Abstracts (In alphabetical order by first author surname)
Ref: Workshop Topic: Career Development Creating the Digital You: A Personal Branding & Social Media Workshop Liane Abrams, The Content Creator
Do you have The Digital Fear? Banish it once and for all, and get yourself social media savvy.
This 1-hour workshop is designed to help you present your best personal and professional self online. Focusing on social media and your tone of voice, interactive exercises will help you to develop your personal brand. You’ll leave feeling confident in your social media skills and able to start interacting online - and attracting clients, too.
Suitable for employed or self-employed Occ Psychs, with any level of prior social media knowledge.
Ref: Invited Speaker Topic: Career Development An Inside Job Marc Adams, University of Reading
For most of his professional career as an occupational psychologist, Marc has worked within Human Resources (HR), or related, functions supporting diversity, learning and development. In this talk, he reflects on what OPs can offer HR, the joys and challenges of working internally versus consulting, and how to find a role in HR.
Ref: 3954 Impact Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation How do Muslim women employees talk about voice and silence at work? Muneerah Al-Ghamdi, University of East London
Although previous investigations of voice and silence at work have never explored the views of Muslim women employees, this study’s findings lend support to Morrison’s (2014) model in that both individual factors and contextual factor can either stimulate or restrain voice behaviour at work. The influence of the organisational context factor was more evident in the findings than individual factors. It was found that the religious, ethnic and cultural differences of Muslim women employees make the sense of acceptance, appreciation and belonging to the work environment the primary motivations for carrying out both mandatory and discretionary tasks. Providing for these psychological needs is based on the culture adopted by the organisation. Thus, the contextual factor effect emerged clearly in the findings.
One finding was that a hierarchal structure negatively affects employees’ voice. The respondents also found that the size of the company and its many branches hampered their voice from reaching the relevant people. This finding is consistent with that of Holloway (2016) that it is difficult for voice to travel up hierarchical and bureaucratic structures. The findings revealed the impact of an unanticipated factor which was the company’s age. The participants experienced difficulties in speaking out in an organisation which has settled and stabilized as a result of a long period of existence, whereas their voice was welcomed and encouraged in a newly established company even though it had a hierarchical structure. This can be explained by the fact that long-established companies have greater confidence in their policies which have been formed over years of experience, whereas younger companies might regard it as important to take advantage of all available resources. It might also have caused the decline of large companies because of their sole direction in decision-making, leading them to decide to encourage and promote their employees’ voice. Further studies regarding the role of organisational age would be worthwhile.
Another finding emphasised the role of key individuals (senior, middle and line managers) in terms of their direct role in dealing with employees’ voice. The findings showed two forms of leadership style. The traditional authoritarian hierarchical style pays attention only to voices which support the organisational interest and treats employees’ voices according to their professional status, which has a negative impact on speaking out by limiting the opportunities, particularly because all the participants in the current study were at a junior level. Authoritarian leadership directly affects supervisors’ behaviour toward their subordinates. Li and Sun (2015) similarly concluded that authoritarian managers affect employees’ voice negatively and that attitudes towards employees’ voice cascade down through supervisors. The results found that this style prevents the voice in general. The second style encourages and promotes employees’ voice which positively affects their speaking out. The particpants referred to such managers as open-minded and understanding because they too have risen up the career ladder. This finding confirms the association between supportive leadership and a proactive personality having a positive effect on voice behaviour (Elsaied, 2019). The participants also stated that the gender of the leader affected their voice participation as they found it easier to share their thoughts with a female leader. This could be linked to the impact of their religion which sets specific ways of dealing with unrelated men.
A workplace environment which supports diversity in all its forms and respects human, religious and cultural rights is one of the most important factors which increase Muslim women employees’ work engagement; such an atmosphere can facilitate their voice participation. To the researcher’s knowledge, there is a lack of studies which have considered what the desirable workplace environmental specifications are for Muslim women employees. It is therefore helpful to shed light on this issue because of the significant impact which the work environment has on the engagement and productivity of Muslim women employees.
There is a positive link between the transparency of an organisation towards the voice participation policy and procedures and the encouragement of employees to express their ideas and thoughts. This finding is consistent with that of Kwon and Ferndale (2018) who concluded that the effective voice which organisations need would not exist unless employees feel secure and know how their voice will be received. The current study found that the participants prioritized face-to-face conversation over communication by email because the human interaction helped them to send their message effectively.
Individual factors refer to the personality traits which drive the voice initiative. The findings showed that personality traits such as proactivity, assertiveness, extraversion and conscientiousness were the most prominent personality features of Muslim women employees who have pioneered their voice initiatives. This finding is consistent with Morrison's (2014) model that dispositional factors act as motivators or inhibitors of voice behaviour. However, the researcher assumed these traits from the IPA analysis of the participants' reactions, words and body language, so further studies are needed to validate the positive effect of these personality traits on Muslim women employees' voice at work. Moreover, the participants highlighted that the way that voice is packaged and presented plays a role in increasing the likelihood of it being heard. They regarded the most important skills to be research and persuasion skills. This result reflects that of Holloway (2016) who stated that voice should carry a solution, be given in a private way and be directed to wherever it is most likely to be effective. This way of packaging voice can help it to be heard.
A key finding was that the constant negative narrative about the Muslim minority which is intensely promoted in the media and in politicians’ speeches leads to demonising the Islamic identity. As a result, Muslim women employees face endless difficulties in the workplace such as ignorance of Islam, racism and discrimination over promotion. This finding is consistent with those of Tariq and Syed (2018), Khattab and Hussein (2018) and Miaari et al. (2019). Consequently, Muslim women employees found it hard to speak out freely and securely in organisations which have no diversity and inclusion policy. This is obvious in the traditional authoritarian hierarchical structure. This result can be explained by the fact that people in organisations tote the stereotypes which are prevalent in their society despite strict legalisation against discrimination on the basis of religion to enable people to practise it openly. The consequences could be delayed promotion, intolerance, unequal treatment or refusal to give days off during Islamic religious festivals. Further investigation into the link between stereotyping and discrimination in the workplace is strongly recommended.
The importance and implications of hearing or ignoring employees’ voice were found to be equal for employees and for organizations. Some might think that only the organisation benefits from encouraging employees’ voice and that even the individual’s positive outcomes contribute to the interest of the organization in terms of increasing the performance and efficiency of staff. Conversely, when an organisation hinders or ignores employees’ voice it will experience greater staff turnover and a less effective and more unhappy workforce. Moreover, the results showed that the reasons for remaining silent vary and might be more a reaction than a response to the organization's widespread culture. To clarify, regulations prevent organizations from publicly blocking employees’ voices, but they might do so implicitly by addressing issues in ways which lead to silence. The results supported the findings of previous studies (Milliken et al., 2003; 2015; Morrison, 2014; Prouska & Psychogios, 2018, Donovan et al., 2016) on the choice of silence as a reaction.
However, the findings showed that promoting and encouraging employees’ voice has deep and beneficial influences on employees’ effectiveness outside the organisation and on their psychological well-being. Muslim women employees engaged more in supporting their community on the human and political levels when they were encouraged to speak out at work and their voice was respected and they received feedback on how to improve it after it was rejected. This finding supports that of Millikeen et al. (2015) that a positive attitude towards voice participation leads employees to be active in non-work-related activity in their community. Buddet et al. (2018) also found out that the workplace leadership style affects employees’ political participation. It was noted that the acceptance and sense of belonging which Muslim women employees gained when their voice participation ended up positively helped them to generalise that feeling to their community despite the spread of undesirable stereotypes about their religion. In the researcher’s opinion, this finding of the implications of employees’ voice on society should be considered by decision-makers in organisations because when they encourage their employees’ voice, they not only have a happy and motivated workforce willing to go the extra mile, they will also affect their community positively by having good citizens.
Ref: Keynote Session Topic: Plenary Session Checking in - What evidence do we have for redesigning performance management systems? Professor Frederik Anseel, EAWOP President; Kings College London
The HBR article "Reinventing Performance Management" (Buckingham and Goodall, 2015) gave the starting signal for a worldwide trend of companies reconsidering the fundamentals of their performance management systems. Seeking to reverse a trend towards an ever-increasing structuring of the performance management process (i.e., ratings, rigid protocols, etc.), companies are increasingly moving towards more fluidity and flexibility in performance management. In doing so, they are recognizing that employee feedback should not be a yearly isolated event, but rather part of an ongoing, informal conversation between employees and their managers. For instance, software developer Adobe introduced "check-in's" as an informal, ongoing dialogue between managers and their direct reports with no formal written review or documentation. In his keynote, Professor Anseel will examine the scientific literature to see whether evidence-based guidelines can be developed on how to redesign performance management systems and how to gauge their effectiveness. At the same time, he will identify areas where actionable research is lacking and discuss new avenues for research and practice.
Ref: 3897 Impact Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Retraining and empowering older adults for employment: Overcoming stereotypes Alma Au, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Purpose: This is a study funded by Employee Retraining Board (ERB) in Hong Kong. The purpose is to identify the training needs of older adults in Hong Kong, and the role of training to help older adults enter the labor market. With the ageing population, the participation labor participation rate is projected to decline from its peak at 2018 to 2041. Moreover, at present, the labor force participation of those over 60 is significantly lower than that of the younger generation. The objective of the present study was to identify the reasons behind the difficulties of older adults in finding jobs in order to find ways of empowering them to join the labor market through employment training as creating a favorable working environment. The study targeted at both potential employees and employers.
Method: First, using simple sampling method, we administered a structured questionnaire by recorded telephone (recorded) to 304 participants who were 1) aged 50 or above, 2) had education attainment at sub degree levels, and 3) had expression an intention to join the work force. Second, a total of four focus groups were conducted with 39 older adults. Third, we did face-to-face interview of 34 employers involved in the following sectors: business, consumer services as well as personal and social services.
RESULTS: Major challenges identified from the older adults include the following. For the questionnaire, the most frequently endorsed difficulties revolved around two aspects. First, there were major concerns about the stereotype of older adults about their abilities. Second there were concerns about not having the right skills for the right job. As for the focus of the focus groups identified, the following challenges were identified: 1) changing market conditions, 2) lack of jobs suitable for older adults, 3) employers’ concern about the high cost of labour insurance, 4) employers’ stereotypes of the abilities of older adults and 5) perceived stereotypes affecting self- confidence as a proficient worker. As for the interviews of the employers, the major themes include: 1) lack of established channels to recruit older adults, 2) older adults not having the appropriate skills, 3) cost considerations, 4) communications difficulties between the younger and older adults, 5) worries over the compromised cognitive abilities of the older adults and 6) concerns over the abilities of older adults to learn new skills and take in new perspectives.
In terms of needs for training/ retraining, apart from skills like working with computers, the older adult interviewees expressed the need for psychological preparation for working with younger colleagues and coping with possible prejudice and bias from younger bosses. The training courses should involve more than just skill-based training. Components should include coaching on how to face adversity and criticisms with resilience and reflection. Interestingly, though the employers mentioned about negative stereotypes, some employers in social services sectors commended the value of life experience and interpersonal skills of older adults. Moreover, these employers remarked that older adult works should be empowered more to share their perspectives and observations with younger workers.
Conclusions: The study has identified important themes with psychological implications for empowering older adults to be employed. Working in the context of stereotypes and self- stereotypes are priority issues mentioned by both potential employers and older adults employees. Apart training job-related skills, interventions targeting as age-related stereotypes should be considered. In particular, strategies of affirming the strengths of the older adult employee can be helpful. These interventions should involve not just the older adults but also younger colleagues and potential employers. Improving inter-generation communication in the workplace can an important agenda in view of the implications of global population ageing for employment.
References: Au, A., Lai, M. K., Wu, W., Hofer, J., Busch, H., Šolcová, I., Tavel, P. & Cheng, S. T. . (2019). Generativity and Positive Emotion in Older Adults: Mediation of Achievement and Altruism Goal Attainment Across Three Cultures. Journal of Happiness Studies. doi:10.1007/s10902-019-00101-1.
Au, A., Yip, H. M., Lai, S., , Ngai, S., Cheng, S. T., Losada, A., Thompson, L. & Gallagher-Thompson, D. (2019) Telephone-based Behavioral Activation Intervention for Dementia Family Caregivers: Outcomes and Mediation Effect of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Patient Education and Counseling. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2019.06.009
Au, A. (2015). Volunteer Assisted Telephone Support for Dementia Caregivers. In A. Au. & D. Gallagher-Thompson (Eds.). Special Issue on Working with Older Adults: Innovations and Implementation. Clinical Gerontologist, 38 (3), 190-202. doi: 10.1080/07317115.2015.1008118
Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., and West, M. A. (2017) Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity?. Journal of Organizational. Behaviour., 38: 276– 303. doi: 10.1002/job.2040.
Li, W. & Au, A. (2019). Successful ageing and community. In O'Doherty, Kieran, and Hodgetts, Darrin, (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Psychology. (pp.366-380). London UK: Sage Publications.
Rudman, D. L. (2019) Editorial. Journal of Occupational Science 26:1, pages 1-5
Ref: Symposium Topic: Professional Affairs and Awards Awards Symposium Within the winner symposium our 2018 and 2019 winners will showcase their award winning work and we will celebrate the contributions our winners have made to the advancement of occupational psychology.
“The Division of Occupational Psychology promotes the professional interests of occupational psychologists and those in training in the United Kingdom (UK). It provides a home, a champion, a source of support and development for occupational psychologists and trainee occupational psychologists (TOPs).”
The Awards contribute to all six of the key goals written into our five-year Strategic Plan under the headings of:
• Science
• Competence and Employability
• Influence
• Visibility
• Enhance Membership and
• Support Change.
Thus the Awards enable the Division to:
Promote advancements in psychological knowledge and practice by acknowledging the scientific contributions of our members at various stages in their careers.
Develop the psychological knowledge and professional skills of our members by encouraging best practice, supporting the sharing of that best practice, and increasing the employability of awards recipients.
Maximise the impact of psychology on public policy by including a ‘contribution to policy’ component in the assessment criteria.
Increase the visibility of psychology and public awareness of its contribution to society by showcasing the achievements of our award winners and highlighting the value of the work they’ve done.
Attract new members and broaden our membership by rewarding success and providing aspirational role models for newcomers; it is a tangible benefit of membership and something that many people expect their professional body to deliver.
Develop our organisation to support change by increasing member involvement and recognising the valuable contribution of volunteer members through our ‘Volunteer Award’.
Ref: 4151 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) What Can Data Science Contribute to Assessment? Helen Baron, Independent
Data Science is increasingly being cited as an approach to assessment. It can be used to refer to many things – machine learning, algorithmic approaches and inferencing from large data sets (“big data”). The term is often used by non psychologists, sometimes with little professional understanding of psychometric theories or existing approaches to assessment. This symposium aims to review data science based approaches and evaluate whether and what we can learn from them. The papers present both academic and practical viewpoints comparing new approaches with classical psychometric paradigms. It is convened by the recently formed DOP Working Group on Assessment Standards and our aim is to inform and initiate discussion.
Ref: 4152 Part of symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (1) Algorithms for Psychological Assessment: New Technology and Old Notions Marise Ph.Born, Erasmus University Rotterdam
More and more present-day HR-consultancies advocate their services by stating they use algorithms and machine learning to improve their clients’ personnel selection procedures. Often, such statements will refer to improved practicality and efficiency of procedures. Yet, statements on enhancing selection and assessment procedures may also be expected to refer to improved prediction of relevant outcomes such as work performance, or to other quality criteria such as fairness and acceptability of selection and assessment processes.
Looking more closely to assertions by HR-consultancies and algorithm developers, it can be seen that they will focus on different parts of selection and assessment processes. Some algorithms try to capture different types of sometimes uninterpretable input data such as micro facial expressions, other algorithm use emphasizes improving the prediction of who will be selected for an interview (e.g., Lee, 2016), yet other attempts are more closely related to the improvement of work related outcomes using whatever input data – interpretable by humans or not – can be used. Again other HR consultancies use the label ‘algorithm’ in a more basic meaning namely referring to classic regression analyses techniques.
This presentation will systematically look at the ways in which algorithms and machine learning are being utilized in the HR-domain. It will be demonstrated that many of these different ways of utilization bear resemblance to notions and issues which have been addressed by psychologists for over half a century. Several examples of such old issues are: The attempt by Goldsmith in 1922 to use personal history blanks to predict work outcomes, resembling the end-to-end machine learning idea to use whatever raw input data for prediction; the topic of policy capturing, which Wiggins (1973) labelled paramorphic representation and which can be recognized in the big data study by Lee (2016); and the well-known necessity of cross validation (e.g., Locke, 1961) which relates to the potential machine learning problem of overfitting. The question then becomes what wine is there in the new technological bottles?
The presentation uses the chapter published by Liem et al. (2018), written jointly by computer scientists and psychologists, to compare psychological and machine learning prediction. This publication treats topics of transparency of algorithms and of predictive power. It demonstrates the potential use of machine learning in the area of predicting relatively rare outcomes, such as unethical (work) behaviour. This will be done by reporting on a study by De Leng (2019), who compared machine learning prediction models with classical regression models to forecast rare unprofessional behaviour of medical school students by means of an integrity-situational judgment test. We will ultimately try to answer the questions what are the most promising avenues for machine learning approaches, what promises are made by the big data movement, and whether the movement is living up to its promises.
References
De Leng, W.E. (2019), Measuring integrity for selection into medical school. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Rotterdam: Erasmus University.
Goldsmith, D.B. (1922). The use of a personal history blank as a salesmanship test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 6, 149-155.
Lee, C.I.S.G. (2016). Big Data in Management Research: Exploring New Avenues Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Rotterdam: Erasmus University Rotterdam. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/79818
Liem, C.C.S., Langer, M., Demetriou, A., Hiemstra, A.M.F., Sukma Wicaksana, A., Born, M.Ph., & Koenig, C.J. (2018). Psychology meets machine learning: Interdiscplinary perspectives on algorithmic job candidate screening. In H.J. Escalante, I. Guyon & S. Escalera (Eds.), The Springer Series on Challenges in Machine Learning (pp. 197-253). Switzerland: Springer Nature. NOTE: downloadable from www.nsvp.nl and from https://osf.io/v6rn4/files/
Locke, E.L. (1961). What’s in a name? American Psychologist, 16, 607.
Meehl, P.E. (1954). Clinical versus Statistical Prediction. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis USA.
Wiggins, J.S. (1973). Personality and prediction: Principles of personality assessment. Addison- Wesley.
Ref: 4153 Part of symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Pymetrics: Marrying IO Psychology with Data Science for improved volume assessment Michael Callans, Pymetrics
Over the past several years, employment selection assessments have been rapidly evolving to include the use of gamification and data-science methodologies to promote engagement, improve accuracy, and encourage diversity. With unemployment at historically low rates (less than 4 percent in the US), employers are struggling to attract talent to fill their job openings. Today employers recognize that positive candidate experience with the application process is also a main concern, particularly where applicants are also consumers of the employer’s brand. In response to these concerns, multiple new entrants to the assessment market are emerging, frequently using elements of gamification and often originating from different and diverse technical backgrounds, outside of the field of IO Psychology. Yet the principles embedded within IO Psychology - validity, reliability and fairness - remain essential to robust assessment. pymetrics is a gamified assessment tool that creates custom selection models for employers. It uses 12 exercises (also referred to as assessments or games) that gather behavioural measurements explained by nine cognitive, emotional, and social constructs. Similar to the use of state-of-the-art data science techniques to recommend movies (Netflix), products (Amazon) and music (Pandora), the machine-learning technologies can be used to build custom models for client companies, specific to each job opening. Matching algorithms can produce results to recommend job candidates for jobs based on job fit score for each individual is calculated by running the individual’s game data through the job model custom-built for the client company. While the origins of the tool were based in the disciplines of Neuroscience and Data Science, the solution and methodology has broadened rapidly to harness best practice principles from IO Psychology, with surprising challenges and results.
This session provides an overview of development of the tool, the challenges that the IO Psychology team have faced and the successes in designing new types of methodologies drawing on traditional IO approaches and adapting them to a Data Science /machine learning environment. (E.g. job analysis methods to aid successful role grouping for model building; contributions to de-biasing and validation). Recent research demonstrating the links between neuroscience exercises (that form the basis of the tool) and traditional psychological constructs such as the Big 5 will also be shared. The session will cover the activities involved in building predictive but fair models including debiasing algorithms and ensuring appropriate generalizability to unseen, candidate populations.
Finally, as pioneers of ethical AI, we share the guidelines we have helped to define in this field and our views on the important role psychologists have and must continue to have in these emerging assessment fields.
Ref: 4154 Part of symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) From psychometrics to psychographics – emerging dystopias in the online world John Rust, Psychometrics Centre
As Director of The Psychometric Centre at the University of Cambridge, John Rust had a birds-eye view of the Cambridge Analytica scandal as it unfolded. In the past ten years the Centre has seen its research agenda, methods and tools cloned, commercialized, abused and eventually weaponized by entities that epitomize both ancient and modern dystopias. This talk will explore how Kosinski’s 2013 psychometric analysis of online digital footprints* opened the online environment to invasion by machines that have proved particularly adept in learning how to predict and control human behaviour. John’s current focus is on moral development in AI and in the establishment of more robust psychological frameworks for the study of cyberspace. He believes in the emergence of a new branch of psychology fit for the digital age, one in which researchers can interrogate interactions not only between humans but between humans and bots, algorithms or other agents that exhibit unique but often covert moral and social characteristics of their own.
Ref: 4155 Part of symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (4) Data Science and workplace Analytics: Opportunities and Threats Peter Saville, 10x Psychology
Within the last ten years there has been an explosion of interest in the use of Data Science in the workplace. It has long been recognised that successfully attracting, selecting, retaining and developing talented people at work and knowing the attributes on which to select, are essential to the effectiveness of every organisation. Three thousand years ago the writings of the Buddha list the characteristics of a good elephant trainer which are not far distant from the Five Factor Personality Model: health, confidence, wisdom, diligence and sincerity. In the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, warriors were selected by prowess in archery as a job sample. And the Chinese Imperial examinations for selecting civil servants had become a well organised system two thousand years ago. In the 17th century Samuel Pepys introduced selection tests of navigation and mathematics to prevent rich but incompetent young men becoming ships’ captains. The naval historian, Howarth held that this had an immense effect on the dominance of the British navy for over two centuries.
P E Meehl’s ‘disturbing little book’ of 1954, showed that simple statistical algorithms tended to out- predict human clinical decision making and that adding an interview of a candidate may lower the quality of decisions, not improve them. His findings have been replicated a number of times. But this did not prevent hostility from many clinicians.
The Anglo-American psychologist, Raymond B Cattell (1970) was an early proponent of predictive analytics. Cattell published multiple regression equations to predict job performance from the scale scores of the 16PF questionnaires, referring to them as ‘Specification Equations’. Cattell’s equations in turn suffered the problems of too many variables entered into the equations (as many as 16), with weights of two decimal places, in too small a sample of job performers, with often no value of the actual multiple correlation (R) of prediction given. Many, on a replication sample, or by applying a correction for shrinkage, reduced to a value of zero. Hence their use was never widely adopted.
Lee Cronbach (1969) added fuel to the fire by showing that unit weighting of variables, rather than those of two, three or even five decimal places in multiple regression, and not going much beyond five prediction variables worked well. Long, weighted algebraic equations were often a function of chance; keeping it simple worked best.
The Five Factor Model (FFM) or Big5, originating from factor analysis on the lexical hypothesis that major personality variables are represented in the language system, was a development which enabled researchers to investigate personality structure from a common standpoint. Variables in the FFM like Conscientious seem to have generalisability of validity in most jobs so far studied, though it may be the persevering, hardworking element of this construct of the Big5, rather than the detail consciousness, which is driving this generalised validity, a view supported by the meta-analysis of Dudley et al. (2006). The Big 5 is commonly accepted as a parsimonious solution, with the possible additional variable of integrity, provided this is amenable to measurement by self-report. Though the FFM may not necessarily be the most predictive taxonomy in the world of work.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s biodata became popular, based on the assumption that the habits, activities and characteristics shown in the past would be effective predictors of future job performance. Often used in screening of candidates, biodata was similar to credit scoring used by banks and other financial bodies. An algorithm is developed to predict good debt or bad debt, or in our case good hire/ bad hire. The extent that these equations are monitored for fairness around the world varies considerably. In job selection, biodata had the dangers of perpetuating the sins of the past or the use of discriminatory questions even if they might have predictive power. One early form went so far as to attempt to predict if a woman was likely to become pregnant in the near future, so to avoid their hire; hardly likely to be legal or morally acceptable in the current day. The biodata approach also suffered from much abuse, where numerous variables were entered into multiple regression computer programs on too few people. Like Pac Man it rapidly gobbled up anything it could find by random chance. But those long equations looked so scientific that they convinced many! The worst I came across was 420 questions designed to predict tenure based on 85 people. I would often wonder that after having developed a number of personality questionnaires, how were they used? How were they interpreted? Wisely or stupidly? On showing a personality profile to a group of professional psychologists, one saw the profile as of an agreeable extravert, whilst another as on the ‘dark side’, as a deviant psychopath. Unknown to them the taker of the questionnaire was sitting in the audience. He was in fact an amiable and successful entrepreneur who had started his own IT company from nothing to worth £5 billion, based on a clever idea and diligence. He wasn’t exactly pleased. But it shows how two ‘trained’ interpreters could come to such diametrically opposed opinions. If Data Science based on validation can help more consistent and valid interpretations of selection data, not just questionnaires, it will be no bad thing.
We now enter an exciting new age of Data Science in the workplace. If Data Science encourages organisations to explore their decisions, it will be a good thing. Data science properly applied will allow us to target from where we best recruit. How we best select and the cost benefit of improved staff selection. The relevant learning and development needs of the individual now and in likely future roles. How to engage, compensate and retain our talent. And to improve the well-being of our staff. To know what workplace teams miss in terms of knowledge, experience, abilities and personalities in order to improve them. What individuals can be recruited to fill these gaps? What leadership characteristics best fit the culture and objectives of the teams they join? To be able to inform our leaders on how their team members are feeling and best motivated and managed in real time. Perhaps even to help develop a framework of the facets of personality which may sit below the Five Factor Model in an organizational context. To consider interactions between different variables of personality, and cognitive abilities. To know what particularly motivates and engages people in their work.
But we need to work to standards. One can clearly see the advantages of Predictive Analytics when screening thousands of applicants for a role. The idea of an algorithm to help the process would have shocked the National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP) whose written policy was that tests should never be used in screening, without an interview; a policy which allowed the interviewer to override test results, which may well to its horror, have reduced validity.
1. Consent
Consent should be given to collect the data with clear reasons given for how screening is done. That screening, indeed all predictive analytics, needs to be done on large enough samples and appropriate statistical methodology. If an algorithm has many weighted terms, it’s probably capitalising on chance. Simple equations work best
1. Bias
As humans we are not good at judging people without bias. Whether that be in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, spoken accent, age or wearing white socks. Tests and other assessments can help reduce this bias. However, every algorithm must be checked for direct or indirect bias. The Amazon algorithm of two years ago was found to lower the chances of females being selected based on CV data. Historically more top performers were white males who attended all male colleges, giving lower scores to those who had attended all-women colleges. Some 80 percent of CV’s have serious errors of fact, with males more likely to fabricate than females.
1. Good Methodology
Product moment r is descriptive whilst scatter plot shows causative relationships is a statement, in one book on data analytics at work much to my astonishment. We have already noted the need for adequate sample sizes and if statistical techniques are used, a relatively small number of variables up to about five with standard score unit weights will suffice. As noted by Lee Cronbach as early as 1968. Any more suggest the research is capitalising on chance in the data. The use of effect size as well as statistical significance is also to be encouraged.
1. Diversity
If a team is dominated by middle aged males there is the danger of group think. Introducing diversity, including that of knowledge, race, gender, personality, age and experience, may enhance group performance. Having stable extroverts dominating a team when creativity has been related to greater emotionality may also be an issue.
1. Use Ethics or Advisory Boards
Set up an internal or external advisory board to challenge algorithms for fairness, but make sure that they in turn are knowledgeable, diverse and competent.
1. Still Have a Human Element
Essentially the power and performance of predictive analytics is of course limited to quality of the data we use. The tools, techniques and data fed in needs to be carefully thought through. With the right data, bias free and objective as possible, then AI can help support human decision making. But again, sensibly support, not replace it. I once developed an equation to predict who in India would be the best to work in a Saudi Arabian cannery factory. All looked good until I added 360 ratings. My most able candidate who was first on the list, I discovered had a problem with alcoholism. Not a good bet for someone to work in an alcohol-free society. And there is good evidence that colleagues’ ratings where they can be obtained add usefulness to tests and self-report questionnaires. I shall say no more about the need for some good experience based common sense.
Ref: 3871 Standard Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation
Organisational Adaptivity: Starting with One Relationship at a Time. Eren Behget, Dr. Ann Bicknell, C.Psychol, MSc University of Leicester Introduction: For some time, Psychologists have recognised that the world is becoming increasingly complex and that organisations need to adapt in order to survive and none more so than those organisations situated within the healthcare system as they are particularly susceptible to societal, technological and political changes (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017). Even though research on adaptive performance and complexity in leadership theory (CLT) have progressed our understanding of tackling this issue, the research is still very young and the practical suggestions of how this can be translated into the flow of every-day working life is scarce (Jundt, Shoss & Huang, 2015; Tourish, 2019). This paper is part of bridging this gap between science and practice.
Most of the research into the predictors of adaptive performance have focused on the influence of individual differences such as emotional control, cognitive ability, and personality characteristics (Jundt, et al., 2015). While research on CLT highlighted the importance of curating ‘adaptive space’, a space that permits interactions to produce adaptive outcomes (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017). However, these studies have not thoroughly investigated the detail of the ‘relational dynamics’, or the means through which these spaces can occur (Tourish, 2019; Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017).
