Many of the undergraduate students I meet are interested in Psychology. When I ask them “Why?”, they are likely to say something like, “because I want to help people” and/or “I watch Oprah and want to be like her.” While I find that to be a humorous anecdote, Organizational Psychology is a way to “help” people but it operates in the realm of work, business, and organizations while applying psychological principles to people at work.
Organizational psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment) concerns the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to task-oriented groups in both workplace and non-workplace settings. Organizational psychology is commonly associated with interactions between workgroup members, leadership, management, and other aspects of task-oriented group mentality and behavior. Organizational psychologists are interested in making organizations more productive while ensuring physically and psychologically productive and healthy lives for workers. Relevant topics include personnel psychology, motivation, leadership, employee selection, training and development, organization development and guided change, organizational behavior, and work and family issues. Organizational psychologists often work in an HR (human resources) department, though other Organizational psychologists pursue careers as independent consultants or applied academic researchers. Often the unit of analysis is the group as much as the individual. Thus the field of group dynamics and group facilitation may be part of the study of Organizational Psychology as well.
