This summary includes all required study material for the course Work & Health Psychology of Tilburg University - for both premaster and bachelor. All important topics are well-explained and indicated with colours, and also include figures and models to provide the best overview to study for the e...
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Lecture 1: Introduction
Chapter Objectives
After this lecture, you will be able to...
describe the key elements of work;
explain what work psychology is about and what is meant by
contemporary work psychology;
specify some main features of the world’s labour force;
understand the selection bias in contemporary work psychology;
understand what working means to workers;
summarise the history of work psychology;
explain five important changes in the world of work;
explain the crucial role of task analysis in contemporary work
psychology;
Lecture 1: Introduction 1
, Key Elements of Work:
Goal-directed activities;
actions bring out specific result(s)
Coordinated activities;
not random actions, but a series of activities
Exchange for something else;
essential for earning a living, activities require a degree of mental,
physical or emotional effort
Work Psychology:
refers to people’s behaviour, motivation, thoughts, and emotions related to
work.
Goal of work = produce something (goods/services/knowledge) Work
psychology aims to facilitate obtaining goal(s).
→ How to achieve goal(s) in optimised matter?
Not only interested in pushing performance → maximising worker’s health &
well-being.
Idea = happy, satisfied workers are presumed to be productive workers.
Maximising Well-Being = Maximising Work Performance
Task psychologists = improve the lives of people
→ ‘responsible for development/promotion//application of psychology for
the public good’.
Work can have adverse effects on an employee’s health:
→ (harmful/carcinogenic substances, chronic bullying by supervisor, etc.)
Many organisations frequently face difficulties in finding suitably trained
personnel → importance of current personnel remaining healthy and
motivated
Lecture 1: Introduction 2
, Costs of replacing personnel = HIGH
Contemporary Work Psychology
aims to promote ‘sustainable performance’
→ maximising work performance & worker’s health and well-being
Work Psychology is NOT about: (CHARA - SELECT HI)
characteristics of worker (e.g.: gender, age, ethnicity)
selecting/hiring new staff
= domain of personnel psychology
→ strongly related to each other
Workforce = enormous diversity
World Labour Force = people (age 15+) who meet the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) definition of an economically active population:
“All people who supply labour to produce goods/services during a
specified period”.
→ both employed/unemployed
Unemployment Rates
= share of the labour force without work but available/seeking employment
Distinction in 3 different work sectors:
Agriculture (forestry, hunting, fishing)
Industry (mining, manufacturing, construction)
Services (communications, transportation, trade, finance, public
utilities)
Lecture 1: Introduction 3
, Selection Bias in Contemporary Work Psychology
→ does not focus on ALL employed workers around the globe.
Drawback: Narrow Scope
→ research predominantly conducted in West-oriented economies. Developing
countries are largely neglected.
Even in the West: inclination to focus on white-collar, professional, middle-
to-highly-educated employees working in large organisations.
→ Easier to gain access to, higher response rates, and researchers are
spared the difficulties of translating instruments and establishing their
cultural equivalent.
Result: comparatively little research on lower segment(s) of the labour
market and ethnic/racial minorities.
→ limits the ability to generalise findings and hampers the development
of adequate theory by ignoring important issues that may be especially
pertinent for vulnerable workers in less developed regions of the world.
→ may not appreciate the full impact that work has on the lives of workers
and their families.
→ critical to extend the next generation of work psychological research to
understudied groups of workers and their families in all parts of the world.
Why is work psychology important?
1. amount of time spent working
2. work has potential to make us happy
3. work has the potential to make us ill
4. increasing expectations of employers
Well-being at Work:
Health (physical)
decrease diseases and injuries, stress, and increase health benefits
Lecture 1: Introduction 4
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