Dutton and Heaphy’s (2003) theory of high-quality relationships outlined the relational features of a tie which could enable a range of positive organisational outcomes. They suggested that the features include ‘emotional carrying capacity’, ‘connectivity’, and ‘tensility’ (Dutton & Heaphy, 2003). These refer to the extent to which a tie can withstand an array of emotion, its openness to diverse views, and its resiliency in the face of tension (Dutton & Heaphy, 2003). Since then, research has found that these predict a number of outcomes such as team learning via the mediator of psychological safety (Brueller & Carmeli, 2011)
Consequently, the research question for this study is: are there relationships between high-quality relationships, psychological safety, and individual adaptive performance. And the hypotheses are:
1. Capacities of high-quality relationships have a significant positive relationship to psychological safety
2. Psychological safety has a significant positive relationship to individual adaptive performance
3. Capacities of high-quality relationships have a significant positive relationship to individual adaptive performance
Method: This study took an embedded mixed-methods approach. Fifty-six people from a healthcare improvement organisation completed the survey. They were recruited using a convenience sample, but efforts were made to gather a diverse range of respondents to reduce systematic bias in the sample.
The capacities of high-quality relationships scale (Carmeli, 2009), the psychological safety scale (Edmondson, 1999) and the individual adaptive performance scale (Marques-Quinteiro, Ramos- Villagrasa, Passos, & Curral, 2015) were used to gather the quantitative data alongside qualitative comments for triangulation of results.
All appropriate ethical approvals were obtained, as issues such as anonymity, confidentiality, consent, and those associated with internet-mediated research were appropriately addressed through controlling the distribution of the survey with a password, protecting files, anonymising names, informing participants about what they would be getting involved with, obtaining consent, and debriefing.
Results: The data was analysed using correlations and planned comparisons using t-test and ANOVA, and the results showed that there was:
• A significant strong positive relationship between capacities of high-quality relationships and psychological safety
• A significant moderate positive relationship between psychological safety and individual adaptive performance
• A significant weak positive relationship between capacities of high-quality relationships and individual adaptive performance
• No significant differences in individual adaptive performance between the different geographical regions, and no significant differences in individual adaptive performance between those who had a management responsibility and those who did not. This may be due to the sample size issues. These findings were then triangulated with the qualitative responses using a top-down thematic analysis guided by our analytical interests (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Themes showed:
• Fluctuation: Participants recognised that the quality of their relationships and their level of psychological safety were ever-changing as they transition through different projects and ways of working.
• Capabilities: Compassionate leadership and working with emergent change were stated as important contributors to working effectively in challenging contexts.
• Stimulation: The research topic seemed to resonate with participants as they showed appreciation for being asked to be involved and highlighted how thought-provoking the questions were.
• Accuracy: Participants thought the measurement of the variables could have been improved by better reflecting their lived experiences and by considering different response options for those that are new to the organisation.
Discussion: This study showed that there were significant positive associations between capacities of high-quality relationships, psychological safety and individual adaptive performance in a sample of staff from a healthcare improvement organisation, meaning the hypotheses of the study could be accepted. The qualitative analysis also showed that that these results were somewhat accurate, as participants highlighted the importance of skills such as compassionate leadership when working in challenging environments. They also gave positive feedback about how thought-provoking the questions were, suggesting that the research resonated with what was important to them.
This supports previous research which showed that the features of high-quality relationships and psychological safety led to a range of adaptive outcomes (Brueller & Carmeli, 2011; Jundt et al., 2015). It advances the literature on this topic by being the first study to look at these variables in relation to adaptive performance. The qualitative comments also suggest that further validation of scales may be needed in order to get a more accurate representation of the variables under investigation.
Conclusions: Taken together, it would seem reasonable to suggest that the organisation in this study could benefit if their leaders developed their emotional carrying capacity, tensility and connectivity in all of their day-to-day relationships, with the aim of curating a psychologically safe environment. Those responsible for organisational development in healthcare organisations should continue to investigate the lived experiences of staff to get a representative understanding of key features of relationships and active behaviours that create psychologically safe spaces, to contribute to best practice in leadership.
In practice, the relational nature of these features mean that have they could be developed wherever there is a connection to someone else, whether it be over email, over the phone, or at a team meeting. A team meeting could be improved if leaders encourage and value the participation of those perspectives which are rarely heard and if leaders actively encourage others to challenge their ideas without taking it personally. Even though an email exchange could be improved if leaders asked more affective questions, thereby allowing staff to express their emotions, coherence in relationships must be the focus. Leaders also need to be alert to consistency with their relationship behaviours, through the dynamics of emotional carrying capacity, tensility, and connectivity, as this is likely to help staff to adapt to the complexity of the healthcare system.
References Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Brueller, D. & Carmeli, A. (2011). Linking capacities of high-quality relationships to team learning and performance in service organizations. Human resource management, 5(4), 455-477.
Carmeli, A. (2009). Positive work relationships, vitality, and job performance. In C. E. J. Hartel, W. J. Zerbe & N. M. Ashkanasy (Eds.), Research on emotion in organizations: Emotions in groups, organizations and cultures (pp. 45-72). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Dutton, J. E. & Heaphy, E. D. (2003). The power of high-quality connections. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 263-278). San Francisco, CA: Berret-Koehler.
Edmondson, A. (1999). Team psychological safety and learning behaviour in work teams. Administrative science quarterly, 44, 350-383.
Jundt, D. K., Shoss, M. K. & Huang, J. L. (2015). Individual adaptive performance in organizations: A review. Journal of organizational behavior, 36, S53-S71.
Marques-Quinteiro, P., Ramos-Villagrasa, P. J., Passos, A. M. & Curral, L. (2015). Measuring adaptive performance in individuals and teams. Team performance management, 21(7/8), 339-360.
Tourish, D. (2019). Is complexity leadership theory complex enough? A critical appraisal, some modifications and suggestions for further research. Organizational studies, 40(2), 219-238.
Uhl-Bien, M. & Arena, M. (2017). Complexity leadership: Enabling people and organizations for adaptability. Organizational dynamics, 46, 9-20.
Ref: 3951 Poster Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation The influence of Risk-taking on trust, cohesion & knowledge sharing amongst firefighters Daniel Berghaus, University of Hertfordshire
It is obvious that firefighting is a risky occupation which – in some situations – can be even health and life threatening. As a logical result of that the rate of hospitalisation is much higher in firefighting compared to the general population (Lee et al., 2004). Therefore, to make this occupation as safe and effective as possible, occupational psychologists should explore what makes this profession safe & effective and how this can be achieved practically. This study aims to do exactly that.
Cohesion and trust are two vital components of effective teamwork, especially in dynamic occupations of low control over the environment (Jouanne et al., 2017) and jobs of high interdependence between the team members (Gully, Devine, Whitney, 2012) - such as firefighting. Another aspect that is important to firefighters’ safety is risk-taking. An American fire chief once said that “adrenaline and testosterone” belong to the things that are most threatening to a firefighter (Fender, 2003). This research explores how these two aspects – factors of effective teamwork and risk-taking – are linked together.
The study takes a mixed methods approach containing qualitative and quantitative research. To achieve a clearer view on what risk-taking and teamwork are and how firefighters themselves perceived these constructs, qualitative research interviews are conducted. In these interviews, current firefighters from Hampshire Fire & Rescue Services are asked on what they think how firefighters make decisions of risk, if their and their colleagues risk taking behaviours change throughout tenure and how teamwork looks like in the firefighting occupation compared to others. Another important aspect of this part is the perception of their colleagues. Firefighters are asked how their colleagues would have to behave for them to trust them, to share knowledge with them and to feel bounded to them in a professional way.
The quantitative part takes a different approach. Firefighters are asked to complete the Risk-Type- Compass (Trickey, 2016) which is measuring the stable Risk Type of a person. According to Trickey (2016) the two main scales of a person’s stable Risk Type are emotionality about risk and ambiguity tolerance. Both subscales combined result in eight different Risk Types which in the general population are almost normally distributed (Trickey, 2016). Moreover, trust, cohesion and knowledge sharing are measured using items from different scales, e.g. items from the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS; Yi, 2009). The aim of this quantitative approach – as opposed to the qualitative approach – is to see who trusts, who shares knowledge and who commits to a team.
This integral approach completes the overall view on possible relationships between the mentioned constructs. Researching this topic in an occupation in which risk-taking behaviours are teamwork can decide between life & death makes the study highly relevant for practice in this and similar occupations (such as police or the army). It delivers practical implications for personnel selection, training & development of firefighters and health & safety in this occupation.
The poster will give a detailed view on what the researched constructs are and – in particular - how firefighters themselves perceive risk-taking and teamwork in their team and job overall. This will be completed by the quantitative results testing if there are statistical relationships between the constructs. Finally, a graphic visualisation of the distribution of Risk Type in the firefighting occupation will be shown and compared to the Risk Type distribution in the general population and other occupations. Since the way people make decisions is highly relevant for their choice of occupation this gives a great view on how firefighters make decisions in highly risky and dynamic situations – compared to other occupations. In the 60-seconds-pitch the core results of the qualitative approach (Who do firefighters trust?) and the quantitative approach (Who trusts?) will be summarized. Then the results of the Risk Type Compass results including the distribution of Risk Types amongst firefighters will be shown. Finally, it will be explored how this distribution and the quantitative results complete the qualitative part.
References
Fender, David (2003). Controlling Risk Taking Amongst Firefighters. Professional Safety Vol. 48 (7).
Gully, Stanley M., Devine, Dennis J., Whitney, David J. (2012). A Meta-Analysis of Cohesion and Performance: Effects of Level of Analysis and Task Interdependence. Small Group Research Vol. 43 (6).
Jouanne, Elise et al. (2017). Correlates of team effectiveness: An exploratory study of firefighter’s operations during emergency situations. Applied ergonomics Vol. 61 (69-77).
Lee, David J. et al. (2004). Risk of Hospitalization Among Firefighters: The National health Interview Survey, 1986-1994. American Journal of Public Health Vol 94 (11).
Trickey, Geoff. (2016). Risk Type Compass. Tunbridge Wells, UK. Yi, Jialin. (2009). A measure of knowledge sharing behavior: scale development and validation. Knowledge Management Research & Practice Vol. 7 (1).
Ref: 3931 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Using Hogan Assessments to explore team culture and unconscious bias. David Biggs, Advanced People Strategies
Introduction: Understanding teams and their culture is essential for recruitment and development. If you can understand team culture, then you can align potential recruits to this culture with a hope to retain them for longer (Furnham, Humphries, & Leung Zheng, 2016; Harrison & Stone, 2018). This is especially important if it is at c-suite executive level as the cost of a poor fit can have huge ramifications for the company (Schmidt, 2016).
Alternatively, if a team knows its values and respects diversity and contributions from different perspectives - this may give the team additional advantages in the workplace (Biggs, 2010). In other words, if a team has overcome all their possible dysfunctions as proposed by Lencioni (2002) then they can work effectively together (See FIGURE ONE).
FIGURE ONE: Lencioni (2002) Dysfunctions of a team
The first step in this process of creating a better functioning team is improving trust. This involves encouraging people to feel ok with being vulnerable, open and honest in front of their co-workers (Lencioni, 2005; Robbins & Finley, 1997). Improving trust is easier said than done as putting ourselves at risk of failure or ridicule for others may be difficult to achieve (Lencioni, 2005). Individual differences may also creep in here. Individuals who are more sceptical may be less trusting especially under pressure (Hogan, et al., 2007; Hogan & Hogan, 2009). Lencioni (2005) suggests that behavioural profiling may be key to improving trust within a team. In this way, the team get an objective reliable measure for understanding one another. This aids the team in admitting their weaknesses and strengths to one another part of building an effective team (Robbins & Finley, 1997). It also provides the team with a common vocabulary for describing their differences and similarities (Lencioni, 2005).
Personality psychology is key to this understanding, which can translate through to business success (Furnham, et al., 2016; Hogan, et al., 2007). Knowing how individuals may be in terms of their personality when they’re at their best (HPI), how they may derail (HDS) along with their motives and values (MVPI) is key to this understanding (Hogan, et al., 2007). Having this knowledge may also reduce the risk of destructive conflict and lead rise to constructive and open criticism, which again is essential to the functioning of a team (Lencioni, 2002).
In looking at just the individual elements of a team, we are missing a major aspect of team’s functioning in terms of unconscious bias. Unconscious bias refers to a disposition that a team may have that they are unaware of and consequently react in a particular way to a particular event. Schein (1990) warns that unconscious bias may develop as a by-product of values and filter down the organisation when leaders promote individuals with their own values (Schein, 1990). Again, by working out the whole profile of the team, unconscious bias can be drawn out and discussed.
Method: A medium sized financial services company was selected for this study as the top leadership team was interested in improving their performance and becoming aware of their collective unconscious bias. Seven participants took part in this study. They initially completed online the HPI, HDS and MVPI assessments. They were then given a 90-minute slot, where an Advanced People Strategies (APS) consultant went through their data and gave detailed feedback. All participants gave their consent that their data could be used for the purpose of a team level workshop. Scores were collected and presented to the team. Participants responses to their own individual feedback and team workshop were recorded in terms of qualitative responses.
Results: The team demonstrated low, average and high scores on a number of scales of the HPI, HDS and MVPI (See Table A). Of note, were the low scores on the HPI of Adjustment (M=27.71, SD=24.39), Prudence (M=28.00, SD=24.01), high scores on Ambition (M=64.57, SD=29.22) and Sociability (M=63.29, SD=36.83), On the HDS, high scores were noted on Excitable (M=83.43, SD=11.87) and Mischievous (M=74.00, SD=27.75). And finally, on the MVPI, high scores were noted on Hedonism (M=74.14, SD=27.60), Commerce (M=70.71, SD=24.97) and low scores on Science (M=38.57, SD=28.92) and Security (M=33.57, SD=28.92). The participants considered both their individual feedbacks and the team workshop a success.
TABLE A: Collated team data on the HPI, HDS and MVPI
Discussion: The culture of the senior leadership was revealed by the Hogan assessments. There were individual variations in all the different measures that formed part of the discussion but generally the leadership team were as follows.
Team values were ascertained by the MVPI. The team valued good company, pleasure and having fun along with business activities money and financial gain. Most of the team were not motivated by security, having certainty and predictability. Science was also low for the team suggesting that they tended not to engage in rational and data driven logical problem solving (Hogan, et al., 2007).
Trends of how the team operated on a daily basis, when not under stress, were revealed by the HPI scores. Here the team were tense, critical of their performance and driven. They were quick to act and made things happen within the organisation. The leadership team were also socially self- confident, leaderlike, sociable and gregarious (Hogan, et al., 2007).
Under pressure or being complacent, the team revealed how they may appear through their HDS scores. In this regard, the team may appear to others to get quite emotionally volatile and potentially explosive. They may lose interest in others and lack empathy. They could also become charming, impulsive, limit testing and excitement seeking (Hogan, et al., 2007).
The use of the three Hogan Assessments revealed much of their culture in terms of how business was conducted. Nevertheless, central to this process was exploring individual differences. So, with the Hedonism scale, for instance, one of the team had a low score on this, which meant he showed some social restraint but may have been criticised for being “a bore” by the others.
The unconscious biases that the team may have according to the Hogan Assessments were also recognised by the leaders. The team assumed that others were excitement seeking like them. People that were not so hedonistically driven may be perceived by the team as overly serious or even boring. They also assumed others were as materialistic as they were and did not understand those indifferent to money. This meant that unknowingly the leadership team attracted individuals to their company who shared their values. This may limit the diversity in terms of the top senior leadership team, which could in turn affect their success (Harrison & Stone, 2018)
Limitations: The paper represents an evidenced-based case study in line with the conferences theme, the practice of science: occupational psychologists at work. It gives clear evidence of how validated tools, such as the Hogan Assessments, can be used in a practical way. Even so, evaluation of the workshop is difficult to ascertain. The client remains an advocate of the Hogan Assessments and uses these tools to assess new recruits and high potential staff.
Conclusions: This paper demonstrated how individual psychometric assessments can be collated together to form evidence on what a team values, performs like and how they are under stress.
References
Biggs, D.M. (2010) Working and problem solving in a team. Chapter in Biggs, D.M. Management Consulting. London: Cengage Learning
Furnham, A., Humphries, C. and Leung Zheng, E. (2016) Can successful sales people become successful managers? Differences in motives and derailers across two jobs. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(3), 252-268
Harrison, T. and Stone, D. (2018) Effects of organizational values and employee contact on e- recruiting, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(3), 311-324. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2017- 0118
Hogan, R., Hogan, J. and Warrenfeltz, R. (2007) The Hogan Guide: Interpretation and use of Hogan inventories. Tulsa: Hogan Press
Hogan, J., and Hogan, R. (2009) Hogan Development Survey manual. Tulsa, OK: Hogan Assessment Systems
Lencioni, P. (2002) The five dysfunctions of a team. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Lencioni, P. (2005) Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Robbins, H and Finley, M. (1997) Why teams don’t work. London: Orion Business
Schein, E. H. (1990) Organizational culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109-119.
Schmidt F.L. (2016) The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 100 Years of Research Findings. Working paper.
Ref: 3844 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Understanding the impact of personality questionnaire feedback: the MBTI process Nikhita Blackburn, The Myers-Briggs Company
The use of psychometrics for employee development has increased significantly over the last 15 years (McDowall & Redman, 2017) and personality-based assessment is now common practice in many organisations for development and coaching (Passmore, 2012). Such questionnaires are used to facilitate self-reflection, which leads to better self-awareness (Tjan, 2012). Applications include leadership development, team development and managing stress.
There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence for the value of personality assessments in development. However, there is still limited research into the impact of a personality feedback session itself. Arguably, the most important indicator of effectiveness in a development context is the user’s experience (Moyle & Hackston, 2018). Research into client experience and outcomes would be a step towards bridging the scientist-practitioner divide on using personality questionnaires for development.
In Furnham’s (2008) study, the MBTI was one of the most widely used assessments for development purposes, used by over half of UK HR practitioners. Given its popularity, it was considered beneficial to examine the impact and client experience of the MBTI.
Research questions were as follows:
• What were participants’ experiences of the MBTI process?
• Were outcomes dependent on whether they had a clear purpose?
• How much did people agree with their questionnaire results (known as “reported type”)
• Do people feel pressure to act more like one side of each preference pair?
• Were there any differences in self-awareness before, after and 6 weeks later?
• What was the lasting impact of the experience?
Method: Participants were invited to take part if they were about to take the MBTI assessment and receive an MBTI feedback session by a qualified practitioner. Surveys were sent at 3 time points: before their MBTI feedback session, after the session and 6 weeks later and included questions about:
• Demographics
• Purpose/ desired outcome
• MBTI Type
• Pressures felt towards each preference and where this came from (work, family etc.)
• What participants learned and their experience of the feedback session
• Self-awareness levels
Results: This study is ongoing. Initial results are presented below, with more data being available in January 2020.
71 people participated. 80% were female and 20% male. Ages ranged from 16 to 63, with a mean of 35. Most participants were employed full-time and living in the UK. There were a range of different occupations and job levels.
Participants’ experience of the feedback session
When asked whether they achieved their purpose, 15% achieved “everything they hoped to and more”, 32% achieved “everything”, 40% “most of” and 12% “some of” what they hoped to. 3% didn’t achieve what they hoped. Participants were asked how valuable different aspects of the feedback session were. The most valuable aspects were “preference pair descriptions”, “thinking about how I act in different situations”, “reading about my personality type” and “stories/anecdotes to bring the preferences to life”. “Action planning” was rated least valuable.
When asked about their experience, participants were most likely to agree “I would recommend this experience to others” and “the session was enjoyable”. They were least likely to agree “I am likely to change the way I do things as a result of my experience” and “I have concrete actions I will take away from the experience”.
The impact of having a clear purpose
When asked whether they had a clear purpose or desired outcome, 49% answered “yes” and 51% “no, not really”. Independent samples t-tests showed those with a clear purpose were significantly more likely to say:
• The session was relevant for me (t(56)= -2.01, p=0.050, d= 0.526; Clear purpose M = 4.63, No clear purpose M=4.36)
• The session helped me achieve my goals (t(56)=-2.31, p=0.025, d=0.606; Clear purpose M = 4.13, No clear purpose M=3.68)
• I would recommend this experience to others (t(56)=-2.26, p=0.028, d=0.592; Clear purpose M = 4.70, No clear purpose M=4.39)
• I am likely to change the way I do things as a result of my experience(t(56)=-2.61, p=0.012, d=0.685; Clear purpose M = 3.97, No clear purpose M=3.50)
• I have concrete actions I will take away from the experience (t(56)=-2.46, p=0.017, d=0.646; Clear purpose M = 3.70, No clear purpose M=3.18)
Level of agreement with questionnaire results
As a measure of validity of the MBTI, participants indicated the extent to which they agreed with their MBTI reported type. Similar to previous research (OPP, 2016), 71% agreed with all four letters of their reported type; 25% agreed with 3 letters, 2% agreed with only 2 letters and 2% with no letters.
Pressure to act like one preference
People indicated whether they felt pressure to act like one side of each preference pair or the other. Results indicated more pressure towards Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking and Judging (figure 1).
Overall, 39% felt this pressure came most from work (job or workplace culture), 14% from societal expectations and 8% from family. However, there were differences depending on the preference pair. Pressure towards Judging or Perceiving was attributed to work more often than for the other preference pairs (cited by 48% of people). Pressure towards Thinking and Feeling was more often attributed to family, than for the other preference pairs (13%). Finally, pressure towards Extraversion or Introversion was more often attributed to societal expectations than for other preference pairs (18%).
Differences in self-awareness before, after and 6 weeks later
A self-awareness scale was created from the items shown in figure 2 (alpha= 0.768). 30 people completed both before and after questionnaires. Of these, 8 completed the “6 weeks later” questionnaire. A paired t-test showed self-awareness was higher after (M=4.06) than before (M=3.80) (t(29)=-2.49, p=0.019, d=0.481).
Figure 2 shows ratings for the items measuring self-awareness, on a 5-point scale where 1 is “strongly disagree” and 5 is “strongly agree”. Statistically significant differences between before and after results are shown with an asterisk. Any drop off after 6 weeks was not significant.
Lasting impact 6 weeks after their MBTI feedback session, participants were asked “what learning point has had the biggest impact and why?” and “what have you done differently as a result?” A thematic analysis showed responses fell into two broad themes: “interacting with others” and “self-development”.
In “interacting with others”, participants mentioned understanding and appreciating others and communicating better with colleagues. For example, one individual learned “to never assume that people think in the same way as you” and so “in group project work [I] try and understand the opinions and ideas of other people before making any assumptions.”
In “self-development”, people mentioned being more self-aware, adapting their behaviour and valuing themselves more. For example, one individual learned to “evaluate my behaviour in different circumstances which gives me more insight into who I am.”
Discussion: The findings demonstrate the impact of personality questionnaires, such as the MBTI, and could help practitioners enhance outcomes of using them.
People’s experience of the MBTI was generally positive: 87% achieved most or everything they hoped to. Participants found the sessions enjoyable, memorable and relevant. They were least likely to agree they “had concrete actions they would take away from the session” or “are likely to do things differently as a result”. However, participants were significantly more likely to have concrete actions and change the way they do things if they had a clear purpose or desired outcome. This gives evidence for what many occupational psychologists already know- clarifying what an individual wants to achieve before conducting a personality feedback session is important.
Preference pair descriptions, anecdotes and considering behaviour in different situations were considered most valuable. This is reassuring as these are core aspects of an MBTI feedback session. It also suggests that the way in which a feedback session is conducted, and the facilitator’s skill, is just as important as the tool used.
Level of agreement with reported type was consistent with previous research, as were feelings of pressure to be a particular type. This information can help individuals and teams better understand why they might behave differently at home and work.
Finally, self-awareness was higher after experiencing the MBTI process than before, which was supported by qualitative data. This provides evidence for the value of such interventions in development contexts. We intend to extend this research to understand the impact on specific behaviours to do with communicating, teamwork, decision making and leadership.
References
Furnham, A. (2008). HR Professionals’ believes about, and knowledge of, assessment techniques and psychometric tests. International Journal of Assessment and Selection, 16, 300–305.
McDowall & Redman (2017). Psychological assessment – an overview of theoretical, practical and industry trends. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference, Liverpool, January 2017.
Moyle, P., & Hackston, J. (2018). Personality Assessment for Employee Development: Ivory Tower or Real World?. Journal of personality assessment, 100(5), 507-517.
OPP (2016). MBTI Step I Instrument European data supplement, December 2016. Oxford: OPP. Passmore, J. (2012) (ed.). Psychometrics in coaching: Using psychological and psychometric tools for development (2nd ed). London: Kogan Page.
Tjan, A. K. (2012). How leaders become self-aware. Harvard Business Review, July 2012. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/07/how-lead.
Ref: 3939 Poster Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Conflict styles, gender and leadership Nikhita Blackburn, The Myers-Briggs Company
The number of women leaders is increasing but women are still under-represented at higher levels (Appelbaum et al., 2003), and a gender pay gap exists (ADP, 2019). Differences in conflict style may help explain different approaches to conflict and negotiating in men and women and across organisational levels.
Conflict is defined as a situation in which people’s opinions appear incompatible. This study adopts the conflict model used by Thomas (Thomas & Kilman, 2002), shown in figure 1. There are five conflict styles according to the extent of cooperativeness and assertiveness: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Accommodating and Avoiding. The theory suggests people respond habitually to conflict, often using one or two modes automatically. Practitioners often look at conflict style to develop teams and leaders, increasing awareness of and conscious choice in using each conflict mode.
Previous research shows males report higher levels of Competing than women, whilst females report more Compromising, Avoiding or Accommodating (Holt & DeVore, 2005). Research also suggests there is greater Competing and, to a lesser extent, Collaborating at higher organisational levels (Brewer et al., 2002).
This study aimed to examine differences in conflict handling style between men and women and between different levels of an organisation. It was intended to build on the research by Thomas, Fann Thomas & Schaubhut (2008), but with a much larger sample and spanning a longer period, in order to check whether similar results were found over 10 years later. Method: Data was analysed from an archive of 462,883 people who completed the Thomas-Kilman Conflict modes Instrument (TKI) online between 2004 and 2019. 54% were male, 46% female. Respondents were from a range of different occupations and had indicated their gender and organisational level.
Results: ANOVA analyses were conducted to look for differences in scores for the 5 conflict modes by organisational level and gender. Results showed significant main effects and interaction effects for all five conflict modes. In summary, men score higher than women on Competing and Collaborating whilst women score higher on Compromising, Avoiding and Accommodating.
People at higher organisational levels scored significantly higher on Competing, Collaborating and Compromising and lower on Avoiding and Accommodating. ANOVA results are shown below.
Competing
As shown in the graph below, men had significantly higher competing scores than women (F(1,462695)=10130.91, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.021). People at higher organisational levels had higher competing scores than those at lower levels (F(3,462695)=1472.19, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.009). There was also a significant but negligible interaction between gender and organisational level (F(3,462695)=18.55, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.00).
Collaborating
On average, men had higher Collaborating scores than women (F(1,462695)=149.60, P<0.001, partial eta2=0.00). People at higher organisational levels had higher Collaborating scores than people at lower levels (F(3,462695)=1943.47, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.012). There was also a significant but negligible interaction effect (F(3,462695)=44.82, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.00).
Compromising
On average, women scored higher on Compromising than men (F(1, 462691)=897.76, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.002). People at higher levels in an organisation had significantly higher scores on compromising, but this pattern tailed off at senior leadership positions (F(5,462691=278.03, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.003). There was also a significant but negligible interaction effect (F(5,462691)=29.38, P<0.001, partial eta2=0.00).
Avoiding
Women scored higher on Avoiding than men (F(1, 462691)=780.94, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.002). People at higher organisational levels scored lower on Avoiding than at lower organisational levels (F(5,462691= 2346.55, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.025). There was also a significant but negligible interaction effect (F(5,462691)=31.20, P<0.001, partial eta2=0.00).
Accommodating
Women scored higher than men on Accommodating (F(1, 462691)=1254.70, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.003). People at higher organisational levels scored lower on Accommodating than those at lower levels (F(5,462691= 897.20, p<0.001, partial eta2=0.010). There was also a significant but negligible interaction effect (F(5,462691)=28.60, P<0.001, partial eta2=0.00).
Discussion: Results showed differences in conflict style between genders and organisational Interaction effects were statistically significant but negligible. Findings are in line with previous research.
The largest difference between organisational levels was seen for Avoiding, with Avoiding scores decreasing as organisational level increased. Accommodating scores also decreased, whilst Competing and Collaborating increased. Compromising showed a curvilinear relationship with organisational level, being lower at employee and senior levels. This suggests that people at higher organisational levels are likely to be more assertive and less cooperative.
The largest difference between men and women was for Competing, with men scoring higher. Men also scored higher on Collaborating, whilst women scored higher on Accommodating, Avoiding and slightly higher on Compromising. These differences were generally found across all organisational levels, including the highest, and may contribute to different perceptions and leadership styles of men and women. Differences in conflict style are also likely to affect how men and women negotiate their salaries. Awareness of different conflict styles may help individuals adapt their style when discussing salary. It may also be worth educating those making decisions about salary, so they recognise the effect of conflict styles and reduce unintentional bias towards those with a more assertive style.
Findings have implications for leaders and occupational psychologists. For example, practitioners can raise awareness of the fact that a more cooperative style may be less common at higher levels but could still be valuable. Therefore, individuals might choose to use different ways of dealing with conflict in different situations.
References
ADP’s Workforce View in Europe 2019 Report. Retrieved from www.adp.co.uk
Appelbaum, S. H., Audet, L., & Miller, J. C. (2003). Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1), 43-51.
Brewer, N., Mitchell, P., & Weber, N. (2002). Gender role, organizational status, and conflict management styles. International journal of conflict management, 13(1), 78-94.
Holt, J. L., & DeVore, C. J. (2005). Culture, gender, organizational role, and styles of conflict resolution: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(2), 165-196.
Thomas, K.W. and Kilmann, R.H. (2002), Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument, rev. ed., CPP, Mountain View, CA.
Thomas, K. W., Fann Thomas, G., & Schaubhut, N. (2008). Conflict styles of men and women at six organization levels. International Journal of Conflict Management, 19(2), 148-166.
Ref: 3885 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Facilitating habit change via a smartphone app: user behaviour and the impact of repeated practice Poppy Boothroyd, Dan Hughes, Jo Maddocks PSI Services LLC Introduction: Habits are defined as automated behavioural patterns that have contextual triggers and are strengthened through repeated practise (Lally, Van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, 2010). However, the automated i.e. ‘unconscious’ nature in which habits are processed makes them notoriously difficult to change (Thomas, Poortinga, & Sautkina, 2016).
