them. It is essential for managers to create such activities so that the entire organization works on a shared vision. Controlling has a direct link to planning because it entirely sets out different objectives that a firm is required to attain, and therefore, managerial control assesses whether this has occurred or not. It monitors procedures using necessary steps of setting standards, determining and measuring performance regimes, comparing targets with actual results, as well as acting to rectify deviations (Northouse, 2018).

   Critical Evaluation of the Theories Relating to Employee Perceptions, Attitudes and Behavior in Managing Health and Safety

   A past review on safety climate literature brought out the fact that the management’s attitude and actions towards safety, planning and discipline are useful measures of the safety climate of an organization. The research further presumed that the quality of managerial function and different management levels have a direct impact on the worker’s health and safety through a variety of ways. Employees are freer with an interactive environment and may reveal safety concerns before the leaders and managers take up an appropriate action on the same. Therefore, the critical area of focus for any intervention regarding the health and safety policy of an organization should be the commitment levels of leadership and management towards taking safety actions (Schonfeld & Chang, 2017. Ultimately, the attitude and behaviours of management and leadership groups in terms of safety may compromise several aspects of worker’s safety including reporting of incidents, the success of particular safety initiatives, production pressure influences, health interventions, effectiveness and credibility of safety officers and committees.

   The Theory and Use of Behavior Based Safety Systems to Improve Health and Safety Performance

   Behavior based safety (BBS), commonly regarded as Behavioral safety, refers to the procedures of refining safety performance by altering the manner people behave. The strategy is achieved through the systematic use of psychological research on human-related behaviors to the issues and concepts of workplace safety (Spector & Pindek, 2016 pg. 420). If applied consistently and effectively, the strategy creates a unique culture where unsafe conditions, acts and practices are highly prohibited. Behavioral safety purposes to build a culture where workers take good responsibility for their personal and other people’s safety by using measures that do not compromise their wellbeing (Beehr, 2019, pg. 1). Safety behaviors are cultivated through positive reinforcement and avoiding engaging in practices that are well known to cause workplace accidents. It is important for the workplace system to be designed in a way that facilitates teamwork and focuses much further on group responsibility using a ‘neighbor’s keeper’ attitude. Basically, an efficient safety system must purpose to operate within and promote a company’s safety management system.

   Organization behavioural approaches must ensure and promote good safety performance. Managers seem to put some force over workplace-based health interventions. Researchers have assessed the relevance of using behavioural strategies to facilitate and promote excellent safety performance by improving the handling of techniques, training, and discussing issues related to health and environmental problems with workers so that points of weaknesses are assessed and improved (Chmiel, Fraccaroli, & Sverke, 2017. It is essential for managers to get involved in the safety policies of workers by ensuring all necessary resources are available, and all departments comply with the set rules and OSHA standards (Montano et al., 2017, pg. 330).

   Research suggests that the commitment of the top management is significant when trying to execute health interventions. Safety and health training is an effective behavioural uplift strategy of the trainees. Practice training that fosters the performance rate of behaviours for both supervisors, workers and managers mainly because training sessions positively impact on system support and management for the identified safe practices (Beehr, 2019, pg. 1). It is essential for such training sessions to involve the use of workplace equipment, first aid sessions whenever a health-threatening incidence occurs, and ability to identify the possibility of barriers of an event that might compromise operational ability.

   The correlated behaviour strategy for handling occupational safety and health (OSH) is considered to be a valuable approach. Therefore, it is essential for organizations primarily in the construction industry to use the methods to enhance a robust safety management system. Behaviour-based safety (BBS) contains various elements and is applied in various forms and designs, as different corporations pay much heed to different safety elements. As a result, companies pride themselves for attaining high-quality safety standards due to the aggressive behavioural safety standards that they focus on.

   There are several applied examples between theory and actual practice of occupational psychology in enhancing good safety culture. Safety culture takes up three significant components; psychological, situation, and behavioural, which can be measured using a variety of available tools. It is essential to incorporate several measures to cultivate a positive safety culture that aligns with relevant occupational psychology. Supervisors must continually conduct a systematic workplace risk assessment, and methodically assess all near misses and incidents to examine the root cause of a safety-compromising issue (Taris, 2017. Cultural safety requires that all changes in work procedures of use of equipment are communicated to workers so that they are encouraged to report any health and safety concerns that arise. The response or first aid team of the organization must promptly react to the health and safety issues they become aware off to help an organization measure and support any desirable changes that are required. For instance, several significant events such as the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident and the fire explosion on Piper Alpha collectively confirmed that organizational policies and set procedures significantly contribute to workplace accidents. Therefore, it is essential for organizations to develop positive values, attitudes and strategies to enhance workplace health and quality safety (Cooper, Quick, & Schabracq, 2015 pg. 57).

   In conclusion, occupational health psychology (OHP) refers to an interdisciplinary area of psychology that majors in the health quality and safety of workers. Leadership is an essential component of evaluating and giving direction to the function of management, and employees are freer with an interactive environment and may reveal safety concerns before the leaders and managers take up an appropriate action on the same. It is essential for managers to get involved in the safety policies of workers by ensuring all necessary resources are available, and all departments comply with the set rules and OSHA standards.