Building positive new habits requires conscious effort early on, but over time becomes more instinctive (Lally et al, 2010). With ‘automaticity’ and ‘context’ stated as the ‘key defining characteristics of habits’ (Hagger, 2019), the ‘key’ to forming habits has been investigated for decades with no real certainty on how long it takes. Yet despite various theoretical approaches, contemporary literature consistently suggests that repetition (and ideally daily practise) remains a significant factor of successful habit change (Gardner, Rebar & Lally, 2019).
Unsurprisingly, the habit change literature has shifted in recent years to a focus on digitalising such theory and techniques (Fulton, Kwah, Wild, & Brown, 2018). However, Fulton et al (2018) argues that research into the translation of existing concepts into digital behaviour change interventions (DBCIs) is lacking and so too is their scientific basis. To demonstrate the scientific application of Occupational Psychology in practice, this paper explores the design of a digital habit change exercise that focused on the development of emotionally intelligence habits, and evaluates tracking-data from the exercise to inform future work in this field.
As well as providing an overview of design decisions for the digital habit change exercise, we also sought to answer the following research questions:
1. What proportion of users engaging in the habit change exercise complete the activity, and are there specific points where drop-off is more likely to occur?
2. Does repeated daily practice of a new emotionally intelligent habit relate positively to an individual’s perception of the success of the habit change?
Design of digital habit change exercise
The digital habit change exercise is a specific tool included on a smartphone app designed to help users develop and sustain emotionally intelligent behaviours.
The exercise is called the ’21-Day Habit Change’. The length of time for a habit to reach ‘automaticity’ is varied but often takes several months. In Lally et al’s study (2010), the median time was 66 days with a range between 18 and 254 days. However, a good place to start is to encourage users to commit to 21 days of consecutive practice (Maddocks, 2014), as this is arguably more manageable, realistic, and creates momentum to continue a habit change.
Having a relatively short exercise also provides the opportunity for users to stop and evaluate their habit change progress. This is important when pinpointing exactly what the desired change is (Maddocks, 2014) and bringing it more into conscious processing (Lally et al, 2010). While the long- term goal is for users to improve areas of their Emotional Intelligence (EI), it is important to note that habits themselves usually service broader goals; they are not typically ‘the goal’ themselves (Hagger, 2019). This is perhaps one reason why forming new habits is so difficult, because people can be too ambitious or broad about their desired level of change.
In terms of getting users to commit to daily practice, we adopted some of the ‘sequential habit strengthening techniques’ as recommended by the literature (e.g. Lally & Gardner, 2011). Firstly, we ask users to formalise their intention to change by asking them to complete several set-up questio s:
• Choose one of 16 areas of EI they would like to develop;
• Pinpoint a specific behaviour they would like to change within that area;
• Identify a new behaviour;
• Commit to a daily action to help build a new habit.
Secondly, we help users transition their intention into action by getting them to set a mandatory daily reminder at a time of their choosing. The app then sends a push notification to the user to remind them to ‘check-in’ and record whether or not they have practised their habit change that day. As context is particularly important for habit formation (Hagger, 2019; Lally et al, 2010), we give users the option of excluding weekends if their habit change is specific to the typical working week.
Finally, we promote repetition in several ways. From the beginning, we suggest users ask a ‘buddy’ to keep them on track. The exercise also rewards users each time they check-in by presenting new habit change tips, quotes, or specific information about the area of EI they have chosen to work on. Extrinsic motivation techniques are reported to strengthen habits, so long as they remain constant and valuable (Gardner & Lally, 2013). Hence, we took the decision to reward users for every check- in, and not sporadically throughout the 21-days. Users were also rewarded regardless of whether they selected ‘Practised’ or ‘Not practised’ in relation to their new habit, as arguably those that didn’t practise required more motivation than those who did.
To increase engagement, the exercise includes some gamification techniques such as display of a ‘daily streak’ score that converts from red, amber, to green depending on the number of consecutive days a habit has been practised. A visual display of their progress in the form of a habit change ‘journey’ is also provided. A final summary of their achievements (number of days habit was practised and longest streak) is also displayed at the end of the exercise.
After completion of a habit change exercise, users are asked to complete the following three evaluation questions on a scale of 1-5 (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree):
1. I feel I have improved in the specific behaviour that I committed to change.
2. I feel I have improved in the area of Emotional Intelligence I focused on.
3. The app was useful in keeping me on track with my habit change commitment.
Evaluation methodology
A dataset containing 212 habit change exercises was analysed. This data included app-users who had completed more than one habit change.
The dataset displayed the following for each of the 21 days:
• ‘Practised’ – the user indicated they had practised their new habit that day
• ‘Not practised’ – the user indicated they had not practised their new habit that day
• ‘Missed’ – the user did not record anything about their habit change
In addition, the dataset provided an overall count of ‘practised’, ‘not practised’, and ‘missed’ for each habit change exercise as well as ‘longest streak’ recorded.
Similar to Lally’s 2010 study, as there were days where nothing was recorded, two variables were used to identify repetitions within each habit change exercise:
1. Number of days practised
2. Percentage of days practised (percent engagement)
Results: User interaction with the habit change exercise
The overall range of days practised across the exercises was between 1 to 20 (no one managed a full 21 days). The mean number of days practised was 6, equating to an average percent engagement of 29%.
Further engagement patterns with the app on each day across the 21-day span are shown in Figure 1. This shows that 28% of habit changes stopped after Day 3, with 50% after Day 8. Only 19% of habit changes were recorded as ‘practised’ on Day 21.
Figure 1: Daily engagement patterns in habit change exercise
The decline in practising new habits appears to be gradual over the course of the 21 days, although there seems to be a slightly larger drop-off after 5 days.
Does repeated practice impact on habit change success?
Of the 212 sets of habit change data, 52 completed the three short evaluation questions after completion of the habit change exercise (25% of the sample). This was considered ‘complete exercise data’ and therefore taken forward for further analysis. For completed exercises, the overall results were:
• Mean number of days practised = 12
• Percent engagement = 56%
A Pearson bivariate correlation analysis was conducted to assess whether number of days practised positively related to self-perceived habit change success (Table 1). For the purpose of this analysis, habit change ‘success’ was measured based on user ratings for questions one and two.
Table 1: Correlation between number of days habit was practised and perceived habit change success
Evaluation question Correlation with days practised 1 I feel I have improved in the specific behaviour that I committed to change .57** 2 I feel I have improved in the area of Emotional Intelligence I focused on .46** 3 The app was useful in keeping me on track with my habit change commitment .55**
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
The correlations were both statistically significant and fairly large in terms of effect size, indicating that users who practised their habit change on more days reported greater habit change success and also felt it had a wider impact on their behaviour in relation to EI.
Promisingly, a significant and substantial correlation was also recorded for question three, suggesting that people who engaged more with the app felt it was helpful in supporting their habit change. Discussion: This research study evaluated actual live usage of a habit change exercise facilitated by a smartphone app. We will update the research results for the conference paper with a larger sample incorporating any new data collected in the remainder of 2019 and any additional insights we gain from this.
In terms of our first research question, we observed that a quarter of users engaging in a habit change successfully reached the end of the exercise and submitted their post-exercise evaluation.
There was also a noticeable drop-off during the first week of the exercise. From a design perspective, this suggests users need more encouragement up-front (e.g. additional notifications with motivational messages, providing badges/rewards for early positive progress, making a commitment to change to a colleague/friend). However, extrinsic motivation should not be in isolation of intrinsic motivation i.e. self-actualisation of how good the change feels (Garner & Lally, 2013). There is a lot of accountability on the user to commit fully to change and reflect on the progressive benefits of that change.
Nevertheless, results were much more positive for those who were able to complete the full exercise.
For the second research question, the findings appear to be very positive. Users who practised their new behaviour more often believed they achieved greater improvements, both in relation to the specific behaviour and the broader aspect of Emotional Intelligence they were working on. Users who engaged more often with the smartphone app believed it helped to facilitate this process.
This study therefore provides promising evidence for the efficacy of using smartphone apps to support behaviour change in the area of Emotional Intelligence. On this basis, it appears there is value in continuing to develop and enhance the features and options within this habit change exercise to find ways to increase engagement further. To build more on this approach, it would also be interesting to go beyond self-reported improvements and collect feedback from others to assess the extent to which these improvements convert into observable behaviour.
A copy of the presentation slides will be made available to all delegates attending the session.
Ref: 3798 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work A Situational Judgement to Assess Mindsets: Are Firefighters Prepared to Learn from Mistakes? Ali Brown, Coventry University
Introduction and literature review
• What are mindsets?
Four decades of research on 'theories of intelligence' (also known as mindsets) shows that individuals tend to possess one of two mindsets: a growth mindset or fixed mindset. In the face of failure, those with a growth mindset attribute their mistakes to a lack of personal effort. Believing that improvement can be achieved through effort, they maintain their interest in whatever context they failed and are motivated to overcome obstacles (Smiley et al. 2016). As a result, they have the capacity to learn from mistakes because they plan the way ahead and focus on improvement (Dweck 2006). This pattern of response to failure has also been called the ‘mastery response’ (Burnette et al. 2013).
In contrast, the ‘fixed mindset’ produces a maladaptive response to failure (Smiley et al. 2016). Those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are ‘carved in stone’ (Dweck 2006). For this reason, they possess a ‘performance goal’ aiming to prove that their abilities are up-to-scratch through their performance on tasks (Dweck 2006). Fixed-minded people may alternatively possess ‘performance-avoidance goals’, meaning that they avoid scenarios where their abilities will be put to the test in order to protect their self-esteem (King and McInerney 2017). Through the lens of the fixed mindset, effort is disregarded because of the belief that it will have little impact; in fact, fixed- minded individuals may perceive effort as being for those who are compensating for a lack of natural ability (Dweck 2006). Failure is therefore attributed to a fixed flaw and regarded as proof that one has not ‘got what it takes’ (Teunissen and Bok 2013). Believing that this is unchangeable, these individuals become hopeless and ashamed.
• Context for the FRS
Errors at work are normal (Perrow 1999) and the smallest of errors can have far-reaching consequences, especially in working conditions where many factors and people are interdependent on one another (Perrow 1999). Not only do fire-fighters work in these types of complex and interdependent circumstances, but they also operate in safety-critical conditions where errors have the potential to result in loss of life (FBU 2015). One of the ‘failure domains’ (categories of error) purported by the Swiss Cheese model is ‘specific acts’ (Reason 2000). Many specific acts are identified in fire-fighter fatality reports, for example, at Shirley Towers in Southampton (April 2010) a fire-fighter moved an operating fan (used for ventilation) to another floor of the flats without warning those working there, significantly worsening working conditions (Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service 2013).
• Methodology: an SJT to assess mindsets in fire-fighters
The research consisted of two stages. During stage one, 24 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) were consulted in the development of a 50-item SJT which included critical incidents of fire-fighter mistakes harvested from fatality reports. The response items were generated through a construct- driven approach and provided good coverage of the cognitive, affective and behavioural associations of the mindsets. Good face and construct validity was achieved. During stage two, pilot-testing was carried out with 16 fire-fighters and the test was refined to 46 items. Internal reliability was strong, with a Cronbach’s alpha of .87 and Spearman-Brown alpha of .85. It was acknowledged that further development and validation of the SJT would be required before rolling-out the test on a large scale.
• Key findings and interpretation of results:
1. women have a significantly stronger growth mindset than men (this is a novel finding, there is no gender difference in any other mindset studies to date).
2. There is a desire to learn but this is undermined by negative emotion and rumination.
• Next steps and recommendations:
There is a plethora of research showing that the growth mindset is independent of personality and it can be learned, improvong performance outcomes for the long-term. Training programmes should be delivered performance management procedures should be revised, and organisational cultural artefacts should be reviewed to ensure that they purport a growth mindset message. Ref: 3763 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Learning Agility – Staying engaged as a leader through significant change James Bywater, Sarah Hezlett, James Lewis, Catrin Owen Korn Ferry Introduction: The DOP conference theme 2020 is about “The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work' This research has been designed to be relevant to practitioners and the wider business community because it explores this question using substantial samples of real leaders occupying senior jobs in large organisations. It uses a leading-edge Item Response Theory scored Learning Agility assessment tool, and measures personal engagement levels as the dependent variable in different change settings. This research seeks to answer the question “Does Learning Agility help a leader to thrive under varying degrees of change and uncertainty?”
Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for the shared aspirations. (Kouzes & Posner, 1995). A key task within this is to lead an organisation through change. Lewin famously described this process as “unfreeze, move, refreeze.” However some more modern writers have identified that a rapidly changing context rarely gives rise to the opportunity to refreeze. In a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, Ambiguous) it is argued, change becomes constant (Elkington et al 2017.)
As a leader, the situation is even more complex. Not only do you need to cope with this VUCA environment at a personal level, but you also need to guide and navigate a team or an organisation through this transition. A key step in this is staying engaged oneself as a Leader.
Engagement is defined as the level of commitment employees have towards the organisation, as well as their willingness to contribute discretionary effort and go the extra mile (Royal & Agnew, 2011). The effect on others of disengaged leaders is profound (Korn Ferry, 2016). Disengaged leaders are unlikely to engage in the transformational leadership behaviours needed to keep their teams aligned in times of change.
There has been some work on the personal characteristics needed to cope in a changing environment. The HERO model (Luthans et al, 2007) of “Psychological Capital,” postulates some of the key attributes needed to cope with change and there has been some research into the traits and drivers needed to measure these (Bywater & Lewis 2017.) Similarly Joiner & Josephs (2006) identified 4 Competencies that they see as critical to cope in a VUCA world and there has been some empirical testing of this model (Bywater & Lewis 2019.)
Learning Agility is perhaps the newest measurement lexicon in this space:
To deal with a VUCA world, leaders need to learn from experience (De Meuse, Dai & Swisher, 2012). Research shows that leaders who successfully adapt to unknown environments will tend to apply lessons learned to novel situations (Laxson, 2018). Leaders who derail tend to depend on the same skills that were required for promotion rather than developing new skills (Dries, Vantolborgh & Pepermans, 2012). In essence, derailment often occurs when there is an unwillingness to adapt (De Meuse, 2017).
The most established definition of learning agility is “the ability and willingness to learn from experience, and subsequently apply those lessons to perform successfully” (Lombardo & Eichinger, 2000; Korn Ferry, 2017b).). The construct originated as a way to predict how top executives would progress in their roles (De Meuse, 2017). Those higher in learning agility achieved greater career success and they advanced faster in their career (De Meuse et al., 2012). Moreover, learning agility has also been found to predict higher levels of performance and learning (Laxson, 2018).
Thus, a reasonable case can be made that this is an important construct in leaders dealing with significant change. This research is relevant from a practical perspective (“who thrives in high change settings?”) and it also contributes to the theoretical debate outlined by Hezlett & Kuncel (2012) who posed the question “What does learning agility predict?”
Objectives: This study evaluates the Learning Agility model across a variety of change environments to examine the extent to which it is critical for predicting the personal engagement level of leaders undergoing different amounts of change.
Design: Field based study of mid and senior managers employed in private sector roles sitting an IRT based Learning Agility questionnaire as part of high stakes executive assessments across wide sample of organisations.
Method:
• Convenience sample of 28,256 respondents assessed using a FC-IRT scored Learning Agility Measure (Korn Ferry, 2017a) delivered online, usually as part of an executive assessment.
• These were extracted from the databases of organisations using the questionnaire for a variety of assignments - estimated 80% for recruitment purposes.
• 59% male, 41% female, 1% not stated
• 45% Mid/Upper level leader and 24% Senior Executive
• Age – Median 45, range 19-76 years
• 62% Large Organisations (>5000 employees) and 19% Medium Sized Organisations (100-4999)
• 53% Publicly Traded, 24% Privately Held
• Dates of testing: July 2014 to January 2018
Measures:
1. The Learning Agility measure was designed to capture the traits and behaviours associated with managerial success (Korn Ferry, 2017a.) It is FC-IRT scored and benchmarked with a large international leadership comparison group. It measures 6 aspects of Learning Agility - Overall Learning Agility and 5 contributing sub scales covering:
• Results Agility
• People Agility
• Change Agility
• Mental Agility
• Situational Self Awareness 1. The respondents were also asked to rate a number of questions to identify the level of change in their job and environment. These questions were scored and classified into “Stable”, “Evolution” and “Revolution” environments.
2. The respondents also rated themselves on their current personal engagement levels using a 10 statement inventory, (r’tt = .82). These were classified into Average and High Engagement
Results:
Finding 1 – Overall Learning Agility is more prevalent in high change organisations
Overall Learning Agility is defined as “the willingness and ability to learn from experience, and subsequently apply that learning to perform successfully under new or first-time conditions.”
The leaders operating in high change environments had significantly higher Overall Learning Agility than those operating in more stable environments.
This looks like an example of the “Attract/ Select/ Attrition” model in operation (Schneider et al, 2000). High change settings attract people who are higher on Learning Agility, then select for these traits. Finally people with lower agility tend not to stay on them over time.
Finding 2 – Overall Learning Agility has a significant impact on engagement in all conditions
Engagement level is about being stimulated and thriving in the change condition in which the leader finds themselves. Overall Learning Agility is also associated with significantly higher levels of engagement in all change environments and especially in Stable and Evolution settings where the effect sizes are large.
Finding 3 – Results Agility has the highest impact of all 5 subscales
There are 5 sub scales in this model of Learning Agility, however it is Results Agility that gives the biggest differential between average and high engagement, with an especially large effect size in more stable environments.
Results Agility is defined as “being energized by new, tough assignments and overcoming obstacles to achieve stretch work objectives”
Finding 4 – Mental Agility and Change Agility are also important
Mental Agility is defined as “a broad curiosity about the complex issues, challenges, and novel situations that leaders face daily, and sets the stage for effective problem solving.” It is more common in higher change environments and also contributes to engagement.
By contrast Change Agility is defined as “embracing change and taking well-reasoned risks even in the face of that change.” It is also more common in higher change environments but contributes less to engagement in very extreme situations.
Finding 5 – Some Learning Agility traits are adversely affected by very high change settings
People Agility is defined as “understanding the value of getting work done with and through people, being attuned to individuals’ needs and motivations.”
In revolution environments (>1sd above average change) People Agility no longer differentiates between the leaders who maintain their level of engagement in these difficult situations. It thus becomes a “price of admission” to many high change roles without necessarily differentiating the leaders’ engagement levels.
Discussion:
These results show:
1. The amount of change that is experienced by a leader affects their engagement levels. This 3-level classification of Stable, Evolution and Revolution shows useful and measurable trends in the agilities needed to cope with this.
2. Overall Learning Agility, and Results Agility in particular were strongly associated with leaders who remain engaged in high change environments. These are the individuals who will cope and thrive in these settings.
3. However, we found generally elevated levels of engagement at these senior levels, especially in high change environments. The challenge for leaders is thus to infect their teams with these levels of engagement - taking the time to develop and engage others around them. People Agility for example may well be just as important for maintaining the engagement level of others. This concept is closely associated with some aspects of Servant Leadership (van Dierendonck, 2010) and should be the focus of coaching conversations with these individuals.
References
Aberdeen Group (2007). Competency Management: The Link Between Talent Management and Optimum Business Results. http://www.assess.co.nz/pages/AberdeenStudy.pdf
Bywater, J. Lewis, J. (2019). Staying engaged as a leader through significant change;
Competencies that make a difference between coping and. BPS DOP Conference. Chester.
Bywater, J. &bywater Lewis, J. (2017). Leadership: What does it take to remain engaged as a leader in a VUCA world? Assessment & Development Matters Vol. 9 No. 4 Winter 2017.
De Meuse, K. P., Dai, G., Swisher, V. V., Eichinger, R. W., & Lombardo, M. M. (2012). Leadership development: Exploring, clarifying, and expanding our understanding of learning agility. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(3), 280-286.
De Meuse, K. P. (2017). Learning agility: Its evolution as a psychological construct and its empirical relationship to leader success. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 69(4), 267.
Dirk van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant Leadership: A Review and Synthesis. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1228-1261.
Dries, N., Vantilborgh, T., & Pepermans, R. (2012). The role of learning agility and career variety in the identification and development of high potential employees. Personnel Review, 41(3), 340-358.
Elkington, R., van der Steege, M., & Glick-Smith, J. (Eds.). (2017). Visionary leadership in a turbulent world: Thriving in the New VUCA Context. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Eichinger, R. W., & Lombardo, M. M. (2004). Learning agility as a prime indicator of potential. People and Strategy, 27(4), 12. Hezlett, S. A., & Kuncel, N. R. (2012). Prioritizing the learning agility research agenda. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 5(3), 296-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2012.01449.x
Joiner, B., & Josephs, S. (2006.) Leadership Agility. Jossey Bass.
Korn Ferry (2016). Engaging through change. Korn Ferry. http://engage.kornferry.com/engaging- through-change-report-blog
Korn Ferry (2017a). Korn Ferry's Four Dimensional Executive Assessment - Research guide and technical manual. Korn Ferry. https://dsqapj1lakrkc.cloudfront.net/media/sidebar_downloads/KF4D_Executive_Manual_FINAL.pd f
Korn Ferry (2017b). The ViaEdge Technical Manual. Korn Ferry. https://dsqapj1lakrkc.cloudfront.net/media/sidebar_downloads/82205-viaEdge-Technical- Manual.pdf
Korn Ferry (2018). Korn Ferry Leadership Architect Global Competency Framework – Research Guide and Technical Manual https://dsqapj1lakrkc.cloudfront.net/media/sidebar_downloads/82277-KFLA- TM-NAV_reposted_032018.pdf
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Laxson, E. N. (2018). Within and between person effects of learning agility: a longitudinal examination of how learning agility impacts future career success (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University. Libraries).
Lombardo, M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39(4), 321–330.
Luthans, F. Youssef- Morgan, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2007). Psychological Capital; Developing the Human Competitive Edge. Oxford. ISBN 0199884870
Royal, M., & Agnew, T. (2011). The Enemy of Engagement: Put an End to Workplace Frustration – and Get the Most from Your Employees, (New York: AMACOM).
Schneider, B., Smith, D. B., & Goldstein, H. W. (2000). Attraction–selection–attrition: Toward a person–environment psychology of organizations. In W. B. Walsh, K. H. Craik, & R. H. Price (Eds.), Person–environment psychology: New directions and perspectives (pp. 61-85). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Ref: 3806 Standard Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Building perspective-taking as organizational capability: A change intervention in healthcare Tom Calvard1, Leslie Curry2, Emily Cherlin2, Amanda Brewster3 1University of Edinburgh Business School, 2Yale School of Public Health, 3UC Berkeley School of Public Health Introduction and Background: For complex and differentiated organizational systems to remain coordinated, cooperative and interdependent, they need actors and units who can recognize and adopt one another’s perspectives (Boland and Tenkasi, 1995; Ku, Wang and Galinsky, 2015; Litchfield and Gentry, 2010). In this regard, the psychological process of perspective-taking has been the subject of some research in organizations (Grant and Berry, 2011; Ku et al., 2015; Parker, Atkins and Axtell, 2008). In their recent review and updated definition of perspective-taking, Ku and colleagues (2015: 94-5) refer to it as “the active cognitive process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point or imagining oneself in another’s shoes to understand their visual viewpoint, thoughts, motivations, intentions, and/or emotions”.
Perspective-taking has a long, interdisciplinary history as a fundamental human, social and developmental process of interaction, necessary for navigating a world of mixed motives, viewpoints and boundaries concerning the self and others (Galinsky, Ku and Wang, 2005; Johnson, 1975; Parker et al., 2008). Perspective-taking is a nuanced and multidimensional capability (de Waal, 2008). Perspective-taking efforts do not guarantee perspective-taking ability or accuracy, and understanding other viewpoints cognitively and intellectually does not guarantee feeling them empathically and compassionately (Ku et al., 2015; Longmire and Harrison, 2018; Parker et al., 2008).
The current paper seeks to address our understanding of some of these potentials and ambiguities of perspective-taking in organizations by considering how it can be actively built, connected, developed and expanded across an organizational system as a system-wide capability (Litchfield and Gentry, 2010; Pavlovich and Krahnke, 2012). Much research on perspective-taking has focused on its interpersonal pathways, based on laboratory studies or micro-interactions at work (Ku et al., 2015; Parker and Axtell, 2001). However, while crucial to understanding how perspective-taking operates between people, this neglects (1) how perspective-taking might build from the interpersonal to a wider, shared capability, and (2) how more systemic interventions can be designed to foster perspective-taking across organizations.
Methodology: Healthcare and hospital settings are highly appropriate for studying perspective- taking, given their complex systems and webs of diverse leaders, groups and agencies, whose views and priorities can vary in their alignment. Accordingly, this paper draws on data from a wider project involving a longitudinal, mixed methods intervention study of 10 hospitals over a 2-year period. Qualitative data presented in this paper are drawn from 393 in-depth interviews with 197 clinical and management staff (e.g. physicians, nurses, quality improvement staff, management and administration). These staff were engaged with a collaborative culture change and quality improvement intervention (LSL - Leadership Saves Lives) within and across the 10 hospitals (Bradley et al., 2018). The intervention involves guiding coalitions, inter-departmental workshops, all-hospital annual forums, and a web-based platform for knowledge sharing.
The data had originally been coded for culture change themes by six analysts, yielding a coding structure with key themes, such as (1) learning and problem solving; (2) senior leadership support; (3) psychological safety; (4) commitment to the organisation; and (5) time for improvement.
For the current paper the data was revisited and re-coded by a team of three, using a scaffolding mixture of existing, earlier codes on roles and relationships, and new codes reflecting dimensions of perspective-taking discussed in relevant literature (Morse and Mitcham, 2002). Consideration was also given to two levels of scope or distance in the nature of the perspective adopted - (1) that of another team/function in the same organization, and (2) that of entirely different organizations and agencies across the integrated healthcare system. The time frame was not central to the analysis, but the three waves of data (baseline, 6 months, 18 months) were acknowledged to provide additional contextualization of relevant aspects of intervention and change. Findings: The findings were ultimately distilled into a 2x3 coding matrix. A twofold distinction was drawn between the team and system levels of perspective-taking abstraction, and the threefold distinction was between the following three dimensions of perspective-taking (with illustrative quotes):
1. Empathic concern (affective)
Team: “The other day one nurse was very distressed. She wanted to talk to me. I was very tired but I said yes because I know she’s very down. She needs somebody to talk to her. I spent an hour and a half with her. For me it was like, ‘this is my nurse who is going to take care of my patient, and how she feels about another doctor’” (Doctor, 18 months)
System: “How would you feel? For everybody, we have to remind them that it’s personal…. We experience it every day and we forget that community members don’t. We have to sometimes put ourselves back in their shoes” (Doctor, baseline)
2. Attributional understanding (cognitive)
Team: “Some of the people of LSL I’ve worked with before, but some of them I didn’t know what capacity they had. I knew that they worked in a certain department, but I didn’t really know too much of what they did. Also, understanding that a lot of these people in the other departments have similar issues that we have. That makes it a lot easier for me to actually communicate with them what I need, and vice versa” (Lab manager, 18 months)
System: “That’s probably where our biggest challenge is, is getting the staff level in those areas to understand how they impact AMI care. Most people have a perception, especially with the STEMI patient, that it’s all about cath lab. Well, it’s not all about the cath lab. There are opportunities to impact that patient’s care at every point along the way” (Quality improvement officer, baseline)
3. Efforts to try and improve understanding (motivational)
Team: “We had quite some silos that we had to dismantle… You have to stay with something, no matter how difficult it gets because when you get to the other side, it’s so nice. You can just talk about anything and it’s not defensive and it’s more of like, ‘How can we improve’?” (Quality director, 18 months)
System: “You have one of the heads of cardiology and you have the director of cardiovascular nursing. We don’t have that opportunity. When I sat in there at first I was a little overwhelmed. I wasn’t afraid or intimidated but the knowledge and the professionalism that they bring, everyone kind of takes their hats off. When we did the first workshops here, when they came in, basically take your hats off, introduce yourself, what’s your personality like, I think that was a huge success because we could all treat each other as equal” (Paramedic, 6 months)
Implications and Conclusions: Until recently, perspective-taking has largely been researched and understood as an individual and interpersonal psychological phenomenon, stimulated and modified by laboratory studies and controlled interactions (Ku et al. 2015). This study is one of the first of its kind to investigate in the field how perspective-taking might be ‘scaled up’ to reflect a capability of whole groups and integrated organizational systems, building on recent theoretical accounts of its more collective and connecting qualities (Litchfield and Gentry, 2010; Pavlovich and Krahnke, 2012). Practically, perspective-taking has implications for the social psychology of organizational design – overcoming any unhelpful silos and distances between teams and roles, and engaging the motivations to cross boundaries from being an insider to an outsider, and vice versa. Nevertheless, perspective-taking is a complex capability and not necessarily a panacea. It relies on complex intergroup contact experiences, processes of knowledge sharing and integration, and distributed leadership. It can be difficult to disentangle its perceptual, affective and cognitive aspects – although future research should continue to explore its multiple layers and dimensions. Furthermore, perspective-taking is likely to vary according to the different ‘targets’ whose perspectives are being sought and exchanged – managers, entrepreneurs, minorities, engineers, customers – in a particular context or setting. Ultimately, perspective-taking is grounded in motivation and imagination, and is less about accuracy per se, than it is cultural change management processes that bring people together to discuss identity conflicts (Haslam et al., 2003). Unless fostered appropriately, those motivations can be perverse and irrational, and so, as in the current study, perspective-taking needs to be carefully weighed against related concepts like justice and compassion (Bloom, 2017). This study shows what can be achieved over time where appropriate framing and investments are made in the organizational ecosystem of integrated healthcare and quality improvement.
Selected References
Bloom, P. (2017). Empathy and its discontents. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(1), 24-31.
Boland Jr, R. J., & Tenkasi, R. V. (1995). Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing. Organization Science, 6(4), 350-372.
Ku, G., Wang, C. S., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). The promise and perversity of perspective-taking in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 35, 79-102.
Litchfield, R. C., & Gentry, R. J. (2010). Perspective-taking as an organizational capability. Strategic Organization, 8(3), 187-205.
Pavlovich, K., & Krahnke, K. (2012). Empathy, connectedness and organisation. Journal of Business Ethics, 105(1), 131-137.
Ref: 4105 Poster Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development “Banging the female drum”: exploring the attraction and barriers of females to the fire service Rachael Canavan, University of Bedfordshire
The fire service is male dominated, with the firefighter role being stereotypically male (Ballaro and Blanchard, 2018). Only 5.7% of firefighters in England of female, which is not representative of the general population. Organisational diversity is important because the UK population is becoming more diverse (Phillimore, 2011) and diverse fire services are more effective (Andrews, Ashworth, and Meier, 2014). Yet, research has found that females encounter many barriers in attempting to enter and work within traditional male dominated roles, including discrimination and prejudice (Gedrow, 2010), lack of acceptance (Ward, 2008) and resistance from male colleagues (Balkin, 1988). Tokenism theory (Kanter, 1977) suggests that when females are a workplace minority, their visibility is heightened, and they stand out, thus becoming tokens. Consequently, they encounter performance pressure and gender stereotyping. Kanter (1977) proposed that the solution to tokenism was to increase the token gender in the workplace. However, Yoder (1991) claimed that increasing the number of tokens would increase discrimination as the dominants would attempt to curb the power gains made by the tokens. Some research has been conducted into female attraction to and experiences of employment in male -dominated occupations but the fire service is under researched. What little research there is focuses on why women do not become firefighters. This study differs in that it explores what attracts women to become firefighters and investigates the challenges they face as firefighters, in order to address the research question “what encourages women to become firefighters and what barriers do they encounter?”
Design and Methodology: A qualitative design was adopted to obtain rich data based on the participants’ experiences and observations. Possible volunteer participants were identified by two fire services and then contacted direct by the researcher. Seven female firefighters agreed to participate. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews and a Thematic Analysis was carried out. The study was carried out in accordance with BSPS principles. Some participants asked to be interviewed at work which posed ethical challenges. These were mitigated by using a private room for interviews.
Data Analysis and Results: The themes of firefighter stereotype, fitting in and support were developed from the data.
Firefighter stereotype: the firefighter stereotype is recognised as male, big, strong and heroic. Participants felt that the stereotype is a barrier to females entering the fire service as they believe that they would not fit in because they do not see themselves as matching the typical firefighter. The study found that participants were not actively attracted to the firefighting profession and suggests that this is a result of the firefighter stereotype. This stereotype also limits what females believe they can do in the firefighter role. Many male firefighters were seen as endorsing the inaccurate perception of the role whilst participants themselves sometimes endorse gender stereotypes, such as stating that other females would not like the dirty aspects of the role.
Fitting in: participants reported adopting typical male behaviours in an attempt to fit in and to attempt to hide perceived female weakness. Participants also reported that male firefighters often changed their typical male behaviour when they first worked with females, which created a sterile, uncomfortable working environment. There were examples of benevolent sexism, such as males offering to lift heavy items and protecting the females. This could be viewed as limiting, restricting and undermining to female firefighters. Participants felt a need to overachieve and were reluctant to apply for promotion because they feared negative reactions from the males or felt that they would only be promoted due to their gender. Male firefighters were reported to see females as being favoured and to presume positive discrimination. Banter was viewed as a significant as a way of coping with distressing situations and for bonding. Banter was referred to as a product of a male- dominated environment, and many participants experienced being excluded from banter by their male colleagues.
Support: the participants collectively referred to female support groups within the fire service, such as WhatsApp groups. These were used to share experiences and minimise isolation in a safe space. The longest and mid serving participants only recently embraced support groups due to not wanting to highlight that they are different to the male firefighters. Participants reported that some females do not engage with support groups and they saw some women in the fire service as anti-female and unsupportive of other females. Longer serving participants felt that the current London Fire Brigade female commissioner, Dany Cotton, proactively bringing female issues to the forefront was detrimental because it highlighted female differences. However, shorter serving participants found the commissioner and her actions inspirational. There was ambivalence demonstrated by longer serving participants as they did not agree with highlighting female differences and did not wish to push females to the forefront, but they were in favour of support groups. This may reflect that the fire service culture is changing and that newer female recruits feel more comfortable highlighting their femaleness.
Discussion and Conclusions: Firefighter stereotype provides a barrier to the attraction of females to the firefighting role due to it depicting firefighters as masculine. It is also a barrier to serving females as it limits what they perceive they can achieve in the role due to low self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). It is recommended that more female firefighter role-models are made visible to combat the stereotype, although fire services may wish to consider the effect this may have on currently serving females as raising visibility may be felt as threatening due to Tokenism (Kanter,1977).
Females adopted an act of masculinity in order to fit in and survive working as firefighters, which can be attributed to social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979). Male firefighters were reported as believing females benefitted from positive discrimination. Some participants appear to have internalised these negative assumptions and altered their career expectations as a result. There was also evidence of benevolent sexism. It is suggested that fire services provide guidance for male firefighters regarding benevolent sexism.
Female support was found to be important to the participants but longer serving participants displayed ambivalence as they were in favour of female support groups but did not agree with the London Fire Brigade female commissioner proactively highlighting female issues. This can be linked to tokenism (Kanter, 1977) as increased visibility for the minority can be uncomfortable. Participants discussed trying to fit in and therefore they may have felt threatened by having their “femaleness” made more visible. This supports Yoder (2002) in that the participants feared increased discrimination from raising the visibility of the tokens. Fire services may wish to increase support for females by introducing formal mentorship schemes and providing female firefighters with both female and male mentors.
The ambivalence of the longer serving participants towards embracing female support and not wanting to highlight their “femaleness” was the most novel aspect of the findings presented. This paradox does not appear to have been found in other studies and further research is required.
This paper contributes by assisting firefighting organisations with managing changes to organisational culture by attracting and retaining female firefighters. It is likely to interest delegates who practice or research in the fields of diversity and inclusion and recruitment and selection.I intend to hand out A4 copies of the poster to conference attendees.
The key points I would include in the 60 second pitch are that females appear to meet with stereotype barriers; they feel they need to adopt an act of masculinity in order to fit in and survive working as firefighters; there is a paradox of longer serving participants embracing female support but not wanting to highlight their “femaleness”. These barriers might be addressed by having more visible female firefighter role models; fire services providing guidance for male firefighters regarding benevolent sexism and introducing formal mentorship schemes.
References
Andrews, R., Ashworth, R., & Meier, K. J. (2014). Representative bureaucracy and fire service performance. International Public Management Journal, 17(1), 1-24 Balkin, J. (1988). Why policemen don't like policewomen. Journal of Police Science & Administration, 16, 29-38.
Ballaro, J. M., & Blanchard, C. (2018). Women Making It to the Top: From Firefighter to Fire Chief. International Leadership Journal, 10(2), 39-61.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioural change, Psychological Review,84,191-215.
Gedro, J. (2010). The lavender ceiling atop the global closet: Human resource development and lesbian expatriates. Human Resource Development Review, 9(4), 385-404.
Kanter, R.M.(1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic.
Phillimore, J. (2011). Approaches to health provision in the age of super-diversity: Accessing the NHS in Britain’s most diverse city. Critical Social Policy, 31(1), 5-29.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In: Austin, W.G., Worchel, S. (Eds.). The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks Cole. pp. 33- 47.
Ward, L. (2008). Female faculty in male-dominated fields: Law, medicine, and engineering. New Directions for Higher Education, 2008(143), 63-72.
Yoder, J. D. (2002). 2001 Division 35 presidential address: Context matters: Understanding tokenism processes and their impact on women’s work. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(1), 1-8.
Ref: 4093 Poster Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development An art based dialogue between employees and their senior management team Elizabeth Carter, Lancaster University
1) What are the main psychological theories, models and research under-pinning your session?
The project uses arts-based methodology (Leavy, 2015) and uses Wilfred Bion (1897-1979)’s Container-Contained theory as its framework. This theory identifies the group, or organization as the container for that which is to be contained which can be a feeling, a thought or idea. The tolerance of the group or organization to contain the different feelings, thoughts or ideas will result in whether they will be digested, assimilated and integrated, so that both the container and the contained can develop (Grinberg et al, 1977).
Bion’s container-contained theory highlights the relational aspect which is needed for development to occur (as well as destruction). Bion’s construct initially developed in relation to the therapeutic relationship; but he experienced working with groups (Bion, 1961) and his work has been applied to organisations (Broeng, 2017). The theory highlights that there needs to be a relationship between the container and the contained, in order for development to occur. In this study the employees represent the contained and the senior management team the container.
The study is using arts-based methods, specifically the visual arts to explore this relationship and the experiences of organisational life for both front-line employees and their senior management team. Research has occurred which uses art to explore the experience of employees (Alcadipani & Tonelli, 2014) and those within the management team (Taylor & Ladkin, 2009) but not which integrates the art work created by lower level employees and the senior management team in one organisation.
2) How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of “The practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at work?”
This study will hopefully encourage Occupational Psychologists to appreciate how art could be used in their practice and think about how they could use the arts with the people they work with.
The study highlights the value of relationship and encourages Occupational Psychologist to reflect on themselves as containers, to support the development of those they work with.
3) Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The art work will help to represent and uncover organizational culture; and aid identification of areas of strengths and areas of developmental needs, to support organisational development.
4) What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Using art to explore the relationship between employees and senior management team is the most novel aspect which has not been researched before.
5) Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
I hope it will stimulate people to think and talk about how art can be used within organisations in relation to occupational psychology and promote creative thinking.
6) What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
I think they will find the use of art by employees intriguing.
7) What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take?
Copy of the poster.
8) What key points would you put into a 60 second opening pitch for your poster?
• Briefly state the importance of the relationship between frontline employees and the senior management team
• That I am exploring this relationship using visual arts
• Include a quote from a participant of the study.
9) What proposals if any do you have to augment or enliven the basic poster display.
I could include an i-pad on the poster which displays on rotation the artwork that has been created in the workshops, for the study.
References:
Alcadipani, R & Tonelli, M.J. (2014); Imagining gender research: Violence, Masculinity and the shop floor. Gender, Work & Organization. Vol. 21(4), 321-339.
Bion, W. R. (1961); Experiences in Groups. New York: Routledge. Broeng, (2017); The impact of belonging groups in an institutional merger process. Organisational and Social Dynamics. Vol. 17 (1), 71-88
Grinberg, L. Sor, D. & Tabat de Bianchedi, E. (1977): Introduction to the work of Bion. Jason Aronson Inc: New York.
Leavy, P. (2015); Method meets art: Arts-based practice. 2ndedition. The Guilford Press: New York.
Taylor & Ladkin (2009); Understanding arts-based methods in managerial development. Academy of Management Learning & Education. Vol. 8(1), 55-68.
Ref: 3861 Standard Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Impact of Triple Bottom Line Approach on Employer Branding Natasha Chaturvedi, The University of Edinburgh
What makes CSR, ethics, and sustainability integral to an organization? According to Potts and Matuszewski (2004), companies that are perceived to be ethical, have the ability and potential to recruit and retain the crème de la crème from the available workforce pool and also foster positive, long-term relationships with various stakeholders – vendors, customers, investors, and stockholders. Cassidy (2003) suggests that the absence of high standards of corporate governance may lead to under-performance of businesses, whereas, presence and implementation of strong governance on a system based on ethics would result in the better and significantly stronger performance of a business. Ethics is not just confined to a moral issue but is also helpful in building stronger and better community relations (Moir, 2001) which further leads to improved long-term corporate financial performances (Allen, 2001).
To gain an in-depth understanding of what motivates or demotivates firms from adopting and implementing ethics, CSR and sustainability initiatives – an interesting, well-known and frequently cited perspective is provided by the Freidman vs Freeman debate. Shareholders’ theory by Freeman – which draws on the work of Adam Smith – states that the only responsibility of a firm or an organization is to create profit. According to him, firms that engage in activities which do not fulfill the purpose of shareholders have misunderstood the fundamental nature of the free economy. Hence, Freidman states that – “there is one and only one social responsibility of the business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits as long as it stays within the rule of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud” (Freidman, 1970, p. 126). On the flip side, a counter-theory provided by Freeman (1984) is the Stakeholders’ theory which argues that there exists an interdependence between social and economic activities. Social activities cannot be differentiated from economic activities because social activities impact economic activities. Freeman states that firms must, not only satisfy the owners and shareholders, but also the various stakeholders associated with the firm – community, public, and its employees.
In order to understand Employee returns to CSR, it is first important to understand the key outcomes of corporate social responsibility from a psychological perspective – the psychological drivers of CSR outcomes and the links between CSR initiatives and outcomes. A recent study by PWC (Price water house Coopers) LLP accentuated the need of CSR in organizations by highlighting employee motivation as one of the top two factors that helped chief executive officers make the business case for CSR activities – 58% of respondents rated CSR, second only to reputation/brand at 79%. Fulfillment of personal needs makes it more likely for employees to identify with the company. Tying this to the Social Identity Theory – identification is a psychological concept that showcases the extent to which employees feel that their sense of self overlaps with their sense of their employer. Those employees who strongly identify with the purpose of the organization, incorporate the organization’s characteristics into their own selves and view the success of the company as their own(Bhattacharya, Sen and Korschun, 2008). Here is an example in the case, employees at The Timberland Co. have been known to have ‘cult-like’ sense of belonging owing (partially, if not fully) to the company’s CSR initiatives. CSR can, therefore, be pinpointed as an integral factor in identification among consumers, employees and job applicants in different contexts.
Relationship between an attractive employer brand and the brand-related behavior of employees, as observed through a Social Identity Approach to Organisational Identification (SIA) perspective is as follows -
Unique and attractive employer brand ------> Organisational Identification ------> Employees 'Live the Brand'
As per the British Psychological Society, the aim of Occupational Psychology is to increase the effectiveness of the organization and improve the job satisfaction of the individuals. Building on the concept of occupational psychology, this paper aims to understand the link between two major concepts i.e. triple bottom line approach and employer branding with, employees or individuals who could be potentially associated with the organization – as the central focus. The findings would aid in a deeper understanding of the extent to which there is a link between triple bottom line approach and employer branding and what strategies can be formulated and implemented to attract, retain and motivate talented workforce thereby strengthening the brand as an employer.
Ref: 3916 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Towards gender balance in police officers: A review of recruitment and promotion barriers Andrew Clements, University of Bedfordshire
Recruitment: There has been limited attention to the challenge of candidate attraction. Policing may be less attractive to women (Cordner & Cordner, 2011), but there may also be a lack of deliberate efforts to attract female candidates. Linos (2018) reported a field experiment in which individuals were sent postcards promoting careers in policing; messages presenting policing as a challenge increased rates of applicants in women.
There has been rather more attention to the potential barriers posed by physical fitness tests (Prenzler, 1998; Prenzler, Fleming, & King, 2010; Shephard & Bonneau, 2002). Approaches to addressing this may include the use of gender normed physical fitness tests – although these may also be discriminatory (Levin, 2018), or suiting physical fitness tests to the tasks required by a role (Shephard & Bonneau, 2002) which is likely to be more defensible.
A study of a “gender neutral” timed obstacle course found that not only were males more likely to pass the test, but that 49% of those passing were overweight or obese (Jackson & Wilson, 2013). Similarly, Strating, Bakker, Dijkstra, Lemmink, & Groothoff (2010) found that a physical fitness test used for Dutch police elicited worse performance from women and older workers. They noted that this might reflect not simply worse performance, but also masculine-oriented tests. England and Wales currently use a 15 metre multi-stage fitness test, although the College of Policing has endorsed the Chester Treadmill Police Walk Test as a valid alternative (College of Policing, 2017).
Promotion: Tokenism (Kanter, 1977) provides a framework for understanding barriers women face inside the police force. Kanter proposed that individuals belonging to a group comprising 15% or less of the work environment demographic would experience negative outcomes due to being more visible compared to majority members, perceived in terms of stereotypes, and due to in-group out- group differences being magnified by observers. Yoder’s (1991) review enhanced tokenism theory by identifying that perceptions of role appropriateness, sexism, and perceived threat (resulting from expanding presence of a minority) also contributed to negative outcomes experienced by tokens.
Qualitative research has suggested one barrier to female officers applying for promotions are their concerns they would be promoted on the basis of their gender rather than ability (Archbold & Schulz, 2008; Archbold & Hassell, 2009) or that others would perceive them as having been promoted based on gender (Archbold & Hassell, 2009). Similarly, Archbold and Schulz (2008) reported that some female participants had experienced deliberately being made visible in order to display diversity achievements despite the ongoing presence of sexism at work. Archbold, Hassell and Stichman (2010) reported that male officers were more likely than female officers to state that women were respected in the force; furthermore, some female participants stated that shortcomings in female officers were sometimes attributed to their gender.
Survey research has suggested that female officers in the U.S. see promotion as less important compared to male officers, and have lower expectations regarding their rank on retirement (Gau, Terrill, & Paoline, 2013). Conversely, Fekjær and Halrynjo (2012) found female and male police recruits scored similarly for promotion aspiration. Boag-Munroe (In Press) presents mixed findings; female Inspectors did not differ from male counterparts in aspirations and expectations of reaching higher rank, but female constables were much less likely to aspire or expect promotion compared to male counterparts.
Gendered work cultures and cultural expectations can also present barriers; for example female officers are more likely than males to refrain from seeking promotions due to potential work-home conflicts (Holdaway & Parker, 1998; Archbold et al, 2010). The expectation of long service and full- time employment therefore impacts career progression of female officers (Silvestri, Tong, & Brown, 2013).
Conclusion: Occupational psychologists have the opportunity to contribute to improved representation within the police service. Setting targets for equal recruitment of female and male officers can be part of a wider strategy for achieving a gender-balanced police service, as in the case of Australia’s strategy (McLeod, 2018). Ward and Prenzler (2016) reported that North Wales had achieved gender balance in police recruits, but unfortunately they lacked clear evidence to suggest how this was achieved. Consequently there is a need for reviewing present practices, such as recruitment messages and the potential for adverse impact during recruitment. Beyond recruitment and selection, occupational psychologists may be well placed to advise on strategies for improving the promotion of female officers. Gendered structures in the workplace are likely to present a barrier, and so a review of organisational policies is desirable. At the same time, it is important to carefully consider messaging about promotion activities, as mishandled these may reinforce a sense of tokenism and discourage female officers from seeking promotion. There remains a need for further research, as much of the published work is based upon surveys rather than field experiments of interventions aimed at enhancing diversity and inclusion.
References
Allen, G., & Zayed, Y. (2018) Police Service Strength. London: House of Commons Library
Archbold, C.A. & Hassell, K.D. (2009) Paying a marriage tax: An examination of the barriers to the promotion of female police officers, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 32 (1), 56-74
Archbold, C.A., Hassell, K.D., & Stichman, A.J. (2010) Comparing promotion aspirations among female and male police officers, International Journal of Police Science & Management, 12 (2), 287- 303
Archbold, C.A., & Schulz, D.M. (2008) Making rank: The lingering effect of tokenism on female police officers’ promotion aspirations, Police Quarterly, 11 (1), 50-73
Boag-Munroe (In Press) Career progression expectations and aspirations of female police officers in England and Wales, Policing: A journal of Policy and Practice
Brown, J., & Silvestri, M. (In Press) A police service in transformation: Implications for women police officers, Police Practice and Research
College of Policing (2017) Implementation – job-related fitness test, retrieved from https://www.college.police.uk/What-we- do/Standards/Fitness/Documents/Implementation_JRFT_%20guidance_Dec_16_%20v0.1.pdf (accessed 1.8.19)
Cordner, G. & Cordner, A. (2011) Stuck on a plateau? Obstacles to recruitment, selection, and retention of women police, Police Quarterly, 14 (3), 207-226
Dick, P. Silvestri, M., & Westmarland, L. (2014) Women police: Potential and possibilities for police reform, in J.M. Brown (Ed.) The Future of Policing (pp134-148), Oxon: Routledge
Fekjær, S.B. & Halrynjo, S. (2012) Promotion aspirations among male and female police students, International Journal of Police Science & Management, 14 (1), 71-82
Gau, J.M., Terrill, W., & Paoline, E.A. (2013) Looking up: Explaining police promotional aspirations, Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40 (3), 247-269
Holdaway, S., & Parker, S.K. (1998) Policing women police: Uniform patrol, promotion and representation in the CID, British Journal of Criminology, 98 (1), 40-60
Home Office (2018) Police workforces, England and Wales, 31 March 2018. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2018 (accessed 15.6.19)
Jackson, C.A. & Wilson, D. (2013) The Gender-Neutral Timed Obstacle Course: a valid test of police fitness? Occupational Medicine, 63, 479-484
Kanter, R.M. (1977) Some effects of proportions on group life: Skewed sex ratios and responses to token women, American Journal of Sociology, 82 (5), 965-990
Levin, E.A. (2018) Gender-normed physical-ability tests under Title VII, Columbia Law Review, 118, 567-603 Linos, E. (2018) More than public service: A field experiment on job advertisements and diversity in the police, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 28 (1), 67-85
Lumsden, K. & Black, A. (2018) Austerity policing, emotional labour and the boundaries of police work: An ethnography of a police force control room in England, British Journal of Criminology, 58, 606–623
McLeod, A. (2018) Diversity and inclusion in Australian policing: Where are we at and where should we go? Retrieved from https://www.aipm.gov.au/sites/default/files/pictures/J2805%20- %20AIPM%20Research%20Focus%20Vol5%20Iss2_v1.pdf (accessed 12.7.19)
Millie, A. (2014) What are the police for? Re-thinking policing post-austerity, in J.M. Brown (Ed.) The Future of Policing (pp52-63), Oxon: Routledge
Prenzler, T. (1998) Gender integration in Australian policing: The evolution of management responsibility, International Journal of Police Science & Management, 1 (3), 241-259
Prenzler, T., Fleming, J., & King, A.L. (2010) Gender equity in Australia and New Zealand policing: A five-year review, International Journal of Police Science & Management, 12 (4), 584-595
Reuters (2019) New PM Johnson to begin hiring 20,000 extra officers, retrieved from https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-crime/new-pm-johnson-to-begin-hiring-20000-extra- police-officers-idUKKCN1UK33A (accessed 30.7.19)
Shephard, R.J., & Bonneau, J. (2002) Assuring gender equity in recruitment standards for police officers, Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 27 (3), 263-295
Silvestri, M., Tong, S., & Brown, J. (2013) Gender and police leadership: Time for a paradigm shift? International Journal of Police Science and Management, 15 (1), 61-73
Strating, M., Bakker, R.H., Dijkstra, G.J., Lemmink, K.A.P.M., & Groothoff, J.W. (2010) A job-related fitness test for the Dutch police, Occupational Medicine, 60, 255-260
Ward, A. & Prenzler, T. (2016) Good practice case studies in the advancement of women in policing, International Journal of Police Science & Management, 18 (4), 242-250
Yoder, J.D. (1991) Rethinking tokenism: Looking beyond numbers, Gender and Society, 5 (2), 178-192
Ref: 3765 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Predicting attitudes towards 'workaholism' in higher education academics Stacey Coleman, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Over the last 50 years there has been a rise in interest in behavioural addictions in the workplace such as gambling (see Griffiths, 1999; 2009; 2013; Tiyce, Hing, & Cairncross, 2013) and addiction to work itself (Mazzetti, Schaufeli, & Guglielmi, 2014). There has been some debate regarding the concept of workaholism being labelled as an addiction to work, with many authors contesting that there are multiple reasons as to why an individual may work longer hours than expected or contracted; financial problems, strong career aspirations, or even the presence of an overwork climate in the organisation (Mazetti et al., 2014), and may not be able to be explored in terms of addictive behaviour patterns. The most recent development in the literature shows that workaholism is advised to be considered as simply a sub-type of heavy work investment, much in the same way as work engagement (Snir & Harpaz, 2012). Results of a systematic review of workaholism literature highlighted that there are clear negative aspects of work addiction, but there exists a lack of literature exploring how ‘work addicts’ respond to and interpret the term itself. Workaholism has been defined as a rewarded 21st century addiction, and therefore holds the potential to be seen as a positive type of addiction in many occupations. The purpose of this poster presentation is to demonstrate the findings of an MSc study that explored higher education academics attitudes towards the concept, and labelling, of ‘workaholism’ and aimed to determine the predictors of positive attitudes towards workaholic behaviours.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Workaholism research has been borne out of addiction models and ideologies and is not necessarily (in general) rooted in occupational psychology. The purpose of the study conducted was to combine ideas in addictive and occupational psychology, and to explore how employees in an occupation that would be considered as vulnerable for developing an addiction to work (higher education academics) viewed the idea of workaholism in itself and whether the term is , in fact, viewed as positive or negative to these individuals (with prior research being inconclusive on whether it should be defined as an addiction or a form of heavy work investment).
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
A poster submission is appropriate for this topic as the purpose is to display results of an MSc study to conference attendees in a concise way.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
The concept of workaholism is moderately under-represented in psychological literature in comparison to other forms of addictive behaviours, despite there being clear signs that employees are working longer and harder and that research has demonstrated that many of the aspects associated with workaholism have a detrimental effect on well-being; for example increased work- life imbalance and lower job satisfaction (Shimazu, Schaufeli, Kimayama, & Kawakami. 2015). Attitudes of individuals who would be potentially be vulnerable to displaying workaholic/addictive tendencies
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
The concept of workaholism is an area of psychological research that has been considered as a behavioural addiction and research has shown that the behaviours displayed by individuals with a work addiction are comparable to those who have been diagnosed with other behavioural and substance addictions; for example, withdrawal symptoms (when not in work), conflict (inter- and intra-personal), and salience (being the most important aspect of one’s life).
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
Printed hand-outs will be available to conference attendees.
What key points would you put into a 60 second opening ‘pitch’ for your poster?
• Introduction to the concept of workaholism and why the topic is relevant to contemporary occupational psychology • Aim of the research study and specific hypotheses
• Brief methodology including sample, materials and procedure.
• Summary of main findings and lay interpretations
• Discussion of findings in terms of relevance to previous literature and future directions.
References
Griffiths, M. D. (2009). Internet gambling in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Learning, 21, 658- 670.
Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Addictive behaviours: what are the risk factors? Psychology Review, 19(1), 23- 25.
Mazzetti, G., Schaufeli, W. B., & Guglielmi, D. (2014). Are workaholics born or made? Relations of workaholism with person characteristics and overwork climate. International Journal of Stress Management, 23(3), 227-254. Doi: 10.1037/a0035700.
Snir, R., & Harpaz, I. (2012). Beyond workaholism: Towards a general model of heavy work investment. Human Resource Management Review, 22(3), 232-243. Doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2011.11.011
Tiyce, M., Hing, N., Cairncross, G.,Breen, H. (2013). Employee Stress and Stressors in Gambling and Hospitality Workplaces. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 12, 126-154.
Ref: 3853 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work
The Association between Work-Related Rumination and Executive Function using the BREIF-A Hannah Collis, Mark Cropley University of Surrey
Introduction: Psychologically detaching from work is crucial for fostering health and wellbeing in the workplace (Wendsche & Lohmann-Haislah, 2017), yet, around a third of the population have difficulty doing so (Cropley & Zijlstra, 2011). Switching off psychologically can been understood in terms of a continuum, with a worker being completely mentally disengaged from work at one end, whilst at the other they constantly ruminate about work issues. Work-related rumination (WRR) has been defined as a thought(s) directed to issues relating to work, that is/are repetitive in nature, and difficult to control (Cropley & Zijlstra, 2011). Research has shown that ruminating outside of work is associated with a number of negative physical and psychological health outcomes, but despite the wealth of literature surrounding the consequences of ruminative behaviour, little is known about the mechanisms involved. Recently, research has started to examine potential underlying mechanisms to understand more about why people ruminate about work, as identifying the factors can inform the design of future interventions aimed at helping individuals to stop ruminating. One possible mechanism that has attracted recent attention is executive function.
Executive function (EF) is a theoretical construct relating to a set of cognitive processes that relate to how people manage and regulate their thoughts and behaviours (Diamond, 2013). Although there is debate concerning different types of EF, it is acknowledged that there are three main functions: inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility, which lead on to further higher order functions such as reasoning and planning (Diamond, 2013). EF is an abstract construct and is therefore fairly difficult to accurately assess, resulting in disagreement within the literature. However, a widely used interview measure for assessing EF is the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-A; Roth et al., 2005), which is designed to assess real-world manifestations of EF in adults. In today’s competitive world, having high EF skills are essential in the workplace.To our knowledge however, only Cropley et al. (2016) directly examined EF and WRR, but despite positive findings, the results are limited as the authors used proxy measures of EF.
Therefore, the present paper reports two studies which aim to investigate the association between WRR and EFs. The first study aimed to replicate the findings of Cropley et al. (2016) using the BREIF- A, with the following hypotheses:
H1: High WRRs would demonstrate lower Behavioural Regulation, Metacognition, and Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores, relative to low ruminators.
H2: High WRRs would demonstrate lower executive function score in the nine subscales, relative to low ruminators.
Method: Over 100 sales and recruitment professionals completed this study. Participants were categorised based on their WRR scores, representing one standard deviation above and below the mean (12/below, low ruminators; 16/higher, high ruminators). The low ruminator group consisted of 28 participants (17 males, ages M= 34.71, SD= 12.03). The high ruminator group consisted of 35 participants, (16 males, ages M= 30.74, SD= 10.15). These participants were included in the analysis.
Measures: WRR. The affective rumination subscale of the Work-Related Rumination Questionnaire was used, α = 0.87.
Executive Function. The BRIEF-A measures nine clinical subscales which are grouped to create scores for the Behavioural Regulation Index (BRI), Metacognition Index (MI), and the Global Executive Composite (GEC) scores. T scores are calculated in comparison to normative samples, with higher scores indicative of poorer function, α = 0.88.
Results: A MANOVA was conducted to detect any initial effects of WRR on the three main dependent variables between groups: GEC, BRI and MI. Using Pillai’s trace, there was a significant effect of WRR level on each broad construct within the BRIEF, F(6, 132) = 3.33, p= .004, V= 0.263, partial η² = .13. Separate ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences between the WRR groups on each subscale (Table 1). Due to the number of tests performed, significance was accepted at .01 or higher. No effects were found for age or gender.
As demonstrated, all three higher order factors were statistically significant, with poorer EF reported in the high rumination group. Significant differences were also found for each of the nine subscales, except for self-monitoring. Overall, these findings demonstrate that higher levels of WRR are associated with poorer EF, impacting upon both behavioural and cognitive facets of EFs, and further supporting our hypotheses.
Table 1: T-Score means, standard deviations, and MANOVA results for study 1.
Low ruminators High ruminators Mean SD Mean SD F η² p BRI 47.75 1.61 56.40 1.44 15.88 .20 .001 MI 46.78 1.65 55.82 1.48 16.53 .21 .001 GEC 47.07 1.54 56.17 1.38 19.18 .23 .001 Inhibit 50.71 1.80 59.91 1.61 14.40 .19 .001 Shift 49.64 1.82 56.45 1.63 7.75 .11 .007 Emotional Control 46.71 1.84 54.34 1.64 9.55 .13 .003 Self-monitor 47.71 1.70 51.51 1.52 2.77 .04 ns Initiate 45.57 1.71 52.91 1.52 10.25 .14 .002 Working Memory 49.35 2.00 58.97 1.79 12.78 .17 .001 Plan/Organize 49.71 1.63 55.62 1.46 7.23 .10 .009 Task monitor 47.53 1.70 55.77 1.52 13.02 .17 .001 Organization of materials 44.21 1.65 50.17 1.48 7.17 .10 .001 N= 63.
The second aim is to ask what are the key EFs associated with WRR? For this study WRR was treated as the dependent variable and examined the subscales of the BRIEF-A to identify the most predictive EF. As EF and rumination have both been associated with fatigue, sleep and job demands these variables were controlled within the regression model. No specific hypothesis was made. Method and Measures: This online survey study was pre-registered. A novel sample of 237 (61.6% female) individuals were recruited, with a mean age of 33.8, (SD = 12.7).
The same measures were used to assess WRR and EF.
Job Demands. Eleven items previously selected by Querstret and Cropley (2012) were taken from the Job Content Questionnaire, α = .65.
Fatigue. The present study employed the 15 item Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery scale as a workplace focused measure of fatigue, α = .94.
Sleep. The 19-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was employed here, which results in a global sleep score, α = .75.
Results:
Multiple regressions were conducted to identify the key predictor of WRR from the nine subscales of the BRIEF-A (Table 2). The final model is significant, showing that EFs predict levels of WRR, accounting for over 50% of the variance. Within this final model, fatigue, sleep, job demands and the EF shift were the significant predictor variables. Thus, the inability to shift one’s thinking was the key EF associated with WRR.
Table 2: Multiple regression results.
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Beta (SE) t Beta (SE) t Beta (SE) t Gender .175 (.586) 2.75** .137 (.461) 2.73** .102 (.492) 1.90 -.017 -.011 Age .096 (.026) 1.31 -0.29 -0.19 (.021) (.021) Job Level .118 (.179) 1.63 .025 (.142) 0.44 .023 (.139) 0.41 Fatigue .471 (.036) 8.47*** .412 (.038) 7.08*** Sleep .231 (.074) 4.19*** .169 (.081) 2.81*** Job Demands .154 (.059) 2.90** .167 (.057) 3.22*** -.050 Inhibit -0.71 (.031) Shift .300 (.032) 4.20*** Emotional Control .050 (.028) 0.69 -.013 Self-Monitor -0.19 (.031) -0.68 Initiate -0.78 (.036) -.012 Working Memory -0.17 (.029) -.142 Plan / Organise -1.43 (.044) Task Monitor .082 (.034) 1.01 Organisation .081 (.028) 1.23 Constant (1.212) 7.96*** (-1.111) -0.56 (-5.119) -2.16* F 5.73*** 30.71*** 15.10*** R2 .069 .446 .507 Adjusted R2 .057 .431 .474 ∆F 51.93*** 3.04*** ∆R2 .377 .061 Note: N= 237. ∆F and ∆R2 report changes from Step 1. *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p<.001
General Discussion: The results of study 1 were consistent with Cropley et al. 2016, demonstrating that high WRR had poorer EF skills, relative to low ruminators. The only subscale not associated with WRR was self-monitoring, and we speculate that perhaps this may have been due to the sample population, and the training that sales staff experience. It was therefore deemed important to recruit workers from different professions for study 2. Study 2 further supported the association between EF and WRR but suggests shift to be the most important predictor. Shift relates to our ability to switch attention, think about different solutions, and dealing with and accepting change. This differs from the existing literature primarily focuses on inhibition as the main function involved with rumination (Mor & Daches, 2015), but is in line with a meta-analysis which reported significant associations between rumination, shift and inhibition (Yang et al., 2017).
There were a number of novel aspect and strengths of the present studies. It is the first, to our knowledge, to assess the association between EF and WRR using a validated measure of EF. Secondly, we controlled for fatigue, sleep, and job demands, which are well known factors that can modify WRR and EF. Thirdly, the study had ecological validity and utilised individuals from real-life settings with a reasonable sample size. There were however some limitations, and issues we could not address. The findings were cross-sectional, and it was not possible to identify a causal relationship. This issue is currently in debate, with authors arguing for EF deficits causing rumination, other authors stating the opposite, and a subset suggesting a reciprocal relationship. Additionally, whilst the BREIF-A is indeed a validated and effective measure of executive function it nonetheless relies on self-reporting. Future research should employ more objective, behavioural measures to substantiate the current results.
The findings of the present studies may be utilized to inform the development of interventions to reduce work-related rumination. It has been noted that executive functions are trainable (Diamond, 2013). If one accepts the premise that rumination and executive function are mechanisms of each other, then interventions targeted at one could potentially impact the other. Prior literature has only explored interventions aimed at each construct, but perhaps a two-pronged intervention design may be effective.
In conclusion, switching off from work is important. Thinking and ruminating about work can impede the recovery process, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We presented two distinct studies that demonstrated WRR to be associated with reduced EF. Whilst further work is needed to establish causality, these findings add to our understanding about the mechanisms underlying WRR and may be used to inform future interventions.
References:
Cropley, M., & Zijlstra, F. R. (2011). Work and rumination. In J. Langan-Fox & C.L. Cooper (Eds.). Handbook of Stress in the Occupations.UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Cropley, M., Zijlstra, F. R., Querstret, D., & Beck, S. (2016). Is work-related rumination associated with deficits in executive functioning? Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1524.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168.
Mor, N., & Daches, S. (2015). Ruminative thinking: Lessons learned from cognitive training. Clinical Psychological Science, 3(4), 574-592.
Roth, R. M., Isquith, P. K., & Gioia, G. A. (2005). BRIEF-A: Behavior rating inventory of executive function--adult version. Florida, USA: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Wendsche, J., & Lohmann-Haislah, A. (2017). A meta-analysis on antecedents and outcomes of detachment from work. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 2072.
Yang, Y., Cao, S., Shields, G. S., Teng, Z., & Liu, Y. (2017). The relationship between rumination and executive functions: a meta-analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 34(1), 37-50.
Ref: 3899 Impact Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development
Personality Change Following Job Transition: A Preliminary Analysis Hannah Collis, Stephen Woods University of Surrey
Introduction: Personality is no longer considered to be a stable construct, but malleable throughout life. Whilst there have been several theoretical attempts to explain why personality develops, there have been few explanations for how personality develops. Woods et al. (2019) have recently proposed the DATA model, which suggests that changes occur due to a transaction between the personality and work demands, which results in either adjustment or activation of specific personality traits. Indeed, this process model can retrospectively explain much of the existent literature, but it is yet to be directly tested. Therefore, the present study seeks to explore this relationship within the context of a job transition.
The context has indeed been the focus for several personality development studies, but data has been collected over years. Drawing upon clinical psychology literature (Roberts et al., 2017) and intervention studies (Hudson et al., 2018), it has been suggested that fundamental personality change occurs in as little as 4 weeks. Consequentially, this study adopts a short time frame to ascertain if personality development can be observed in this time-frame without an intervention.
Finally, despite the advancements the personality development field have made, there has been no research into the outcomes of personality change itself. Drawing upon fit and organisational socialisation literatures, this study proposed that perceived stress and job satisfaction may be impacted by change.
Methods: A longitudinal, within-subjects design was employed. Participants had to be employed on a full-time basis, having started a new job in the previous 6 months. Ninety-seven participants completed the study with a 61.86% retention rate. Data was collected at two time points (M = 5.6 weeks). Ethical approval was provided by the University of Surrey.
Participants completed measures of personality (BFI-2, Soto & John, 2017), job satisfaction and perceived stress.
Results: Repeated t-tests were initially conducted to establish personality development between time one score and absolute value, to remove the direction of change. Cohen’s d effect sizes were also calculated for each of the Big 5 and 3 sub-facets, showing that all tests exceeded d = 0.8, with all but responsibility and respect exceeding d = 1.0, indicating that changes exceeded one standard deviation and that there were significant changes in personality over a short period of time.
Regarding the outcomes, regressions revealed that change in Openness negatively predicted time two job satisfaction (b= -0.24, p <.01), while change in Extraversion predicted increased perceived stress levels at time two (b= .026, p <.05), controlling for the baselines respectively.
Discussion: This is the first study to the authors’ knowledge which observes personality change over a short time period within a work environment, and with the absence of an intervention design. The finding that the effect sizes of personality development were substantial within this sample is an important addition to the personality change literature, since effect size data has been notably absent. Furthermore, the finding that this study observed personality development over a short period of time builds on the literature to suggest personality may be more malleable than previously assumed. A further novel aspect to this study was the introduction and measurement of potential constructs which may be the outcome of personality development. Whilst the findings here do suggest that there may be an impact on perceived stress and satisfaction, the limited findings posit a more complex relationship which should be explored within future studies.
A question that arises from these findings is whether personality tools are useful in personnel selection, if personality changes after transitioning to the new organisation. Yet, there is still limited evidence to support this, and so more research is required. Whilst the findings here are fairly novel to the field, there are some limitations. Firstly, this study failed to measure job demands or other workplace factors, which may have indicated a direction for the changes to occur. Secondly, only utilising two time points does limit the attribution of the change to the job transition experience. However, the substantial effect sizes identified here do suggest support for the existence of personality development.
To conclude, this study has explored personality development across the context of job transitioning and within a 5-week time frame: a novel focus for the literature. The findings suggest that personality traits can and do develop within this context, which also relates to stress and job satisfaction outcomes. This research contributes to both practice and research in understanding individual behaviour within the workplace, but also contributes to general public knowledge of personality in knowing that it is not fixed, like the popularised Five Factor Theory states.
References: Hudson, N. W., Briley, D. A., Chopik, W. J., & Derringer, J. (2018). You have to follow through: Attaining behavioural change goals predicts volitional personality change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (advanced online publication).
Roberts, B. W., Luo, J., Briley, D. A., Chow, P. I., Su, R., & Hill, P. L. (2017). A systematic review of personality trait change through intervention. Psychological Bulletin, 143, 117-141.
Woods, S. A., Wille, B., Chai-Huei, W., Lievens, F., & De Fruyt, F. (2019). The influence of work on personality trait development: The Demands-Affordances TrAnsactional (DATA) model, an integrative review, and research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 110, 258-271.
Ref: 3902 Poster Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work A stakeholder analysis of the use of ‘emerging technologies’ as a selection method in healthcare
Maddie Corker1, Juliet Hassard1, Charlotte Flaxman2, Fiona Patterson2 1University of Nottingham, 2Work Psychology Group
Background: The emergence of technology as a medium for selection is a rapidly developing phenomenon and has impacted inexorably on the practice of personnel selection in recent years (Toldi, 2011; Ahmed & Khambatta, 2018). The ease of use of the internet and technology no longer demands face-to-face interaction and paper-based tests. Asynchronous video interviews (AVIs), online interactive assessments which adopt gamified properties as well as web-cam invigilated assessments, are three emerging technologies that are becoming increasingly popular. AVIs allow candidates to record their answers to predetermined questions, at a time and location convenient for them (Brenner, Ortner & Fay, 2016). Online interactive assessments incorporate story lines, levels and points which are then combined with pre-existing psychometric properties to evaluate behaviourally based constructs such as leadership, personality and emotional intelligence (Armstrong et al, 2015). Finally, web-cam invigilated assessments allow candidates to take a test from any location, online, whilst their activity is monitored via web-cam by a ‘proctor’. Indeed, these emerging technologies hold significant benefits for both the individual and organisation. All three technologies are more time and cost effective than traditional methods, they encourage a larger applicant pool, as candidates can access the software from remote locations, globally (Brenner et al, 2016).
One area where selection methods are integral to consider is within the medical context. Selection into medicine is widely considered the single most important assessment of a doctor’s medical career and is therefore truly high stakes (Harden, 2014). However, selection to medical education is not an easy one at best, with many authors agreeing it remains a “wicked problem” (Patterson et al, 2018). One ‘problem’ in medical selection is the lack of technology-based methods as a selection tool. Whilst such technologies are being implemented in low stakes selection processes, evidence exploring the use of such in high stakes settings, does not exist. This is essential to mitigate against utilising selection tools that could lead to selecting a cohort of doctors who are insufficient socially to best serve the public (Saha et al, 2008; Cleland et al, 2012). Given the high stakes nature of medical school selection, it seems important to understand whether ‘emerging’ technology-based selection tools are deemed fair and valid, whilst also being practical and acceptable to stakeholders (Schuwirth & Van Der Vleuten, 2010). Stakeholders in healthcare who are involved in selection processes, are key in determining the selection process. If key stakeholders are not supportive of a selection method, this will likely have a huge influence on the move away from traditional methods of selection and the introduction of technology-based methods. Despite their significance, attempts to utilise the experience of stakeholder groups to better inform medical selection is under-explored in literature and thus under-represented (Cleland et al, 2012). It is therefore important to understand to what extent key stakeholder groups, involved in the medical selection process, view such technologies as fair and both relevant and understandable at face value.
The current study will measure perceived fairness of the use of technology-mediated selection tools through the lens of procedural justice theory (Gilliland, 1993). Procedural justice can be thought of in terms of the stakeholders’ view as to whether emerging technology-based selection methods satisfy or violate a number of rules (Kelly et al, 2014). Gilliland (1993) proposed ten rules that summarise different aspects of procedural justice. Despite this, very few studies which sought to explore the procedural justice of selection methods have done so from the view of stakeholder groups.. There is therefore a pressing need for further research to explore the fairness of more technologically advanced selection methods in medical selection from the perspectives of stakeholders.
Psychological assessment in the workplace is integral to both an individual and an organisation. Given the rapid changes in technology internationally, it is important to consider the impact of emerging technologies on selection processes, particular in high stakes contexts, hence the aim of this study. This study will examine stakeholder perceptions of the perceived fairness and face validity of three key emerging technology-based selection methods that could be utilized in medical education.
Methodology: Research design
The current study is a qualitative study, deriving data from semi-structured interviews. This study adopted a self-selection sampling method, whereby participants responded to the email if they wished to participate. The rationale behind utilising semi-structured interviews concerns the opportunity for an exploration of stakeholder perspectives related to the research question. Further probing questions could then be asked depending on the depth of information given by the participant, in order to gain a deeper insight. An example of a question with further probing questions from the interview was:
What are your views on the use of online assessments with interactive properties as a future selection method in medicine?
• What are the benefits of them?
Analysis/Results: At the time of submission, data collection is still underway. However, data will be analysed using thematic analysis, following the six-step procedure outlined by Braun & Clarke (2006). Firstly, the semi-structured interviews will be recorded and transcribed, verbatim. In order to further understand and establish the use of technology-mediated selection tools in medical education, the process of thematic analysis will then be utilised. Codes will be identified, which will allow a generation of themes from the data. This analysis will provide a strong and clear picture of stakeholder perceptions of the use ‘emerging’ technologies within medical selection, exploring whether stakeholders believe technology-based selection methods to be fair and face valid. This will help establish whether such technologies have a place in the future of medical selection.
Discussion: Whilst the proposed benefits of AVIs, online interactive assessments and web-cam invigilated assessments seem promising, such technologies are yet to be introduced into medical selection. As a result, little empirical evidence exists to merit whether they are perceived to be face valid and fair methods of selection. Where research does exist, this is predominantly from an applicant reaction perspective. For example, James (2016) purports that participants completing a web-cam invigilated assessment were challenged by the process due to insufficient support and technical difficulties. It is likely that, stakeholders may hold similar concerns with such technologies. Nevertheless, as this research is the first to qualitatively explore stakeholder views of the fairness and face validity of technology-based selection methods, it is likely to provide invaluable insights into how the medical selection process could be transformed in future years. In addition, stakeholder insight into the potential for such technologies may inform organizational development and change policies in healthcare professions. Technology has transformed selection procedures in the workplace and has had a fundamental impact on organizations and organizational development, in terms of the way selection information is collected, analyzed and scored. In short, technology has shifted the emphasis from time-consuming and costly delivery of selection procedures, to an efficient process. Therefore, understanding the ways in which such technologies can be utilized in medical education, may hold positive implications for the development and impact for healthcare professionals and organisations, whilst also allowing the most competent doctors to be selected, which will inevitably have a positive effect on society (Patterson et al, 2012).
References
Ahmed, S., Khambatta, P (2018). New Technology in Personnel Selection. Academy of Management Global Proceedings
Armstrong, M., Ferrell, J., Collmus, A., & Landers, R. (2016). Correcting Misconceptions About Gamification of Assessment: More Than SJTs and Badges. Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 9. 671-677. best practice in the selection of medical students. London, United Kingdom. General Medical Council.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Brenner, F. S., Ortner, T. M., & Fay, D. (2016). Asynchronous video interviewing as a new technology in personnel selection: The applicant's point of view. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 863
Cleland, J., Dowell, J., Mclachlan, J., Nicholson, S. & Patterson, F. 2012. Identifying
Freeman, R. E. 2010. Strategic management: A stakeholder approach, New York Cambridge University Press.
Gilliland, S. W. (1993). The perceived fairness of selection systems: An organizational justice perspective. Academy of management review, 18(4), 694-734.
Harden, R. Welcome Address. 16th Ottawa Conference - Transforming healthcare through excellence in assessment and evaluation. Ottawa, Canada: 2014 April 25th -29th
James, R. (2016). Tertiary student attitudes to invigilated, online smmative examinations. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 13, 19
Kelly, M.,, Gallagher N., Dunne F., Murphy A. (2014) Views of doctors of varying disciplines on HPAT- Ireland as a selection tool for medicine. Medical Teacher. 36:775–82. Patterson, F., Lievens, F., Kerrin, M., Zibarras, L., & Carette, B. (2012). Designing Selection Systems for Medicine: The importance of balancing predictive and political validity in high-stakes selection contexts. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(4), 486-496.
Patterson. F., Hanson, M. (2018). Opening Editorial: Selection and Recruitment in Medical Education.’ MedEdPublish, Paper No: 1. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000222.1
Rios, J., & Liu, L. (2017). Online Proctored Versus Unproctored Low-Stakes Internet Test Administration: Is There Differential Test-Taking Behavior and Performance?. American Journal of Distance Education. 1-14
Schuwirth, L. W. & Van Der Vleuten, C. P. 2010. How to design a useful test: the principles of assessment, UK, Wiley-Blackwell.
Ref: 3796 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Best of both worlds: enhancing candidate experience while maintaining psychometric rigour Gerianne de Klerk - van Someren, Darrin Grelle SHL 1. Main psychological theories, models and research underpinning our session
In a candidate-centric market, the recruiting strategy has shifted as candidates have raised their expectations. Traditional approaches to recruitment will, or already have stopped producing quality hires (Sullivan, 2014). Organizations need to use the recruitment and hiring process to attract top talent and establish a positive brand image from the first interaction with their candidates. One way to accomplish this is to offer an efficient, accessible, and positive candidate experience through the use of new technologies, such as interactive elements and mobile-delivered assessments.
Reimagining General Mental Ability (GMA) Measures
For decades, due to the volume of assessments taken, standardized assessments relied on multiple- choice formats so they could be quickly graded and normed. Applicants do not enjoy this type of cognitive assessment, and they rate these assessments less favourably than work samples and interviews (Gilliland & Steiner, 2012). As we move forward with technology, and more and more assessments of cognitive ability move to mobile formats, we are exploring ways for applicants to answer cognitive ability questions that positively affect applicant reactions and improve construct measurement. These explorations found a way to introduce interactive features with high-fidelity content that still have high construct validity and job relevance to the candidate. The interactive features allow for enhanced scoring methods that reduce overall testing time, which further improves the candidate experience. As the designs are based on features from traditional cognitive assessments, known to predict Job performance, we could ensure the strong predictive validity that traditional measures of GMA are known for. We will introduce each of these topics briefly.
Evidence shows that, generally, applicants respond positively to game-based assessments (Laumer, Eckhardt, & Weitzel, 2012), but there is no solid evidence on how game-like an assessment should be before applicants no longer take the assessment seriously or feel the assessment is too juvenile for the position to which they are applying. Gamification refers to the introduction of gaming elements to non-game scenarios (Deterding, Sicart, Nacke, O'Hara, & Dixon, 2011). In the context of assessment, the term can be quite broad, but the focus in our research is on making items more interactive in our newly developed mobile-first GMA assessments. These assessments are an engaging and immersive experience that focus on job relevance rather than other aspects of gamification like award badges and story narratives. There is strong evidence on the importance of job relevance to positive applicant reactions (Chan & Schmitt, 2004).
Traditional measures of cognitive ability used in selection have relied on multiple-choice formats. The problem with multiple-choice questions is that we gain only one measurement point per question. For complex questions involving long passages or tables and graphs, it might take several minutes to get a single measurement from the applicant. Interactive questions that ask an applicant to perform multiple functions within a single question, can collect multiple measurement points within the same amount of time that a traditional question would only collect one. This has two positive outcomes. One, assessments can be shorter because more data can be collected in a shorter period of time. This reduces applicant fatigue and improves the experience. Second, because of the relationship between assessment length (in terms of the number of questions) and reliability, interactive assessments tend to be more reliable (Schmitt, 1996).
A concern when developing any assessment is whether the assessment captures construct irrelevant variance. This is especially true when measuring a construct in a new way. Because of this, the assessments evaluated in this study were designed based on features from traditional cognitive assessments known to predict. The goal was to take question types that load on the constructs of interest and recreate them as visually-interesting, engaging experiences. Applicants can manipulate objects on their screen and provide multiple data points, but they will need the same underlying ability to solve these questions as they would for a traditional measure of the same construct. Construct validity studies confirm that the interactive tests are measuring the same constructs as the traditional versions.
Trait-based Personality Assessments
Personality questionnaires are often combined with a measure of GMA. Traditional workplace personality questionnaires are typically long, contain seemingly repetitive questions, and can lead to a frustrating experience for the candidate. We have reimagined our personality questionnaire with the candidate in mind, aiming for an easy and engaging experience. The mobile-first design includes the optimisation of the decision process, which reduces the cognitive load required and creates a response flow that results in a faster and easier experience for the participant. This all whilst making sure we would retain the same scientific rigour and psychometric functioning of the traditional questionnaire.
Research results
We share research results on candidate reactions and show that applicants react favourably to our reimagined assessment of personality as well as the measures of GMA with interactive, game-like features. Our research has proven strong construct equivalence between traditional measures and the redesigned, Interactive measures. On top of that, research has demonstrated score-equivalence across device types. This ensures flexibility for the candidate to choose to use the device they most prefer. The research proves that it is possible for traditional tests to be reimagined without losing the scientific rigour they are known for.
References Chan, D., & Schmitt, N. (2004). An agenda for future research on applicant reactions to selection procedures: A construct-oriented approach. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 12(1- 2), 9-23.
Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O'Hara, K., & Dixon, D. (2011, May). Gamification. using game- design elements in non-gaming contexts. In CHI'11 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (pp. 2425-2428). ACM.
Gilliland, S. W., & Steiner, D. D. (2012). Applicant reactions to testing and selection. In The Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection. Oxford University Press.
Laumer, S., Eckhardt, A., & Weitzel, T. (2012). Online gaming to find a new job–examining job seekers' intention to use serious games as a self-assessment tool. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(3), 218-240.
Schmitt, N. (1996). Uses and abuses of coefficient alpha. Psychological assessment, 8(4), 350.
Sullivan, J. (2014). The power has shifted to the candidate, so current recruiting practices will stop working. ERE Recruiting Intelligence.
2. Link to the conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’:
This paper, as a practitioner’s case-study, demonstrates how the science behind tests can be retained, even enhanced, whilst addressing changing needs in a candidate-centric market.
3. Link to topic of Psychological Assessment at Work:
This paper is a case-study of how to design and apply psychometrically sounds, job-relevant, candidate friendly and device compatible psychological assessments at work.
4. Most novel and innovative aspect of the ideas being presented:
With the shift in thinking that has occurred within our field, traditional tests like full-length personality questionnaire or measure of General Mental Ability do not meet the evolving needs of assessment consumers who are looking for that positive candidate “experience”. This impact paper demonstrates how the focus can shift to the candidate on these types of measures whilst ensuring psychometric principles are still met.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
The mobile-first assessments that are showcased in this impact paper are an innovative approach to using trusted, job-relevant and predictive constructs in measuring applicant’s potential whilst ensuring a considerably improved candidate experience. We trust that delegates would find our research findings of how candidates received these new assessments and how it has enhanced their experience interesting.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session:
Candidates react favourably to the new designs and our research proves that it is not needed to sacrifice psychometric rigour for more candidate-friendly and device compatible measures of highly predictive assessment tools.
7. Materials, made available to conference attendees:
• Electronic Copies of Slides (PPT) Ref: 3884 Impact Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development ‘It's everything you need to do your job, that isn’t your job’: discourses of workplace politics Kirsty Denyer, Mark Stringer Birkbeck, University of London Methodology: Eight participants at an early stage of a financial services career were recruited. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using discourse analysis, blending techniques from critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2013; Gee, 2010) and discursive psychology (Potter and Wetherell, 1987)
Ethical approval for the project was given by the Psychology Ethics Committee of the University with which the authors were affiliated at the time of the study, adhering to BPS guidelines. Details are available upon request.
Results: At the time of writing, data collection is ongoing, and results are not yet available. However, it is anticipated that findings will make two unique contributions to this field of literature: by exploring discourses of organisational politics, an under-researched area; and by giving voice to individuals early in their careers.
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Organisational politics is an intriguing, controversial and under-researched topic, ‘pervasive’ in workplaces (Buchanan, 2008, p61).
The mainstream academic approach constructs politics as inherently negative. Empirical research has focused on quantitative measurements of perceptions of organisational politics (POP), defined as ‘an individual’s subjective evaluation about the extent to which the work environment is characterised by co-workers and supervisors who demonstrate… self-serving behaviour’ (Ferris et al., 2000, p. 90). High POP scores have been linked to negative outcomes such as lower job satisfaction and increased stress (Bedi and Schat 2013).
Yet an alternative view presents organisational politics as potentially constructive, simply part of ‘making things happen and getting things done’ (Buchanan, 2016, p343). Two constructs are relevant here: political skill and political will. Political skill – ‘the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use the knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organisational objectives’ (Ahearn et al 2004) – has been linked with objective and subjective career success (Kimura, 2015). Meanwhile, political will – the desire to engage in political behaviour – has lacked academic attention, and there is the need to explore the attitudes and beliefs underlying it (Doldor et al, 2013).
While some studies have explored senior leaders’ maturing perceptions of organisational politics over time (Doldor, 2017; Mainiero, 1994), such data is generally limited to successful individuals reflecting on their career with the benefit of hindsight. This qualitative study is unique in giving voice to individuals earlier in their career.
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’? While politics is an inevitable part of organisational life, clients are unlikely to approach occupational psychologists requesting insight on this controversial topic. Yet as professionals concerned with workplace behaviour, our practice needs to involve awareness of this covert, ubiquitous phenomenon, which impacts every aspect of organisational life, from individual career paths to culture and change projects.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Organisational culture has been defined as ‘the basic tacit assumptions about how the world is and ought to be that a group of people share and that determines their perceptions, thoughts, feelings and overt behaviour’ (Schein, 1996). Meanwhile, organisational politics has been defined as ‘the strategies, tactics, plots, ploys, moves and games that are used in attempts to influence the behaviour of others’ (Buchanan, 2016, p341). Thus, politics can be considered fundamental to organisational culture, which falls under the topic of Work Design, Organisational Change and Development.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Organisational politics is a fascinating, yet under-researched, topic. Furthermore, early-career individuals do not often have a voice in academic literature, with qualitative studies often prioritising senior leaders and managers. Thus, this study makes a unique contribution to the literature in exploring early-career individuals’ constructions of organisational politics.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Practitioners will find the theory of organisational politics, and the results of this qualitative study, as the topic is not often researched, yet is foundational to experiences of organisational life.
Secondly, elements of the study’s research design will be of interest to delegates, including the benefits and limitations of researching early-career individuals; and the reality of conducting discourse analysis, which may have practical implications for delegates’ own research practice.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Much has been made of the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on modern organisations. It is easy to forget that the workplace is an inherently human, social context, shaped by undercurrents of power – which manifests in the form of organisational politics.
Furthermore, individuals who are at an early stage in their own careers may find that the study’s findings help them to make sense of their own experiences of organisational politics.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take?
Electronic copies of slides will be available to delegates.
References for this proposal are available upon request.
Ref: 3794 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Carry on chatting: Do social conversations improve relationships, performance, & reduce loneliness? Antonia Dietmann1, Rachel Lewis2, Joanna Yarker2, Lucie Zernerova3 1HM Courts & Tribunals Service, 2Kingston University, 3City University Introduction: Social conversations at work allow people to construct, maintain, and strengthen social bonds with their colleagues (Pascal, 2003; Kraut, Fish, Root, & Chalfonte, 1990; Holmes & Marra, 2004). Most modern workplaces have opportunities and demands for social conversations (Tönsing & Alant, 2004). Getting to know colleagues at an interpersonal level builds a sense of belonging and workplace social inclusion (Randel & Ranft, 2007). Yet, surprisingly little is known about this important facet of organisational life.
The importance of social conversations at work and the relationships they foster is further illustrated by the presence of social variables in many models of healthy workplaces (Tschan et al, 2004). Strong links between social variables, in particular social support, and positive outcomes, e.g. job satisfaction, motivation, commitment, turnover, wellbeing, and performance, have been identified (e.g. Viswesvaran, 1999; Rousseau & Aubé, 2010) as well as physiological outcomes (Heaphy & Dutton, 2008). Establishing the relational importance of social conversations elevates the importance of investigating their role in creating high-quality working relationships.
The relational view of social conversations at work in general, and their impact on high-quality work relationships specifically, is timely. Work is increasingly interdependent and relationships with colleagues are an increasingly important part of successful work performance (Colbert et al, 2016). High-quality workplace relationships have been found to play a role in organisational outcomes including learning behaviours (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009), which are likely linked to successful task performance. The impact of social conversations on workplace performance has not previously been investigated. This study will seek to address this gap.
It is reasonable to suggest that the physical, temporal, and psychosocial organisation of work could give employees implicit and explicit messages about the acceptability of social conversations at work, i.e. whether they are seen as working or work avoidance. These attitudes might influence how effectively employees use social conversations to improve their working relationships. Cultural norms may imply that getting to know your colleagues is not done around here. There has not been an empirical investigation into individual or organisational attitudes, positive or negative, towards social conversations at work.
Despite the increasingly interdependent nature of work, a number of working practices, e.g. virtual and flexible working, the formalisation and over-structuring of work, have been found to limit chance interactions between colleagues (Pascal, 2003; DeMarco Kuzdeba, 2016). Limited opportunities for chance interactions and social conversations between employees may create conditions for loneliness, even when the workplace is full of people. Following Murthy’s (2017) warning call that modern workplaces might be limiting social interactions and creating lonely employees, this study explores the relationship between loneliness and social conversations at work. Could they offer a simple means of addressing loneliness in organisations? This is a novel, and therefore exploratory, avenue of research in the social conversations at work literature.
Whilst language is part of what makes us uniquely human (see Richerson and Boyd, 2010), conversation is often described as an art. Suggesting it’s a skill needing to be learned and practiced. There is no direct evidence concerning how to build employees’ social conversational skills. Allen et al. (2014) recommend managers encourage staff to arrive early for meetings to allow time for pre- meeting small talk. This suggests these conversations are open to managerial support and role- modelling. Holmes and Fillary (2000) suggest exercises for teachers of people with intellectual disabilities to develop basic sociolinguistic skills needed for workplace social conversations. Previous studies make no comment on how employees can increase their number of social conversations at work.
Hypotheses: The intervention will lead to a significant increase in participation of social conversations at work (H1). The intervention will lead to significantly higher high-quality working relationships (H2a), higher team performance (H2b), increased acceptability of social conversations at work (H2c), lower loneliness (H2d) when compared to the Control Group. The increased acceptability of social conversations at work the stronger the relationships between social conversations and the outcomes (moderated relationship) of high-quality working relationships (H3a), team performance (H3b), and workplace loneliness (H3c). Research question four (RQ4) asked is what is the nature of social conversations at work in terms of features such as the topics discussed, the conversational partner, time of day, and relationship to work-related conversations? No hypotheses were set.
Method: A field intervention study was conducted in the UK Civil Service with a pre- (T1) and post- measure (T2). Participants were recruited through email cascade and posters. The organisations targeted all had head offices located near Whitehall, London (i.e. the centre of UK government departments). This provided reasonable consistency in the office working environment across the organisations. Volunteers who worked in the head offices were the primary focus of recruitment, but volunteers were accepted from across the organisation.
All volunteers from Organisation A were assigned to the Intervention Group and volunteers from all other organisations combined (six in total) were assigned to the Control Group. The Intervention Group (n = 76) was asked to increase their number of social conversations at work for two weeks. The Control (n = 70) Group completed a workplace social network mapping activity. Response rates (after outliers were removed) of 91% (T1) and 93% (T2) were received for the Intervention Group and 81% and 59% for the Control Group.
Results: Data were analysed using repeated measures multiple analysis of variance, the Process macro for moderation analyses, and descriptive statistics. Data checks were conducted, the SPSS multiple imputation method was used to address missing data, and outliers were removed. Analysis showed a significant increase in participants’ participation in social conversations at work over the intervention period. However, this occurred in both the Intervention and Control Groups, i.e. H1 was partially supported.
There was a significant main effect of time for high-quality working relationships (H2a), team performance (H2b), and acceptability of social conversations at work (H2c), but not for loneliness at work (H2d). However, again, the differences were observed in both groups. Therefore H2a – c were partially supported and H2d is not supported. Moderation analysis using the PROCESS macro for SPSS showed no significant interaction of acceptability of social conversations on outcome variables, i.e. H3a, b, and c were not supported.
Analysis for RQ4 showed participants rated social conversations at work as very important, such conversations occur at any time of the working day, participants are equally likely to start the conversation as a colleague, jokes are the most common topic, and superiors are the least likely conversational partner whereas peers inside the team are the most likely partner.
Discussion: The intervention successfully increased participants’ involvement in social conversations at work. However, an increase in participation was observed for both groups. Similarly, improvements in outcome variables of high-quality working relationships, team performance, and acceptability of social conversations (but not loneliness at work) were observed, but this occurred for both groups. Whilst it cannot be ruled out that an external event or variable not measured in this study caused the improvements over time, these results offer tentative support for the ability to increase social conversations at work via a simple intervention and for their relationship with improved organisational outcomes. More research is needed to understand the role of acceptability of social conversations at work in these relationships; potentially further developing the prototype scale used in this study.
There are no field interventions of social conversations at work. This study advances the research by investigating key organisational outcomes. This is an under-researched field despite the pervasiveness of such conversations. First and foremost, this research shows organisations that social conversations are a normal part of organisational discourse. If there was inclination to eliminate them, this study provides counter evidence. Concern that they crowd-out work conversations is unfounded. Participants in this study described that social and work conversations are mixed together, i.e. they still talk about doing their job, and take part in social conversations on average two and five times each day. There is substantially more of the working day devoted to work conversations. Managers who want to encourage social conversations amongst employees, but don’t know where to start can use the simple, low-cost techniques developed in the toolkit. Implications for practice and theory are discussed and limitations identified.
References
Allen, J. A., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., & Landowski, N. (2014). Linking pre-meeting communication to meeting effectiveness. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29(8), 1064-1081.
Carmeli, A., Brueller, D., & Dutton, J. (2009). Learning behaviours in the workplace: The role of high- quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 26(1), 81-98.
Colbert, A. E., Bono, J. K., & Purvanova, R. (2016). Flourishing via workplace relationships: Moving beyond instrumental support. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1199-1223.
DeMarco Kuzdeba, N. (2016, April). How to continue to innovate with fewer 'water cooler conversations'. Cornell HR Review, 5-10.
Heaphy, E. & Dutton, J. (2008). Positive Social Interactions and the Human Body at Work: Linking Organizations and Physiology. The Academy of Management Review, 33(1), 137-162.
Holmes, J. & Fillary, R. (2000). Handling small talk at work: Challenges for workers with intellectual disabilities. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 47(3), 273-291.
Holmes, J. & Marra, M. (2004). Relational Practice in the Workplace: Women's Talk or Gendered Discourse? Language in Society, 33(3), 377-98.
Kraut, R. E., Fish, R. S., Root, R. W., & Chalfonte, B. L. (1990). Informal Communication in Organizations: Form, Function, and Technology. In I. S. Oskamp and S. Spacapan (Eds.). Human Reactions to Technology in Factories, Offices, and Aerospace: The Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology (pp.145-199). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Murthy, V. (Sep, 2017). Work and the loneliness epidemic. Harvard Business Review, Sep. 2017. Pascal, C. L. (2003). Enabling chance interaction through instant messaging. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 46(2), 138-141.
Randel, A. & Ranft, A. (2007). Motivations to Maintain Social Ties with Coworkers: The Moderating Role of Turnover Intentions on Information Exchange. Group & Organization Management, 32(2), 208-232.
Richerson, P. J. & Boyd, R. (2010). Why possibly language evolved. Biolinguistics, 4(2), 289-306.
Rousseau, V. & Aubé, C. (2010). Social support at work and affective commitment to the organization: the moderating effect of job resource adequacy and ambient conditions. Journal of Social Psychology, 150(4), 321-340.
Tönsing, K. & Alant, E. (2004). Topics of social conversation in the work place: A South African perspective. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 20(2), 89-102.
Tschan, F., Semmer, N. K., & Inversin, L. (2004). Work related and "private" social interactions at work. Social Indicators Research, 67(1), 145-182.
Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I., & Fisher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the process of work stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, (54), 314–334.
Ref: 3809 Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(S) Practicing Science Every Day: Case Studies of Occupational Psychology in the Civil Service Antonia Dietmann, HM Courts & Tribunals Service
UK Occupational Psychology grew out of the Civil Service over 100 years ago – specifically assessment of military personnel. Our profession in the UK Civil Service remains strong. We still work alongside the military, but the roles have greatly extended beyond selection and there are now Occupational Psychologists in every major government department. We use our scientific skills to answer some of the most pressing challenges faced by organisations and directly contribute to UK society. Our science is our unique selling point and we hold dear to it. This symposium show- cases this and show the breadth of the methodologies in our toolkit.
Paper 1 uses a randomised controlled trial design to assess the impact of a meditation app on employee wellbeing. Paper 2 shows the power of qualitative data to understand women’s lived experiences of returning to work following maternity leave. Paper 3 is a case study developing scientifically-robust assessment for high-stakes volume selection of a role that is routinely in the public eye.
Whilst the context for all papers is the Civil Service – the methods, findings, learning points are applicable to all organisations. The sheer size of the UK Civil Service – nearly half a million employees – means we are good representation of the UK workforce. Our experiences of being practitioner-scientists will give others encouragement and ideas, and raise the profile of UK Occupational Psychology. We can demonstrate scientific rigour in challenging contexts; our strength is in our history, methods, and community. Ref: 3792 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (1) A randomised controlled trial of the Headspace meditation app Antonia Dietmann1, Daniel Alford1, Aaron Ceros1, Mark Purver2, Hashim Malik1, Carly Gray2 1HM Courts & Tribunals Service, 2Ministry of Justice Context: This applied project took place in a large government agency with 15,000 employees dispersed across the UK. The agency is in the middle of a six-year transformation programme, which will radically change how its services are delivered to the public and consequently the nature and environment of employees’ work. There are a range of mechanisms to support employees as we go through this organisational change - including wellbeing resources and interventions. To accommodate the organisation’s scale, we trialled the Headspace meditation app as an alternative to face-to-face sessions. Headspace is a popular app on the market. We were clear we wanted to conduct a scientifically-robust evaluation before making a long-term purchasing decision and wider roll-out. We conducted a randomised controlled (RCT) trial.
Paper Aims: This paper will share details of the literature we drew on to develop our RCT, explain our research method, and give an overview of key findings. It will also offer practitioner insights into doing high-standard scientific work as an Occupational Psychologist in an applied context, understanding the practical trade-offs needed.
Introduction: Approximately 300,000 UK employees with long-term mental health conditions leave employment annually (Stevenson & Farmer, 2017). With nearly 500,000 employees (Office for National Statistics, 2017), the UK’s Civil Service offers a huge opportunity to positively affect many of these cases (Stevenson and Farmer, 2017). Its annual employee survey showed approximately 30 – 40% of respondents maybe experiencing aspects of lowered wellbeing (Cabinet Office, 2018). One approach to supporting employees’ wellbeing is to provide meditation or mindfulness interventions. Kabat-Zinn (1994) defines mindfulness as “the awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose in the present moment and non-judgementally” (p. 34).
There is emerging evidence of the connection between mindfulness and meditation and positive workplace outcomes (e.g. Jamieson & Tuckey, 2017; Lomas et al, 2017). However, much of the positive evidence for these interventions involves clinical and non-working populations. It is important to investigate the efficacy of such interventions in different contexts (Donaldson-Feilder et al, 2019). This is particularly important in organisations of such scale as the Civil Service, where the consequences of using ineffective wellbeing interventions, including wasted resources, can be magnified due to the scale. This scale also challenges traditional face-to-face meditation delivery. Internet-delivered courses, including smartphone applications (apps), offer an attractive alternative (Jamieson and Tukey, 2017). Headspace is a popular self-guided meditation app with over 500,000 UK users that can be accessed on a computer or smartphone.
Jamieson and Tukey (2017) identified only seven studies of internet-based meditation interventions in their review of 40 published articles on workplace mindfulness interventions. Focusing specifically on studies involving Headspace, we identified only seven peer-reviewed studies are available (see + in references) with three involving workplace and/or non-clinical populations (* in references). We identified limitations of these studies, including lack of a RCT design and true control group, breadth of wellbeing outcomes and other work outcomes assessed, involvement of non-working participants, assessment of development of mindfulness skills. The following research questions were set: 1. Does practicing meditation using the Headspace app improve wellbeing outcomes (perceived stress and mental wellbeing), work performance, and mindfulness skills as compared to the control group?
2. Do work demands mediate or moderate the relationship between meditation and wellbeing outcomes?
3. Does mindfulness mediate or moderate the relationship between meditation and wellbeing outcomes?
4. What are people’s experiences of and attitudes towards using Headspace?
Method: Participants were recruited via organisation-wide communications. Participants completed an online questionnaire at time one (T1) and at time two (T2). Participants who returned T1 questionnaire were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group using the sample function in R. The intervention group was given access to Headspace app and asked to do five x 10- minute meditation sessions per week for six weeks. They were sent weekly reminder emails. The control group did not get access to Headspace. All trial communication, including within the questionnaire, sign-posted employees to organisational support for mental health concerns. Ethical review was completed by the government department’s research ethics committee. The questionnaire included:
• Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983).
• Wellbeing activities: Participants were asked to tick all the ways they currently support their health and wellbeing from nine options including exercise, meditation, voluntary work, and the option that they do not do anything to support their health and wellbeing.
• Short Warwick & Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Tennant, Hiller, Fishwick, Platt, Joseph, Weich, et al. 2007a).
• Job demands sub-scale from the Health & Safety Executives Stress Management Standards Indicator tool.
• Job performance – single item following Bond and Bunce (2001)
• Prior experience of meditation
• Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmuller, Kleinkneckt, & Schmidt, 2006).
• Experiences of using Headspace.
• Demographic data collected were age, gender, and ethnicity.
Data Analysis & Results: Recruitment resulted in 899 volunteers. Of these, 724 completed T1 questionnaires (81% response rate), and were randomly allocated to the Intervention Group (n = 360) and Control Group (n = 364). Of the Intervention Group, 262 returned the T2 survey (73%). Of the Control Group, 290 returned the T2 survey (80%). T1 and T2 data were matched for each respondent and anonymised using a unique identifier. Data were cleaned and assumption checks were conducted, which showed scales were within acceptable bounds. Data were analysed using the R statistical package. Regression models were built to assess research questions 1 – 3 and descriptive statistics calculated to assess research question 4. Full analyses have not yet been conducted at the time of submission, but will be completed by the conference. Preliminary statistical analyses show, people who used Headspace reported statistically significant: • lower levels of stress,
• greater sense of wellbeing,
• more positive perception of the demanding nature of their job and potentially an improved ability to cope with their work demands,
• better job performance,
• heightened appreciation of their own thoughts and feelings, i.e. developing mindfulness skills through meditation.
Participants primarily used the ‘Basics’ package, as instructed; the second popular package was about sleep/winding-down. After six weeks, 6,103 meditation sessions had been completed, totalling 891 hours. Early results suggest participants found it easy and enjoyable to use. Full analyses will be conducted by December 2019.
Discussion: A full discussion of the final results will be presented. At this stage it appears, participants who used Headspace showed improved health and wellbeing outcomes compared to the control group. This suggests that a relatively short intervention period can have a measurable impact on employees’ wellbeing. Participants responded positively to using Headspace. This is in part evidenced by the low drop-out rate during the study. We received feedback via email and in the open comments space in the questionnaire. This is a ground-breaking study in the assessment of the efficacy of meditation overall and meditation apps specifically. The authors found only one published RCT using Headspace. This is understandable given such studies take expertise to conduct, significant organisational buy-in, and obtaining a large enough sample size is challenging.
Practitioner Insights & Learning Points: Balancing scientific protocols and organisational requirements for publicity, wide access, and pace is challenging. Finding a senior sponsor who values the scientific rigour is key. We also had to be creative in our communications to avoid priming participants regarding the benefits of using Headspace, but encourage volunteers. The app itself also presents the positive benefits of meditation. We also found that people’s digital confidence to download and access the app varied across the organisation. This generated unexpected requests for support. Our survey distribution tool lacked some of the features that academic researchers might be used to. This meant we had to find workarounds for distribution and also had to manually delete repeated entries from the final dataset. Despite the challenges we conducted a robust RCT with a large sample size, which will significantly contribute to the meditation literature.
References
Bond, F. and Bunce, D. (2001). Reducing Stress and Improving Performance through Work Reorganisation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6(4), 290-302
+*Bostock, S., Crosswell, A. D., Prather, A. A., & Steptoe, A. (in preparation). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being.
Cabinet Office (2018) Civil Service People Survey Results
Cohen, S. and Williamson, G. (1988). Perceived Stress in a Probability Sample of the United States. Spacapan, S. and Oskamp, S. (Eds.) The Social Psychology of Health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Donaldson-Feilder, E., Lewis, R., & Yarker, J. (2019). What outcomes have mindfulness and meditation interventions for managers and leaders achieved? A systematic review, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(1), 11-29. Jamieson, S. D. & Tuckey, M. R. (2017). Mindfulness interventions in the workplace: A critique of the current state of the literature. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22, 180.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. New York: Hyperion.
*Kubu, A., Altschuler, A., Kurtovich, E., Hendlish, S., Laurent, C. A., Kolevska, T., Li, Y., & Avina, A., (2018). A pilot mobile-based mindfulness intervention for cancer patients and their informal care- givers. Mindfulness, 9, 1885 – 1894.
+*Laurie, J. and Blandford, A. (2016). Making time for mindfulness. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 96, 38-50.
Lomas, T., Medina, J. C., Ivtzan, I., Rupprecht, S., Hart, R., and Eiroa-Orosa, F. J. (2017). The impact of mindfulness on well-being and performance in the workplace: An inclusive systematic review of the empirical literature. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 26, 492 – 513.
+*Noone, C. and Hogan, M. J. (2018). A randomised active-controlled trial to examine the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive control, critical thinking and key thinking dispositions in a university student sample, BMC Psychology, 6(13), 1 – 18
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*Pospos, S., Young, I. T., Downs, N., Iglewicz, A., Depp, C., Chen, J. Y., Newton, I., Kelly, L., Light, G.A., and Zisook, S. (2018). Web-Based Tools and Mobile Applications To Mitigate Burnout, Depression, and Suicidality Among Healthcare Students and Professionals: A Systematic Review, Academic Psychiatry, 42, 109-140
Stevenson, D. & Farmer, P. (Oct, 2017). Thriving at work. The Stevenson/ Farmer review of mental health and employers.
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*Wen, L., Sweeney, T., Welton, L., Trockel, M., & Katznelzon, L. (2017). Encouraging Mindfulness in Medical House Staff via Smartphone App: A Pilot Study, Academic Psychiatry, 41, 646-670.
*Wylde, C. M., Mahrer, N. E., Meyer, R. M. L., and Gold, J. (2017). Mindfulness for Novice Pediatric Nurses: Smartphone Application Versus Traditional Intervention, Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 36, 205-212.
Ref: 3807 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (2) A grounded theory analysis of women’s managerial career development after maternity leave Heather Yaxley, HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Context: This research took place in a large UK Civil Service department. Flexible working is common across much of the Civil Service, particularly in office-based roles. The department in which this research took place has embraced flexible working practices and flexible working arrangements. It also an award-winning family-friendly employer (“Britain’s most family friendly workplaces” 2017). Further, the UK Civil Service aims to be the most inclusive employer in the UK by 2020. Supporting working parents, particularly mothers, is a key strand of this agenda. This research demonstrates the practice of occupational science in an applied environment. The research has been extremely well received with senior level interest; thus raising the profile of occupational psychology in the Civil Service. It will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike with the method and findings resonating in private and public sector.
Introduction: The literature on women’s career development to date as focused broadly on US survey data, lacking a detailed focus on mothers and, how these mothers may be developing their careers (Belkin, 2003; Cabrera, 2007; Hewitt & Luce, 2005). There has been a focus on mothers leaving the workplace and the barriers to their advancement. However, this premise is no longer relevant. Mothers remain in the workplace, have flexible working patterns and yet it is not understood what may motivate them to re-engage with their careers on their return to work.
This research will develop an explanatory framework of career development in mothers returning to management positions after maternity leave and develop a model of career development in mothers in one organisation, with the aim of providing practical advice to employers that can be used to retain mothers in senior management positions.
Given the limited qualitative research in the area of mothers’ career development grounded theory was considered a suitable research method to provide novel insights into how mothers develop their careers (Charmaz, 2014). The research aimed to produce fully fledged grounded theory, whereby core concepts were fully saturated, using theoretical and reflective memos to define categories, linking categories to create core concepts, whilst accepting the limitations of scale on this research.
Method: Ten women took part in the study, the women all self-identified as senior managers, they had between one and 19 years’ employment with the organisation. They were between 30 and 43 years old (mean = 36). The mothers had all taken between five and 12 months’ maternity leave and had been back at work for between six and 14 months (mean = 9). Face-to-face interviews were used as a way to collect rich data about the mothers’ experiences which were analysed to create concepts so as to create a grounded theory. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, the transcriptions were coded looking for meaning, comparison, to develop concepts and themes. Quotes were extracted from the transcription and themed visually onto large pieces of paper and developed further as other mothers were interviewed. The researcher used reflective memos to aid their development of themes and concepts so that the rich interview data was fully saturated to create core concepts. The interviews took place between March and April 2018; each interview lasted one hour and the research was completed in August 2018.
Results: The model developed is presented at Figure 1. Three major concepts explain mothers’ career development namely: securing career, guilty working, and the slowing career. Figure 1 shows the relationship between the major concepts and the relationships between the concepts and the categories. Guilty working was the dominant concept. The results indicated that it is possible to construct a conceptual model of career development for mothers returning from maternity leave.
Insert Figure 1 here. Model reflecting key research findings
Securing career
This starts before the baby or babies are born and involves a period of negotiation and subsequent adjustment on the return to work (1a. A defining moment of loss, 1b. Unexpected reset).
Guilty working
This concept dominates career development for mothers, where they struggle to cope with day to day demands and view themselves as working on a merry-go-round (2a) and not developing their careers.
The slowing career
The last concept is theoretical, where the mothers are able to articulate their motivations to help develop their careers. It is these motivators below (3a, b, c) that the mothers identified that offer employers re-engagement and retention strategies. The quotes below from the mothers below provide evidence for the motivators that were discovered through the research.
Feeling that work must be worth the family sacrifice
• “I’m missing my baby grow up for this” (Participant 4).
• “If I was going to come to work and not be with my daughter I had to be doing something worthwhile” (Participant 10).
Finding meaning in work
• “need to find something I find a bit more interesting…I just want to do something that makes a bit more difference” (Participant 2).
Needing flexibility in work hours • “but the amount of work life balance difficulties I am having it does make me think about the future and it makes me think about whether SCS and whether it is what I really want” (Participant 4).
Discussion
Practical application
The interviews with the mothers enabled the development of a model of career development for mothers that showed that they were not progressing their careers and that flexibility was not the only key driver to motivate mothers. Whilst gains have been made both in terms of female employees and female managers within the organisation, it would seem there is more that the employer could do assist mothers in progressing their careers and ultimately to retain them. The mothers interviewed reported a lack of motivation to perform well given what had happened at the start of their maternity journey, and in two cases the mothers were investigating alternative careers with plans to leave the civil service. Practical implications for employers are summarised below:
Development of staff networks for advice and guidance
All the mothers interviewed explained that peer advice and role models had been useful to them. Further development of the network for parents could help to normalise experiences for mothers and assist with their wellbeing.
Supportive line manager interventions (line manager training)
Almost all of the mothers recalled difficult work situations pre-maternity leave and whilst on maternity leave. For those mothers who did not have a difficult experience they cited their line manager as being supportive and knowledgeable. Training for line managers could be beneficial to ensure that flexible working practices are correctly introduced and monitored and that the correct maternity entitlements are authorised and used effectively.
Career development through coaching and/or mentoring programmes for mothers
It was clear that the mothers felt overwhelmed with their present difficulties, and for most the interview was a therapeutic experience where they were able to share their hopes and fears. That this interview appeared in some cases to be the first discussion they had had since their return suggests there is more that line managers could do to implement the appraisal system and also that senior women could benefit from coaching where goals could be explored in more detail. The feeling of being stuck overwhelmed the mothers, and coaching would support development goals and help bring clarity of thought. The mothers clearly had the will to succeed but needed help, guidance and support to explore long term goals.
Specialist HR advice for job structuring part-time roles
The mothers felt that their part-time roles had not been adjusted to part-time hours. In effect the mothers felt they were attempting to do full time roles in a flexible way at the expense of their families, their own wellbeing and in some cases resulting in a lack of motivation and perceived ineffective performance.
Structuring part-time roles so that they are worthwhile, provide meaning and are flexible were key motivators for the mothers when thinking about their future within the organisation. It is not enough to offer flexible working, the flexible roles also need to be appropriate to the contracted hours that the employee is being paid for. Insights: For practice the model is significant as it provides an additional data set in a UK Civil Service department that recommends the need for coaching, developing supportive networks and re- structuring part time roles. A supportive organisational culture is likely to be key to ensuring that the recommendations will be effective. Recommendations are designed to ensure that mothers re- engage with the workplace on their return to work and are likely to help mothers retain motivation, therefore aiding retention for the employer.
Limitations: The study took place within the organisation that the researcher worked and as such could not be free from unconscious bias, in addition the researcher was time limited and whilst there were more than enough willing participants to take part in the study not all could be interviewed. The length of time the transcriptions took meant that the core concepts development was not as thorough as it could have been for later interviews. As a result the core concepts were not fully saturated. Arguably there was some evidence to suggest that these concepts may apply on a wider scale and may not be unique to mothers, but the researcher was unable to test this further due to time constraints.
Conclusions: Despite the advances in women’s representation in the workplace, the rise of flexible working, and the generous maternity provision in the Civil Service, women still experience significant challenges before and after maternity leave. This research provided rich insight into working mothers’ lived experiences of managing their new family responsibilities and their work responsibilities. The research gives practical insight for organisations in terms of supporting this valuable cadre of employees.
References
Belkin, L. (2003). The Opt Out Revolution. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/26/magazine/the-opt-out-revolution.html
Cabrera, E. (2007). Opting out and opting in: understanding the complexities of women's career transitions. Career Development International,12(3), 218-237.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory, 2nd Ed. London: Sage.
Hewlett, S., & Luce, C. (2005). Off ramps and on ramps; keeping talented women on the road to success. Harvard Business Review, 83 (7), 43-54. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2005/03/offramps-and-on-ramps-keeping-talented-women-on-the road-to- success
Working Families. (2017, October). Britain’s most family friendly workplaces unveiled. Retrieved fromhttp://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/news/britains-most-family friendly-workplacesunveiled/
Ref: 3828 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) Getting Prison Officer Recruitment Right Felicity Hill-Miers, Ministry of Justice
Background: This practitioner case study provides an overview of a practical end-to-end review of a recruitment and selection system for the prison officer job role. A White Paper on Prison Safety and Reform was published November 2016 detailing the current challenges of a prison system which was under sustained, with serious pressure from security threats and rising levels of self-harm and violence. One of the commitments to combat this was to strengthen the frontline with 2,500 additional prison officers by 2018, to provide prisons with the men and women they need on the frontline to bring safety and discipline back to the wings.
The recruitment was to be managed by a large government organisation, which oversees the recruitment and selection of both small and volume campaigns for 100s of job roles. Whilst the organisation put immediate effort into recruiting the 2,500 additional staff committed to, they also understood that a review of the recruitment and selection system would be required to ensure the right staff were being recruited for the future. Additionally, retention was an area of focus for the prison service which was also being highlighted across the media (e.g. Rutter, 2017; Savage, 2018). Whilst there are both distinctive (e.g. safety) and general (e.g. pay) issues which effect retention, the prison environment has unique challenges and many candidates struggled to understand the reality of the role until their first day on the job.
An independent Occupational Psychologist was commissioned to review the end-to-end process for recruitment for prison officers. The review by Wells (2017) detailed recommendations for long-term changes to the recruitment process, which had been running in its current process for 8 years, to meet future recruitment and operational needs. As a result of this, a complete review of the selection process was conducted, starting with a thorough job analysis of prison officer role, which would inform on the future selection and assessment processes for those applying for this job role.
The organisation’s Occupational Psychologists additionally reviewed all processes and conducted a thorough job analysis throughout March-May 2018, to identify the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that make a successful prison officer. At this time, the Civil Service Competency Framework (2012-2017) was shortly to be replaced by the Civil Service Success Profile Framework, and therefore the new assessment framework was aligned with the new methodology. Prison officer became the first job role in this government organisation to move onto the Success Profile Framework – allowing them to future proof the work taking place to modernise the prison officer selection processes, and moving to a framework which gave a much wider way of assessing candidates than using purely competencies.
The new framework incorporates five elements of measurement (behaviours, strengths, ability, experience and technical). Three of these (behaviours, strengths and ability) were shown as important through the job analysis and were used to structure the prison officer Success Profile. The two further elements of experience and technical were not considered to be as important, or it was deemed that including areas within the elements would unnecessarily narrow the applicant pool and potentially introduce discrimination.
Practical Applications: The analysis informed the design of two areas of candidate assessment: online tests which would be used as an initial sift, and the Assessment & Recruitment Centre (ARC) which would be used as an in-depth assessment of candidates against the success profile. Moreover, the information was used within the recruitment media and communications to ensure applicants and candidates were being provided with the necessary information to make an informed decision about whether the job role was right for them. At every stage the recruitment process has been tailored to provide real life job examples to candidates, content relevant assessments which can provide additional realistic job preview opportunities, alongside utilising innovative assessment methods – to ensure that candidates are both being informed and remaining engaged throughout the process. This has been facilitated outside of the actual assessments by fully updating the careers website and designing a new recruitment portal for those candidates who will attend the ARC (providing them with full details of the assessment centre). Within these spaces two new areas of realistic job previews were introduced. Firstly, an interactive self-selection activity was created to be hosted on the careers website, to allow candidates to view the more challenging aspects of the job role – from challenging conversations to giving an offender support and encouragement, to de-escalating a potentially violent situation – to enable them to self-select out of the recruitment process at the earliest stage. The tool was developed with serving prison officers and ex-offender actors to bring to life the reality of the role. This was a unique opportunity to bring together ex-offenders and prison officers, with the purpose of working together as a team.
Secondly, videos were created with current job holders talking about how they demonstrate the identified success profile behaviours in the job role, to be hosted within the ARC recruitment portal. It was deemed important to continuously provide candidates with real life experiences of the prison officer job role, throughout the recruitment process, constantly encouraging them to consider whether there was a fit between them, the organisation and the job role.
In terms of the actual assessments, sifting over 50,000 applications a year for prison officer roles is resource intensive, and therefore new situational judgement test and numerical test items were created to form stage one of the online testing phase. All the items relate to real life scenarios which candidates could encounter in a prison – whether that be about what action to take when faced with challenging prisoner behaviour, or totalling the numbers of prisoners who have returned to the wing following movement. Practice questions are placed on the careers website so that applicants can experience the test format before they even complete the application form.
For stage two of the online testing phase, the organisation wanted to look outside of candidates’ behaviour and ability, and so worked with Arctic Shores to implement what appears to be the first game-based assessment (GBA) sift in the Civil Service, putting into practice the most recent innovations across selection and assessment to advance the psychological assessment at work. This has utilised a method which is both cost effective and where any potential protected group discrimination is identified and removed at the point of creation of the fit profile. The organisation worked actively with the supplier to make sure the tool was right for the staff they wanted to appoint. Following initial piloting of the GBA with a similar, but lower grade job role, they were able to test the new process against an existing, diverse sample of over 5000 applicants, to make absolutely sure the test was assessing fairly for all protected characteristic groups
The ARC itself consists only of content relevant testing material, covering the full range of areas shown in the Prison Officer Success Profile. For example, the role plays are designed in conjunction with prison officers to provide realistic and challenging scenarios which candidates will be faced with in the job role. Strengths-based interviews have now been introduced for the first time in the Civil Service which is providing a new way of looking at candidates’ motivation for the job role.
Preliminary Findings: Organisational research has shown that the two new assessments, which form stage one of the online sift, do not discriminate against groups with protected characteristics. The stage two online test (the GBA) has not yet been in place long enough for analysis to be completed, however the expected result is for the assessment to be provide fewer and better-quality candidates to the assessment centres. Initial evaluation studies of the ARC have also shown the assessments are fair and do not discriminate against groups with protected characteristics. More in-depth assessment centre evaluation studies and job performance validation studies will be being conducted as part of the ongoing review and refinement of the selection processes and presented at the conference. Additionally, candidate experience survey results will be available covering the full selection process. These survey results will also be presented comparing candidate experience on the GBA when working as part of a number of online tests, versus when used as the only online test to sift candidates for a similar job role. Retention data and drop-out rates of the old recruitment process versus the new process will also be presented.
References
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (2016). Prison safety and reform [White paper]. Retrieved July 29, 2019, from gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/565014/cm-9350- prison-safety-and-reform-_web_.pdf
Savage, M. (2018, April 29). Loss of experienced staff leaving prisons unsafe. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com
Rutter, T. (2017, August 18). Retention problems plague ###'s boost to prison officer numbers. Civil Service World. Retrieved from http://www.civilserviceworld.com
Wells, S. (2017). Independent Review of Prison Officer Recruitment. Quinta Consulting Ltd.
Collaborating Beyond OP: Bridging evidence and practice Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Cross-sector insights on enabling flexible working Emma Donaldson-Feilder1, Claire McCartney2 1Affinity Health at Work, 2The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development
Introduction: Research shows that many of us (87%) would like to work more flexibly and that there is a strong demand from men and women and across all age ranges (Timewise and EY, 2017). Everyone in the UK has had a statutory right to request flexible working since 2014, and 99% of businesses say flexible working is important to competitiveness, business investment and job creation (CBI and Pertemps, 2017). However, the number of people working flexibly has plateaued over the last decade and most jobs (85%) are still not advertised as flexible (Timewise, 2019).
The CIPD’s UK Working Lives 2019 survey (Wheatley and Gifford, 2019) reports that that 54% of UK workers are already working flexibly in some way, with those in higher-level occupations most able to use flexible working to support their work–life balance, but also that flexible working is not delivering for all workers. There remain unmet demands and a lack of equality of access to flexible working. Among employees who have no access to flexible working, 78% would like it. More than half the workforce (55%) would like to work flexibly in at least one form that is not currently available to them.
Despite widespread demand for flexibility and significant policy drivers to improve flexible working and increase its use, the evidence about how flexible working is best implemented within organisations was previously limited. The CIPD therefore commissioned Affinity Health at Work to conduct research exploring what works in terms of flexible working arrangements and how best to implement them across sectors and roles. Aims: The aims of the research were to: build the evidence base of what works when implementing flexible working; highlight creative flexible working practices to help break the perception that some areas and roles are off-limits to flexible working; and support organisations by equipping HR professionals and line managers with the knowledge they need around flexible working.
Methodology: The research involved cross-sector case studies, supplemented with action learning events and diaries and provided rich qualitative data on the state of flexible working in the UK. Nine organisations contributed case studies and, in each organisation, interviews were conducted with an HR professional, a line manager and a flexible worker in order to get a rounded perspective; plus a further case study was gathered from a job-share partnership (in which the job-sharers had worked together across different employers).
The data from the case studies and the action learning events/diaries was analysed and distilled to provide guidance for HR professionals and line managers around flexible working.
Results: Across the different case study organisations, there was a wide range of examples of flexible working, including: part-time, job-share, compressed hours, term-time-only contracts, flexibility over working days, working from home, annualised hours, staggered hours (with late starts/early finishes), four-day week (with full-time pay), ad hoc flexibility, and temporary flexibility (such as career breaks and sabbaticals). The case study organisations highlighted examples of flexible working at senior levels and in roles and areas of organisations that are not traditionally seen as suitable for flexible working, which are set out in the full report available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/flexible-working/cross-sector-insights- guide.
Findings that can help HR professionals and line managers fell into three broad themes with sub- themes as follows:
Improving and promoting uptake of flexible working
· Clarify the benefits of flexible working for the individual (for example, health and wellbeing, positive impact on relationships, work-life balance) and for the organisation (for example, recruitment, retention, employee engagement, culture, diversity)
· Find the compelling hook or business imperative (for example, being an employer of choice, overcoming industry skills shortages, addressing the gender pay gap)
· Communicate to dispel myths around flexible working, share successes and build communities
· Find creative ways to encourage flexible working (examples included implementing a ‘flexible fortnight’, ‘retire and return’ schemes, team-managed flexible working schedules.
Successfully implementing flexible working
· Set the organisational context, including creating culture that supports and prioritises flexible working, gaining support from leaders and providing HR support
· Consider organisational facilitators and barriers, for example facilitators included integrating flexible working with other strategies and policies, planning and trialling flexible working, making flexible working universally available and having supportive technology and practical tools; whereas barriers included high volumes of applications, problematic policies, problems with job suitability and job design, and conflict with organisational needs
· Gain manager buy-in by communicating the benefits, sharing successes, providing targeted support for line managers, and improving knowledge and awareness
· Consider manager, team and individual facilitators and barriers – there was a wide range of facilitators and barriers at all levels to be taken into consideration.
Measuring and evaluating the impact of flexible working
· Quantitative measures for evaluation include: employee surveys, HR and performance metrics, and pre- and post- evaluation using flexible working data and other metrics
· Qualitative measures for evaluation include: performance reviews, project/team productivity, formal feedback from the individual, line manager, team and clients, impact on culture
· Other processes for evaluation include: initial discussions and follow-up check-ins, capturing learning through a trial period, case studies, and having a steering group to monitor progress.
Recommendations
From the findings, ten key recommendations for organisations that are considering implementing flexible working emerged:
1. Clarify the benefits of flexible working to the organisation and to individuals.
2. Find the compelling hook or business imperative that will gain traction in the organisation.
3. Communicate to dispel myths around what flexible working is and who it is for, share successes and build communities.
4. Find creative ways to encourage a range of flexible working practices for all employees – both in terms of innovative flexible working initiatives and creative ways to build flexibility into job roles that have not traditionally been seen as suitable for flexible working.
5. Aim to hire flexibly and design the jobs to suit the flexible pattern (that is, full-time jobs are not squeezed into part-time hours).
6. Ensure ongoing access to development and career conversations for flexible workers.
7. Set the organisational context and consider organisational facilitators and barriers, including creating a supportive organisational culture, underpinned by leadership and HR support.
8. Gain manager buy-in through communicating benefits and sharing success stories and providing support and guidance.
9. Consider the facilitators and barriers at manager, team and individual levels.
10. Measure and evaluate flexible working and learn from trials using quantitative and qualitative measures. Further resources
A toolkit of practical materials and resources for HR, line managers and individual flexible workers has been developed alongside this guide and can be found at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/flexible-working/hr-toolkit
References
- CBI and Pertemps (2017). Employment trends survey. Available at: https://www.pertemps.co.uk/media/1829/employment-trends-survey-2017.pdf
- Timewise and EY (2017). Flexible working: a talent imperative. A research study into the UK workforce: who wants flexibility, for what reasons, and how much it matters to them. Available at: https://timewise.co.uk/article/flexible-working-talent-imperative/
- Timewise (2019). Timewise Flexible Jobs Index. Available at: https://timewise.co.uk/article/flexible- jobs-index/
- Wheatley, D. and Gifford, J. (2019). UK working lives 2019. London: CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/uk-working-lives
Collaborating Beyond OP: Bridging evidence and practice Topic: Well-being and Work Neurodiversity Coaching at Work Nancy Doyle1, Janet Fox2, Stephen Wanless 1Genius Within CIC/Birkbeck, 2Genius Within
Since the advent of disability legislation around the world, organisations have been required to make ‘reasonable accommodations’ (Jackson, Furnham, & Willen, 2000; United Kingdom Parliament, 2010) for people with functional difficulties that persist over a minimum period, typically twelve months. Accommodations are activities, tools or adjustments to a process, environment or role that make performance and inclusion viable for disabled people. For those with physical disabilities, for example wheelchair users, this translates to ensuring access ramps and wide doors. For those with invisible disabilities, including Neurodiverse conditions such as dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, autism and dyscalculia, accommodation activities are less obvious (Santuzzi, Waltz, Finkelstein, & Rupp, 2014). Extra time in exams, use of assistive technology (e.g. speech to text software) and coaching/tuition interventions have been applied to this group (Bartlett, Moody, & Kindersley, 2010; Draffan, James, Wilkinson, & Viney, 2013; Goudreau & Knight, 2015; Pollack, 2009) yet the success rates of interventions for students and employees with neurodiverse conditions are historically not well-captured. Reviews of interventions for adults (Gerber, 2012; Rice & Brooks, 2004; Siegel & Smythe, 2006) have repeatedly called for empirical work to establish the mechanisms and outcomes upon which establish an evidence base. Rice and Brooks (Rice & Brooks, 2004, p. 1) stated in 2004: “good practice in this field rests almost entirely on professional judgment and common sense, rather than on evidence from evaluation studies,” yet since this article Universities and employers have continued to approach neurodiversity support with heuristic guidance. In my doctoral research, presented in this session, I will outline how I have responded to the call, specifically evaluating the use of coaching in improving performance (Doyle, 2018; Doyle & McDowall, 2015, 2019). Typically with neurodiverse employees, difficulties in performance arise from issues with memory / concentration, organisational skills, time management and psycho-social issues such as self-efficacy, defined as our ability to believe our actions will be successful (Doyle & McDowall, 2015; Grant, 2009; Nalavany, Logan, & Carawan, 2017; Sumner, Leonard, & Hill, 2016). Coaching, an activity to empower and facilitate the self-efficacy of coachees (Baron, Morin, & Morin, 2011; Moen & Allgood, 2009) rather than create dependence or further need for expertise, is known to successfully address these issues. Jones et al., (2016) performed a meta-analysis of seventeen coaching studies and found that coaching operated through cognitive and behavioural domain mechanisms, as well as improving the regulation of emotion in the workplace. Theeboom et al., (2014) also performed a meta-analysis (k=18) and demonstrated medium to large effect sizes for a range of outcomes including again cognitive and behavioural domains, also well-being, coping, attitudes and self- regulation.
My coaching programme is based on Social Cognitive Learning Theory (Bandura, 1997) to facilitate the self-development of mastery and self-efficacy, applying principles from Goal Setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 2002) and in general elements from the broader research on Coaching Psychology, such as the ‘Coaching Alliance’ (O’Broin, 2016).
Figure one demonstrates the ‘active ingredients’ of the coaching protocol. The diagram incorporates the four tenets of Social Cognitive Learning Theory (Bandura, 1986): (SCLT 1) Verbal Persuasion, (SCLT 2) Role Modelling, (SCLT 3) Vicarious Learning and (SCLT 4) Mastery as well as the three tenets of Goal Setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 2002): (GS1) Goal Clarity, (GS2) Self-efficacy and (GS4) Socially-contextualised goals.
Figure 1:
A framework for coaching neurodiversity
My empirical work (Doyle, 2018) comprised a series of quasi-experimental field studies with adults in professional roles and/or part time advanced study (N=119, mean age 42, mean age left education 20, 61% female) with three treatment conditions (one-to-one, group, control) and evaluated the impact of coaching up a range of outcome variables, including executive functions, self-management of behaviour, performance of executive functions related tasks, stress and self-efficacy). Triple blind controls were implemented. In all cohorts within the series of studies, the intervention groups significantly out-performed the control group when comparing baseline scores to those collected two-three months after the intervention was complete (immediately after scores were also taken, which matched trajectory but sometimes showed a practice effect for the control groups).
Individuals within the studies tended to improve across one or more variables, rather than uniformly across all, for example some improved cognitively, some behaviourally, some with self-efficacy. The magnitude of the improvement was negatively correlated with baseline measure – i.e. individuals directed their improvement at the area of most need. The results demonstrated that the amount and frequency of improvement was higher for group interventions than for one-to-one (K(2,43)=9.379, p=.009), see Graph 1 (Doyle, Randall, & Mcdowall, in prep).
Graph 1
Means and confidence intervals for Overall Impact score
(1=one-to-one; 2=control; 3=group coaching)
In short, across the four cohorts coached and evaluated over three years, only eight out of 62 intervention group participants failed to achieve a single significant improvement in either cognitive, behavioural, performance, stress or self-efficacy measures. I found personalised improvement pathways for individuals involving their cognition, their behaviour and performance, their stress levels and their self-efficacy in general. Any one, or combination of, these mechanisms could mediate a performance improvement noticeable by supervisors.
In our social enterprise, my team have now delivered such a coaching program to over 10,000 employees and 1000 vulnerable adults (including unemployment or incarceration settings) since 2011. The results are consistently strong. In employment, 99% retain employment (9% move job roles to find one more suitable) and 25% receive a promotion within 1 year of the coaching. In vulnerable settings, the coaching has resulted in an 87% course retention rate against a typical cohort standard of 60% and improving the job outcome rate for each contracted region (e.g. Work and Health Program midlands, typically 12%, Genius Within cohorts 30%). These results come from, I suggest, the androgogical partnership approach, working with not doing to. When we treat coaching clients as adults, we respect and help them identify their existing skill and competence and we give them the space to learn for themselves. In this session, I will provide an overview of my workplace coaching research and discuss the impact with a coaching client, and a coaching professional who is not a psychologist. We will discuss how the roots of workplace coaching psychology research have translated into practice and the impact this is having on real peoples’ lives.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
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Bartlett, D., Moody, S., & Kindersley, K. (2010). Dyslexia in the Workplace. In Dyslexia in the Workplace: An Introductory Guide: Second Edition. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470669341.ch1
Doyle, N. (2018). A Critical Realist Analysis of Coaching as a Disability Accommodation. City, University of London.
Doyle, N., & McDowall, A. (2015). Is coaching an effective adjustments for adults with dyslexia? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory and Practice, 8(2).
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Ref: 4112 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Transitioning to Work: The Impact of Perceived Employability and Job Resources on Graduate Wellbeing Gerard Ellis, Vicki Elsey Northumbria University Introduction: The transition from university to workplace is complex and can be a significant challenge to wellbeing and stress (Reino & Byrom, 2017). Notably, unemployment six months post- graduation is reportedly at its lowest in 39 years (Ball et al., 2018), thus the onus must shift towards preparing both workplaces and graduates with resources allowing them to thrive.
The current study focussed on both work and individual based resources that may impact graduate’s wellbeing, particularly within their first year of employment. The Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) previously demonstrated the detrimental impact of job demands on wellbeing, alongside the ability of job resources to buffer this and support greater work engagement. Further, personal resources were added to the JD-R model (Xanthopoulou et al., 2007), encompassing constructs such as self-efficacy and resilience. There are many potential personal resources which can be hard to target and modify (Laschinger et al., 2012), the current study assessed the role of Perceived Employability as a work focussed personal resource within recent graduates.
Based on Conservation of Resource theory (COR) (Hobfoll, 2002), perceived employability is hypothesized to directly impact wellbeing through a greater sense of perceived control or indirectly through the accumulation of further resources. The facets underlying perceived employability (e.g. knowledge, experience, self-perceptions) may be used to access, seek out or interpret greater job resources. In turn, job resources such as training and career development may foster perceived employability, reflecting ‘resource caravans’ within COR theory (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The proposed relationship between perceived employability, job resources, work engagement and wellbeing
Moreover, Reino and Byrom (2017) indicated that almost all graduates experiencing mental health difficulties during their study of the transition to work had an onset prior to entering the workplace. Given the high number of students disclosing mental health issues, this study viewed the role of mental health as an antecedent to subsequent work-related wellbeing. An indirect path was assessed, whereby mental health difficulties prior to entering the workplace may reduce perceived employability (e.g. stigmatization in the selection procedure), in turn directly impacting wellbeing or reducing job resources. Also, a direct path between mental health prior to work and subsequent wellbeing is explored, due to good psychological functioning being argued as a valued resource in its own right and potentially improving perceived control and autonomy (Vanhercke et al., 2015) (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The two proposed pathways from prior mental health to subsequent wellbeing during work.
The study proposed the following hypotheses:
H1: Job demands and job resources will negatively correlate during graduate’s first year of employment
H2: Job Demands will negatively predict wellbeing (H2a) and job resources will positively predict work engagement (H2b)
H3: Graduate’s with higher perceived employability will report greater job resources (H3a). In turn, greater job resources will predict increased perceived employability (H3b)
H4: Perceived employability will positively predict wellbeing (H4)
H5: Work engagement will positively predict wellbeing (H5a), thus mediating the relationship between job resources and wellbeing (H5b)
H6: Experiencing mental health difficulties prior to work will predict reduced perceived employability (H6a) and lower wellbeing during the first year of employment (H6b).
Design: A sample of university graduates within their first year of full-time employment completed an online survey. In particular, Job demands and Job resources were measured via the HSE-MS Indicator Tool (Marcatto et al., 2014), Perceived employability via the self-perceived employability scale (Rothwell & Arnold, 2007), Work engagement via the UWES-9 (Seppala et al., 2009) and Current wellbeing via the WEMWS (Stewart-Brown et al., 2011). To assess mental health prior to entering the workplace, individuals were asked if they had experienced mental health difficulties in the past 12 months and whether these began prior to entering the workplace.
Data Analysis and Results: Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. Initially, Confirmatory Factor Analysis assessed the fit of the measurement tool with three latent variables; Job demands, Job resources and Perceived employability. Structural Equation Modelling was then used to assess the proposed structural model and test the significance of pathways hypothesized by H1-H6. Structural Equation Modelling assess the degree of which a theoretical model of causal relationships fit obtained data (Giorgi et al., 2013). The structural model demonstrated acceptable-good fit (X^2 [38] = 59.220, p = .070; GFI = .933, AGFI = .886, CFI =.966, RMSEA =.050). The measurement model, structural model and hypothesised pathways are below.
Discussion and Conclusion: Three key findings stood out as particularly notable:
• A reciprocal positive relationship between job resources and perceived employability
• A direct path from work engagement to current wellbeing
• A direct path from prior mental health to current wellbeing.
Delegates may find this interesting for several reasons. Firstly, engagement has typically been assessed through organizational outcomes such as turnover or as a buffer between job demands and wellbeing. However, the finding both job demands and work engagement directly contributed towards wellbeing suggest that the JD-R models motivational and health impairment pathways may not been entirely distinct psychological processes. In turn, the range of resources explored may be of interest to both the public and media, given that certain job demands cannot be helped within entry level graduate positions. Therefore, resource such as role clarity may positively influence graduate employees wellbeing and are unlikely to cause significant financial cost when implemented.
Secondly, the reciprocal relationship between perceived employability and job resources combines both JD-R and COR frameworks, thus presenting opportunities for further exploration. Research may aim to assess whether individuals with greater perceived employability acquire roles with greater resources or whether they seek out and/or perceive more job resources regardless of the role. Furthermore, their impact on engagement, and subsequent wellbeing, allows universities and workplaces an area to nurture within graduates entering the workplace.
Finally, the relationship between prior mental health and subsequent wellbeing provides an interesting conceptual change towards mental health also being considered an antecedent of work- related outcomes. Admittedly, the non-longitudinal design fails to provide more in-depth data such as graduates completing WEMWS before and after entering the workplace. Moreover, the non- significant pathway found between prior mental health and perceived employability presents positive discussion points as to whether mental health stigmatization by employers is reducing or whether its impact on perceived employability is removed once employment is secured.
Practice of Science: Occupational Psychology at Work
Utilising well established theories in the COR and JD-R models, alongside strong statistical methods via the SEM, the study reflects occupational psychology’s strong rooting in scientific approach. Scientific approach should assess the validity of findings through vigorous statistical analysis and use existing theory/literature to build a story around new findings.
Additionally, combining different theories adds to the development of occupational psychology. It is unlikely that any single theory is perfect, yet the underlying psychological mechanisms within theories may overlap and, in turn, further the understanding of each other. Moreover, assessing the findings of an established model (i.e. JD-R model) within a specific sample (graduate employees) helps solidify its validity to a further range of employees.
Finally, assessing perceived employability alongside a range of job resources helps strengthen the link from science to practice. It provides clear aspects of individuals and the workplace that can be targeted in order to improve their engagement and subsequent wellbeing. The theories, models and evidence built through occupational psychology are of little use unless they can be utilized to improve the experience of employees and their organizations.
Materials Intended to make available:
I intend to make available an A5 handout stating key figures and findings from the study, along with take-away bullet points.
Key points for the 60 second opening pitch:
• Transitioning from university to the workplace is a huge cultural shift whereby some graduates do well and others struggle.
• The JD-R model argues work itself can be detrimental to wellbeing through high job demands or positively impact wellbeing through job resources and subsequent work engagement. • But can we prepare/empower graduates themselves? Yes, by developing their perceived employability.
• Moreover, increasing evidence shows concern for the state of Graduate mental health.
• Previously viewed as an outcome of work, is it time to view mental health as an important antecedent brought into the workplace?
How to enliven the poster:
• Statistics related to the introduction will be highlighted via graphics around the poster
• The structural model will be displayed in a format which will be easily understood by the reader and that helps tell a story.
Ref: Workshop Topic: Career Development Crafting a Career in Occupational Psychology Vicky Elsey, Northumbria University
This session will share some of the findings of my Professional Doctorate in Occupational Psychology where I looked at the employability, employment and identity of occupational psychology graduates. Alongside some brief findings, I will also run a workshop to get you think about what you want from your career and help you to develop some actions for next steps. Be prepared to think about what matters to you, to get involved and to support your professional colleagues…no matter what stage in your career.
Ref: 3913 Impact Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Attitudes between Generations in the Workplace Lydia English, University of Leicester/Trans2 Performance
Generations at work is becoming an increasingly popular area of research within occupational psychology. Four generations are now working simultaneously in the workplace, making research into this area more important and impactful than ever. Each generation comes with their own characteristics, work ethic, attitudes and behaviour, which has the potential to cause conflict at work, and therefore produces many challenges for managers and occupational professionals.
The impact paper will be focused on the attitudes between the four generations which currently make up the UK’s employed population. The paper will explore the characteristics that are related to Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z, as well as the attitudes each of the generations have towards each other. The incentives that attract each generation to an organisation will also be explored. The paper will enable a greater understanding of individual generations and how they see themselves in the workplace. The paper will also highlight how people view other generations by exploring the attitudes they have towards them. By exploring the incentives that attract each generation to organisations, the paper will inform the audience how businesses can attract particular generations to work for them, retain existing employees, and potentially inform organisations as to how to reduce conflicts between particular generations. The research of which the paper will be based is still being carried out, therefore, at this stage the results of the study cannot be stated. However, the data will be ready to be presented in time for the conference.
The hypotheses for the study are as follows:
1. Participants will have positive attitudes towards their own age group
2. Participants will have negative attitudes towards their opposite age group
3. Tangible incentives will be rated as more attractive to older participants
4. Intangible incentives will be rated as more attractive to younger participants
The study will collect data from a minimum of 100 participants who are from a mixture of each of the four generations. This study is being carried out through the University of Leicester. Data for the study is being collected via a questionnaire, which is being shared on social media platforms. Due to this, an ethics application was sent to the university’s ethics committee for their consideration, and was approved.
The proposal links to the main conference theme as the contents of the paper will be based on the results of psychological research, and will provide occupational psychologists with an up to date insight of attitudes between the different generations in the workplace. The general public, media and conference delegates should find the paper both stimulating and useful as it will provide them with an up to date insight on an up and coming topic within the occupational psychology field. Delegates will be able to apply the insight they have gained from the paper into their own work and research and will be able to take a copy of the papers findings away with them.
PhD Forum Careers Topic: Career Development
Is there a doctor in the house…? Expert panel to answer all your questions about getting a PhD
Is going down the PhD / Professional Doctorate route for you? Is it worth the financial, emotional and physical investments required? Learn how to get a PhD / Professional Doctorate and possibly as importantly, how to manage not to get one in this interactive discussion. Our panel of keynotes, experienced Supervisors and Doctoral graduates will be available to answer all of your questions. So whether Doctoral study is something you are considering, (as there are a number of routes, not just one), or have already committed to, don’t miss this interactive and practical outlook from those in the know.
Ref: 4116 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Dealing with work stress: the job demands and job resources of dyslexic employees Fiona Falkingham1, Fiona Falkingham2 1Glyndwr University, 2Birkbeck University of London/Wrexham Glyndwr University Rationale: Dyslexic employees may be at higher risk of work-related stress and negative outcomes including burnout, poor health and compromised career progression (de Beer, Engels, and van der Klink, 2014; ; Nalavany et al, 2017). For recent graduates the transition into the workplace can be challenging as well as an exciting and fulfilling experience. However for those who experience dyslexia to demands may appear even greater (McLoughlin & Leather, 2009; McLoughlin, 2015).
The Job Demand Resources (J-DR) model of work stress (Demerouti et al., 2001, 2011) is concerned with the extent to which job demands are buffered by the personal and contextual resources available to individuals. The J-DR model (Demerouti et al, 2001, 2011) which has been used to investigate work-related stress across occupational populations. However, it had not previously been applied to examine work-related stress within other demographic groupings such as the dyslexic population.
Aim: Working from a critical realist perspective, this qualitative aimed to explore the job demands and resources of dyslexic employees.
Method: A series of semi-structured interviews, were conducted with ten dyslexic employees, all of whom were recent graduates from a single higher education institution (HEI), who had regularly accessed support in relation to SpLD/Dyslexia under Disabled Student Allowance arrangements. They were 6 females and 4 males, ranging from 22 to 57 years in age. Public sector roles included: mental health nurse, medical secretary, social worker, police officer, teacher and teaching assistant. Private sector job roles included: IT systems manager, production coordinator, nursery manager, and postal shift manager. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using template analysis (King, 2012).
Quotations which appear on central panel of poster:
I put in 70 hours a week quite frequently…and at home I do a lot of this extra reading and extra development and preparing …’
‘Umm, I am organised… I have to be organised, and I am able to cope under high pressure. People now expect me to do that – so I get a lot of things to do.’
‘I have really had to embrace technology……’’
‘What I bring to my job is that I don’t tend to think linearly. So it’s being able to have what are on the face of it are unconnected ideas…’
Summary of Findings
Job Demands
Participants suggested widely levels of inclusivity and organisational awareness of SpLD/dyslexia within workplaces. Major barriers to disclosing SpLD/dyslexia and to accessing effective support were reported by participants with most being reluctant to request Access to Work assessment. These barriers related to perceptions that, due to poor understanding of its implications, disclosure of dyslexia would adversely affect perceptions of colleagues and managers and would limit career progression. Several participants expressed the view that fear of stigma and discrimination increased work-related stress. Increased job demand was often associated with organisational factors as much as to dyslexic difficulty itself.
Job Resources
Contextual and personal resources were reported to be buffered work stress. Greater value was placed on personal resources such as organisational skills, time management strategies, and use of mobile digital technologies and applications. These were generally felt to be under the direct control of individuals and so appropriate to their needs, whereas organisational responses were based on incorrect assumptions. Overall, self-efficacy (Bandura, 1995) was found to be a key personal resource buffering job demand.
For example, participants discussed the use of specialised assistive technologies in the workplace, with only one reported using these openly. He explained that in the first instance he had needed to purchase these packages himself, as his employer was unfamiliar about Access to Work arrangements and reluctant to incur additional cost. He also went on to commented negatively on the dis-enabling impacts of poorly designed workplace documentation and screen-based recording systems, suggesting that these limited the productivity of all employees but were particularly problematic for dyslexics. In contrast, another participant identified that, some employing organisations may have direct cause to take account of neuro-divergent individuals the workplace, particularly where atypical cogitative skills may be associated with some job profiles. Working in the IT industry, he described the routine use of non-text-based interfaces for organisational communication and work activities including programming and systems development. He explained that these were ‘visual…. very graphic… very much drag and drop’, improving their accessibility and making the workplace both more productive and inclusive.
Conclusions
Among the individuals who took part in this study self-efficacy appeared to be a key personal resource use to buffer job demands. This was most effective when securely founded on a bedrock of self-knowledge and positive conceptualisation of cognitive difference. This indicates the importance of enabling individuals to objectively explore and understand their experiences, so that they can take control of their own learning and development. For example, Doyle and McDowall (2015) have evidenced the effectiveness of mentoring and one-to-one support in the workplace. However, where organisations engage in intervention at the primary level, in addition to secondary level interventions and tertiary responses, there may be even wider benefits. Nonetheless, key debates remain about inclusivity and have this might be realised within work places, and the value to organisations of making such change. With conceptualisations of atypical cognitive profiles, such as that associated with SpLD/Dyslexia, being continually challenged by a fast-growing evidence base (Burgess et al., 2018), these may be further complicated by the need to develop appropriate levels of knowledge in a way that can be operationalised within the workplace.
References
Bandura, A. (Ed.). (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. Cambridge university press.
Burgess, A. P., Witton, C., Shapiro, L., & Talcott, J. B. (2018). From subtypes to taxons:
Identifying distinctive profiles of reading development in children. In Reading and Dyslexia (pp. 207- 227). Springer, Cham.
De Beer, J., Engels, J., Heerkens, Y., & van der Klink, J. (2014). Factors influencing work participation of adults with developmental dyslexia: a systematic review. BMC public health, 14(1), 77.
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., Nachreiner, F., and Schaufeli, W.B. (2001) ‘The job demands resources model of burnout’. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 86(3), Jun 2001, 499-512
Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The job demands-resources model: Challenges for future research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 01-09 Doyle, N. & McDowall, A. (2015). Is coaching an effective adjustment for dyslexic adults? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. King, N. (2012). Doing template analysis. Qualitative organizational research: Core methods and current challenges, 426.
McLoughlin, D. (2015). Career Development and Individuals with Dyslexia. Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, 31(4).
McLoughlin, D., & Leather, C. (2009). Meeting the needs of employers and employees in the workplace. The Routledge Companion to Dyslexia, 286.
Nalavany, B. A., Logan, J. M., & Carawan, L. W. (2017). The relationship between emotional experience with dyslexia and work self-efficacy among adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia.
Nicolson, R., Fawcett, A., & Reid, G. (2015). Positive Dyslexia. Sheffield: Rodin Books.
Ref: 3869 Impact Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Paid charity work: ‘A wee understanding of life choices’ Maria Falsone, Birkbeck University
Building on previous work on employee motivation in non-profit organizations (Public Service Motivation theory) and life career work, this research seeks to explore one research question: “How do paid employees in a charity experience their work motivation?”
I shall do this via a number (fifteen) of interviews with individuals working for a charity.
The charity sector is an important employer in the UK. The 2018 Almanac published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) details that for UK financial year 2015/16, there were 166 001 charity associations with a paid workforce of 881 556 (Office of National Statistics, UK Labour Market data released February 2019). There is an increasing body of research into Non-Profit Organisations (NPO), with an increasing focus on one of its sub-areas- paid charity work. For avoidance of doubt; “NPO is a generic term for all third-sector organisations that do not distribute profits or surpluses for the benefit of members, shareholders or other financial motivated stakeholders. Most NPOs typically operate under the constraint of ‘non-dividend distribution’ although many of them generate profits or surpluses. In the UK context, NPOs are comprised of two types of organisational structure: (i) charities and community groups; and (ii) social enterprises.” (Resource Centre 2016). This study, focusing on a Scottish Charity, will be referred to as a ‘charity’, the first of the two types of Non-Profit Organisational structure (Scottish Charity Regulator, 2019).
In a time when the job market is diversifying, people are increasingly self-managing their careers by tailoring their work around their conscious motivations (Arthur et al., cited in Lee et al., 2011). Charities may not have access to resources that for-profit organisations have (Sun & Fuschi, 2015), and may not be able to match the levels of pay (Almond & Kendall, 2000 cited in McDermott et al., 2013) or career opportunities (Chetkovich, 2003 cited in Piatak, 2016). They might therefore need to work on making more out of what they do have. To help with this, two motivation theories will inform the design and analysis of this study. Firstly, Self-Determination theory (SDT) which assumes a need for people to have control over their own career and work (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Secondly, Public Service Motivation theory (PSM) which uses four dimensions to organise understanding of why people would want to work for the good of the general public (Compassion, Self-Sacrifice, Civic Duty, and Attraction to Policy Making) (Piatak, 2016). Of these four dimensions, it is acknowledged that some may be more accessible in the charity of our study, than others. E.g. ‘Attraction to Policy Making’ may not be as common as ‘Compassion’. Using template analysis, the initial, pre-interview, template, will be developed from the PSM literature dimensions. After the first few interviews, the template will be reviewed. The final template will come from the full analysis of the findings. Potential Benefits/Value
This study aims to provide enrich understanding into individual career choices in the context of charity work. This might give charity organisations more understanding of how they can attract, effectively select and retain employees. In addition, it might also be used to aid potential charity employees in how the job might fit with their life choices. It might also help universities and careers advisors in their understanding of individual career choices.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Many fellow MSc students will be consultants, if they are not already, to a variety of businesses. The insights from this study will broaden their understanding of the full potential of our industry, whilst potentially encouraging discussion around and increased enthusiasm for using science for the advancement of a charity and employees.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
While the majority of attendees will be comfortable with how Self-determination theory works, combining it with Public Service Motivation theory will be novel to most.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Although some literature has suggested that working for a charity is for the financially stable and prospering level of society in Britain, it may not be the same in Scotland.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
With a mixture of known theories and unknown constructs, and with qualitative and detailed accounts linked with career theory, this topic is relevant to our jobs as Occupational Psychologists, but also to ourselves as we continue to be reflexive in our practices.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
The ways in which people make charity work happen, sometimes against their own life-planning, or sometimes in tandem.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides) Printed hand-outs and electronic copies of slides.
Ref: 3845 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Qualitative study of diversity & inclusion in a complex organisation using a multi-disciplinary team Natalie Fisher1, Etlyn Kenny2, Karen Newell1, Mandy Winterton3, Jo Duberley2, Nikki Dunne3, Penny Smith2, Vicki Kallmeier-Hatch1, Sue Sidey4 1QinetiQ, 2University of Birmingham, 3Edinburgh Napier University, 4Dstl Background and Research Objectives: Increasing the diversity and inclusivity of majority white male organisations is a difficult task. The organisation in question was committed to increasing diversity and inclusion (D&I) - both to increase the creativity and resilience of the organisation and to achieve desired resourcing levels. Previous attempts to understand key issues relating to D&I had been insightful but small scale, mainly quantitative, and focused on segments of the organisation. Consequently, the organisation took the decision to fund a large-scale qualitative study to develop a deeper understanding of how gender and ethnicity, in particular, impacted the day-to-day experiences of employees with a view to capitalising on any benefits or addressing any issues raised.
It was recognised that such a complex and in-depth study would require a multi-disciplinary team. This study was led by both practitioner and academic psychologists and drew heavily on theories about the way in which individuals experience the workplace and the role that person-level and group-level variables, particularly ethnicity and gender, play in that experience. However the team’s understanding of these variables within this complex organisational context would have been incomplete if the research team had not been able to draw on the knowledge of colleagues from sociology and organisational studies. Hence although the team present this study as an exemplar of how practitioner and academic psychologists can work together to address a complex organisational issue, it also demonstrates how the work of other social scientists strongly shape and complement these achievements and increase the reflexivity and relevance of our practice.
Method: To understand the impact of gender and ethnicity it was important to not only gain the perspective of minority employees (female and Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) personnel) but also employees from the white male majority. In addition, in such a complex organisation with employees undertaking a wide range of roles, the team needed to ensure they sampled from right across the organisation. Hence, the study involved qualitative interviews with over 400 employees. The study was cross-sectional and the team interviewed employees over the course of 14 months using the most convenient method for them – face-to-face, telephone or video call interviews. The majority of these interviews were recorded and fully transcribed (with detailed notes taken when they could not be recorded). The research team used thematic analysis to analyse and interpret the data in the light of the wider context, previous related research and relevant theoretical models.
General Observations: The size and complexity of the study were unprecedented. The research team are unaware of any other qualitative studies of this scale exploring D&I or any other organisational topic. Consequently, there was limited guidance in the literature about how to address some of the challenges the research team faced. This was primarily the case in relation to data saturation, coding frame development and the practicalities of data analysis with such a large and complex dataset and a multi-organisational, multi-disciplinary, geographically dispersed research team. Consequently this study was ground-breaking and a real showcase for how organisational psychology can be used to address complex organisational issues.
Practical Learning for Psychology: The organisation in question employs psychologists in a range of roles and so is familiar with the discipline of psychology being utilised to address people-related issues. However, the organisation has tended to focus largely on surveys or research testing specific hypotheses. The team had to sell the value of the qualitative approach which they knew was necessary for the depth of understanding required. Having a funded pilot study was a real bonus in this regard. The research team were really able to hone their interview schedule and ensure that it was delivering the data required. Interviewees had a wide range of educational backgrounds and therefore the questions had to be ‘pitched’ appropriately to ensure common understanding and elicitation of useful data. Close working with practitioner psychologists in the customer team as well as practitioner and academic psychologists in the supplier team and other social scientists really helped the team to deliver the benefits of the qualitative approach and uncover data on employee experience that provided the right level of depth and nuance on the key issues.
Theoretical Development: The team employed theories that examined individual level factors such as intergroup bias, minority representation and belonging. The team also looked at theories that helped them to understand how diversity and inclusion were relevant to career-related processes such as appraisal and promotion. In addition, the team drew on models that illuminate how employees relate to their organisations more broadly such as organisational commitment and the psychological contract.
Lessons for Practice
During the course of the study, the research team identified a series of lessons and observations which can be grouped into the following six areas:
1. Recruitment of participants: the communication strategy; speed and control of messaging; access to participants; and stakeholder buy-in.
2. Data collection: the administration of the study; sampling strategy; demographic questionnaire; and interview approach.
3. Data storage, transmission and transcription process.
4. Data analysis: revising the analysis plan; assessing saturation; thematic approach; data familiarisation; coding frame development; coding the data; the use of workshops; time for reflection; the use of NVivo; and secondary analysis.
5. Reporting: agreeing the report structure; the process of writing the report; and stakeholder input to recommendations.
6. Collaborative working: establishing roles and responsibilities and maintaining regular contact.
Conclusion: The researchers present this study as a prime example of the way in which occupational psychology can be at the forefront of a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding a multifaceted issue within a complex organisational setting. Psychology guided the development of the tools for research and analysis and also much of the theory used to increase our understanding. The team were able to deliver a report to the client that has been fully accepted and will be put to practical use.
Ref: 3797 Impact Paper Topic: Well-being and Work iAmAware: a coproduction evaluation to inform development of a computer- based psychoeducation tool Trisha Forbes1, John Moriarty1, Karen Galway1, Paul Best1, Patricia Gillen2, Paula McFadden2, Heike Schroder1, Mark Tully2 1Queen's University Belfast, 2Ulster University Introduction and Context: Employers are keen to implement measures to reduce the costly levels of absenteeism and presenteeism which occur due to mental health (MH) issues. Workplace interventions which both address the workplace antecedents of mental ill-health, provide people with information and help people to manage their wellbeing, whatever its roots, have the potential to vastly improve MH literacy in the general population and consequently to promote wellbeing on a population level. Psychoeducation offered to employees within organisations represent a promising component of such an intervention. However, whereas interactive in-person sessions allow for tailoring to specific contexts, it may be difficult for all employees in an organisation to be offered the same level of training, due to role demands and resource constraints and stigma among employees. Online psychoeducation presents a scalable alternative, but the challenge is to offer this in a way which is sensitive to the particular and complex contexts of different organisations and implemented in a way which allows for system-level approaches to improve wellbeing, rather than passing onto individual employees the sole responsibility for monitoring and addressing MH issues.
The Aware charity offer in-person work-based psychoeducation through their Mood Matters programme which has been shown to increase knowledge of MH and psychological disorders in diverse settings, including workplaces, sporting organisations and educational settings. and have partnered with the research team and two large employers in Northern Ireland to co-produce an online version of that programme’s content. “iAmAware” would introduce participants to signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety and offers suggestions for potential coping strategies and stress reduction techniques based on the principles of mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy.
However, workplaces are highly complex and dynamic. As such, the introduction of a new approach to employee wellbeing is an event with the potential to disrupt policy and practice at multiple organisational levels, from the person’s interface with their task set, to the organisation’s strategic objectives. Furthermore, use of an online platform presents the risk of seeming generic to an employee and not sufficiently sensitive to their particular challenges and sources of stress. To our knowledge, iAmAware would be unique among online tools in being developed with the explicit aim of serving as a component of a multilevel approach to wellbeing.
Methods and Approach to Co-Production: The current project is underpinned by the values and principles of co-production and seeks to further develop, test and refine the iAmAware programme in these two workplace settings. The research design is based on the first two phases of the MRC Framework (Craig et al. 2008) for developing and evaluating complex interventions whereby researchers seek to establish the evidence base, refine theory and test and model outcomes.
In this paper, we discuss the approach taken to intervention development (theory of change, co- production and stakeholder engagement) and present preliminary findings around feasibility and acceptability and barriers to uptake.
The current project has involved end users and organisational representatives from the outset. Co- production workshops (n= 6) consist of thematic focus group discussions and interactive feedback sessions with the ‘Alpha version’ of the iAmAware interface. Workshops aim to:
• establish current organisational issues and areas of need, including the extent of current workplace stressors and MH awareness;
• assess baseline levels of provision for staff wellbeing and identify any distance between the organisational policy perspective and the lived experience of work;
• assess acceptability to workers of the proposed content and of the use of data on engagement
• with the training to inform their employer’s future policy and provisions;
• identify any potential barriers to uptake of iAmAware; and
• develop an implementation strategy tailored to the organisation. Workshops are organised such that perspectives from employees, Human Resource Management and leadership are captured.
Results and Discussion: This presentation will focus on the acceptability to organisational participants of iAmAware and on barriers to uptake of iAmAware, such as organisational policies around ancillary work training (e.g. time and credit allocated), computer literacy; relevance or otherwise of training material to particular organisational and role contexts; stigma around MH; and trust within the organisation that wellbeing issues will be acted upon. Evidence of self-selection by employees in different demographic groups will also be highlighted. Finally we will describe how the themes from these discussions and feedback on the interface are used to inform further iterations of iAmAware, including bespoke versions for individual organisations.
Findings in this paper are preliminary and precede a planned phase of the joint analysis of data collected during programme development/testing using a Participatory Theme Elicitation approach. We hope the perspectives and input of conference delegates will further enhance our ongoing interpretation of these data, refinement of iAmAware and planning towards a fully randomised trial to assess its efficacy.
Ref: 3965 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Development, Implementation, & Evaluation of a Coaching Program to Enable Leaders and Teams Nicole Francavilla, Hannah Murphy, Robert Kovach Cisco Purpose: This paper presents a practitioner case study summarizing field research on the application of a coaching program in a global technology company. Information on the development and implementation of the program at scale, its theoretical underpinnings, ongoing research on its efficacy, and the future of the program are discussed. A focus on leveraging strengths-based coaching to improve leader behaviors and in turn positively affect team-level productivity and performance is emphasized. The foundational enabling power of technology for this coaching program is also highlighted. The practitioners advocate for a scientist-practitioner model and ultimately share their journey of developing, deploying, evaluating, and refining a global coaching program for leaders at their company.
Agenda and Key Messages
Context: Roughly four years ago, this company assumed a new CEO who called for every function to re-think “best practice.” The practitioner team was specifically challenged to re-think their approach to people and culture, and a new leader of their HR function called for heightened attention on individual strengths and team capability. The overall remit was to invest in enabling teams holistically and to leverage team leaders as a key mechanism through which to produce ideal team outcomes. Coaching was identified as a key program through which to equip leaders to build strong teams.
Theoretical Background: By investing in developing better leaders via coaching, this company in turn is investing in producing better teams, as research shows that effective leadership positively relates to team performance (Burke, Stagl, Klein, Goodwin, Salas, & Haplin, 2006). In development of the coaching program, the team relied on two main theoretical frameworks and empirical bodies of evidence. The first area was the decades of research supporting the claim that effective leadership, or engaging in behaviors that initiate structure (i.e., monitor and direct task-related behavior) and provide consideration for their teams (i.e., cater to individuals’ needs and emotions) positively predicts effective team-level outcomes (Burke et al., 2006). In other words, empirical evidence shows that positive changes in leader behavior can predict positive changes in team outcomes such as productivity, effectiveness, and engagement. The second theoretical framework comes from Positive Psychology, specifically pertaining to strengths theory rooting back to work by Seligman. The coaching program described here employs a strengths-based approach to leadership coaching, informed by empirical evidence showing that focusing on how to enhance and build upon what already comes naturally to someone (what he/she is good at and energized by), produces the highest levels of engagement at work (Buckingham & Goodall, 2019). The goal of the coaching program was not to fix what was broken in leaders, but rather to help them better understand their strengths as well as the strengths of their team members in order to best align people to their work.
Program Development at Scale: Approximately two years ago, the practitioners set out to create a streamlined, high-quality, strategically-aligned coalition of coaches whom they could deploy across the company to coach leaders at all levels, from new team leaders, to directors, to executives. Over 1,000 leaders across the company have completed coaching engagements to date, and the goal is to scale the program to touch all 10,000 people leaders. This has required identifying and training coaches who provide coverage in all company geographic regions and speak several languages. Rigorous ongoing coach training entails not only ensuring coaches’ proficiency using the strengths- based approach, but also continued knowledge sharing of company information to maintain strategic alignment. The entire coaching program is deployed virtually leveraging the company’s technology, with the exception of one annual conference-style in-person event. In other words, anyone with internet access and the proper credentials, experience, and culture-fit can become a coach for this company. All coaching sessions are completed via virtual video teleconferencing, enabled by the company’s collaboration tools.
Program Evaluation: Several mechanisms have been utilized to assess the program since its formation two years ago. Leader adoption of the program and progress of engagements are continually tracked to assess leaders’ degree of participation vs. attrition in the program. Consistent results reveal that the majority of leaders tend to complete their full coaching engagement (six sessions), often with interest in renewal, especially within the executive population. A coaching evaluation survey assessing leaders’ satisfaction with the overall experience, perceptions of coach fit, and perceptions of a leader’s personal behavior change is deployed after completion of every coaching engagement, and responses are evaluated to ensure quality of coaches in the program. The survey responses are consistently skewed left, with extremely high program satisfaction. At the annual conference-style meeting hosted by the practitioner team, anonymized qualitative data is collected from the coaches about what is and is not working for leaders across the business. Future research will assess correlations amongst participation in coaching with other company HR data such as team engagement survey scores. The team faces the common challenges around difficulties linking program participation with positive outcomes for leaders given other noise in the system, and the team is determined to find more ways to tie data to the ROI of the program.
Key Contributions: The present paper aligns to the conference topic of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’ because it provides a tangible example of the ways in which our team has employed an ongoing field study of implementing coaching at a global scale. By grounding our program in theory and now working toward tying it to metrics, we are seeking to close the science-practice gap and further our understanding of how coaching can improve leader behaviors and in turn improve team performance at companies. This paper fits in the Learning, Training, and Development conference category because it is about a leadership development program: coaching. The most novel aspects of this submission pertain to the strategies we share around how we have scaled a coaching program by leveraging technology across our global business, and the plans we have to continue scaling it to thousands of leaders. The other novel aspect is our discussion of how we will continually evaluate the program and evolve it, keeping true to an ongoing research-practice model informed by data. Conference delegates seeking to employ similar coaching programs will find value in this session because we will discuss the challenges we have faced and what has worked for us, providing tangible information that they can bring back to their companies. The media will find it interesting to hear about how we are leveraging technology to build better leaders. We intend to make electronic copies of the slides available to attendees.
References
Buckingham, M., & Goodall, A. (2019). Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World. Harvard Business Review Press.
Burke, C. S., Stagl, K. C., Klein, C., Goodwin, G. F., Salas, E., & Halpin, S. M. (2006). What type of leadership behaviors are functional in teams? A meta-analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 288- 307.
Panel Discussion Topic: Career Development
Occupational Psychology: Impact of International Working Dr Ritsa Fotinatos-Ventouratos & The International Working Group
In times of constant organizational change, globalization, as well as economic and political fluctuations, this International Discussion Forum will assess and deliberate the various impacts and challenges of International Working.
Hosted by the International Group of the DOP, the panel of experienced and established Occupational Psychologists will share with the audience their International Experiences, Information and knowledge gained by working abroad. The five member panel will integrate both an academic and practitioners' element to this discussion.
Ref: 3847 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Positive Thinking in organisations: to fake or not to fake? Shafag Garayeva, Birkbeck, University of London
Research focus, rationale, and questions: PT is understood as experiencing and expressing positive thoughts and suppressing negative thoughts₄. The concept, viewed as an essential component of balanced functioning₆ that can help achieve organisational effectiveness₇, has strong presence and promotion₅ in popular and practitioner-oriented literature₁, HRM consultancy₂, and organisational discourses.
Similar to other positivity constructs which are somewhat uncritically accepted₈, PT is considered a universal virtue in isolation from contexts. It is not clear from extant definitions₁₁ if ‘positive’ implies a content or effects of thoughts and how PT is different from other potentially interchangeable positivity constructs such as optimism, positive affect, emotions, attitudes, and outlook. There is also lack of consistent research evidence for any benevolent effects of it. Moreover, there are warnings that, aligned with the human relations movement’s philosophy₂, PT is becoming an obligatory organisational practice₁ used as a control instrument to boost employee performance. Leaving little space for alternative voices and questioning perspectives, it produces tensions in organisations fuelling employee dissent₂ and affecting the capacity to think critically₉. Given these issues, the practice of promoting PT appears premature.
To date, there has been limited study of PT in organisations. This study aimed to add to the theoretical knowledge about PT and address the conceptual confusion surrounding it by exploring perceptions, perspectives, and personal experiences of PT in organisations and gaining an in-depth understanding of them. Specifically, the following research questions were explored:
What are perceptions of PT in organisations?
How do managers and employees define and experience PT?
How different/similar are the perceptions of employees and managers?
Research methods: A qualitative design and grounded theory method₁₀ were used to explore perceptions of PT in organisations. The sample comprised of 20 participants in employee (40%) and managerial (60%) positions in the UK, US, and Middle East, aged 31-66 (40% female) from White British (50%), Asian, Hispanic, Mediterranean, and Hispanic American (50%) backgrounds working in local (50%) and global (50%) organisations (from 50 to 75,000 employees in size), representing private and public sectors, recruited through convenient (initially) and theoretical (later) sampling. This study was ethically approved by the relevant body. Participants received information about the study and its objectives before the interviews. No risk to participants or the researcher resulted from this study. Participants were debriefed and provided with support information after the interviews.
Semi-structured interviews (on average, 52 minutes) involved the use of photo-elicitation and vignettes. The interview questions clustered around perceptions and definitions of PT, workplace situations involving the use of PT, and practicing and developing PT.
The data analysis involved open, axial, and selective coding. Axial coding used the paradigm model₈ to identify conditions (causal, contextual, intervening), inter/actions involved, and consequences of PT.
Research findings and discussion: A conceptual framework of PT encompassing the following categories was developed: psychological safety and individual-organisation congruence (contextual conditions), motivation (causal condition), wellbeing, self-efficacy (intervening conditions), framing, self-regulation (inter/actions), vision (core category), skill development, dark sides (consequences). Reciprocal relationships between the categories of psychological safety-dark sides, self-efficacy-dark sides, and wellbeing-dark sides were identified.
The concept is heterogenous as definitions varied from ‘focusing on what you can do’ to ‘turning things on their head’. There was some consensus on the importance of framing things and focusing on actual and potential benefits. While PT was deemed a useful skill to handle challenging situations and lead others, the request to think positively received from someone else, particularly, from a manager, was perceived as a pressure and criticism implying being negative, thus making one feel bad about themselves. Further, participants distinguished between genuine and faked PT. Genuine PT is ‘real’ and has ‘contagious’ effect, whereas faked PT is ‘artificial’ and not effective. The latter is undertaken by managers and employees due to social expectations, which are reflected in organisational and managerial discourses. Faked PT of managers is associated with imposing PT with manipulative purposes. Faking PT by employees disables the ability to voice concerns. Reactions to imposed PT involve feelings, perceptions, and actions and affect one’s wellbeing, self-evaluation, and interactions.
The study proposed hypotheses for further quantitative research to test conditions that may lead to the development of PT as a skill and emergence of its adverse effects.
Practical importance: PT is a useful skill to help deal with challenging workplace situations and lead others. However, PT should be viewed as a means, not an end to obtain at all costs. To develop sustainable PT, it may be more effective to invest into prerequisites of PT rather than promote PT per se. The relevant interventions can address the conditions captured by the conceptual framework developed by this study. This involves 3 categories of PT’s prerequisites: organisational, individual, and combined ones.
The organisational category of the prerequisites includes psychological safety, extrinsic motivation, and employee wellbeing. The individual category of the prerequisites includes intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and framing skills. The combined category of the prerequisites includes individual-organisation congruence referring to the personality-environment fit covering the culture, people, and vision dimensions.
Since the vagueness of the concept allows different interpretations of it and provide the ground for its negative perception, it is important that employees and managers share a common understanding of it. That can be reached through avoiding general statements on the need to think positively in the organisational and managerial discourse. Instead, the emphasis should be put on providing clear explanations and examples as to where more PT should be directed to (e.g. task or behaviour) and what specifically that would involve.
Promoting PT per se may encourage faking and imposing it, which has detrimental effects on employees’ wellbeing, self-evaluation, perceptions about managers and organisations, and interactions with others.
N.B. Electronic copies of the slides will be made available to conference attendees.
References
1 - Fineman, S. (2006). On being positive: Concerns and counterpoints. Academy of management review, 31(2), 270-291.
2 - Collinson, D. (2012). Prozac leadership and the limits of positive thinking. Leadership, 8(2), 87- 107.
3 - Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Happiness interventions that work: The first results. Authentic happiness coaching newsletter, 2(10), 1-4.
4 - Ruthig, J. C., Holfeld, B., & Hanson, B. L. (2012). The role of positive thinking in social perceptions of cancer outcomes. Psychology & health, 27(10), 1244-1258.
5 – Ehrenreich, B. (2009) Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. New York: Metropolitan Books. 6 - Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfilment. New York: Free Press/Simon and Schuster.
7 – Caza, A. & Cameron K (2008) Positive organizational scholarship. In: Barling J and Cooper C (eds) The Sage Handbook of Organizational Behaviour, Volume 1: Micro Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 693–712.
8 - Friedman, H. L., & Robbins, B. D. (2012). The negative shadow cast by positive psychology: Contrasting views and implications of humanistic and positive psychology on resiliency. The Humanistic Psychologist, 40(1), 87-102.
9 – Lovallo, D., & Kahneman, D. (2003). Delusions of success. Harvard business review, 81(7), 56-63.
10 - Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. 2015. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory.
11 - McNulty, J. K., & Fincham, F. D. (2012). Beyond positive psychology? Toward a contextual view of psychological processes and well-being. American Psychologist, 67(2), 101.
Ref: 3888 Impact Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development A thematic analysis of the experiences of women participating in returnships in the UK. Lorena Gayoso-Aguado, UEL
This study recognises that highly educated professional women are choosing to temporarily step out of their career in order to be fully present at home during their children’s early years. However, those women who temporarily step outside their high-profile jobs to pursue life goals still report many difficulties when trying to return to their professional worlds. These difficulties appear to stem primarily from attitudes which are part of a workplace culture that values youth and presentism over age and experience. For women, who have chosen to stay at home for a period of time in order support their young families, the difficulties increase, which appears to be because as a society it is generally presumed both that women lack motivation to get back to work after raising children and that women would have lost their skills during the years they have been out of the workplace. Managers are likely to think that mothers will suffer from work-family conflict (Hoobler, Lemmon, & Wayne, 2011, p. 141) and, being the gate keepers to job opportunities, act as a major obstacle to women returners. Suk (Suck, 2010) also finds that employers “presume that a woman is likely to underperform at work due to conflicts between her duties at work and her family responsibilities” (Suk, 2010, p. 55). For mothers wishing to return after a career break, these barriers underwrite the prevailing dismissive narrative around women returners, all of which contributes to limiting self- belief, eroding confidence and deconstructing identity.
Recently highlighted issues over the gender pay gap within organisations, particularly at a senior level, and lack of female representation at board level, as well as the fact that the worth of staying at home mums is estimated it to be £62.5 billion to the UK economy (WorkThatWorks-Report.pdf, 2016) has prompted employers and policy makers to start to considering new ways in which to re- engage the lost talent that women returners represent and this has resulted in return to work programmes appearing in the public domain here in the UK. These programmes (otherwise known as ‘returnships’) have the potential to open up work engagement opportunities for talented professionals who had taken a career break, as well as bringing to the attention of organisational psychologist the issues faced be this particular group of talented professionals. There is currently an almost complete lack of research in terms of both returnships and women returners, with the UK Equalities Office calling for more evidence based opportunities to returners opening up at all levels. Tomlinson et al (Tomlinson, Olsen, & Purdam, 2009) argue that “despite their importance to the labour market, women returners and potential returners are under researched in terms of their employment profiles and work trajectories” (Tomlinson et al., 2009, p. 350) and Brown (Brown, 2010) points that research on “the decisions by upwardly mobile, educated management level women to leave or adjust their work lives following motherhood may perhaps be the most relevant and rich area for future research” (Brown, 2010, p. 490).
This study seeks to capture the themes that emerged from the experiences of eight women returners from different industries (law, civil engineering, finance, consulting, police force and insurance), each of whom had participated in a return to work programme in the UK. Data were analysed using a reflexive approach to “both reflect reality and to unpick or unravel the surface of reality” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 81) using Clarke & Braun thematic analysis method (Braun & Clarke, 2006). By creating a plausible and coherent thematic map of the women’s experiences of a returnship programme, the study seeks both to start filling the gaps in assessing returnships as a foreseeable recruitment strategy, but also to give voice tell the story of mothers wanting to re-enter the professional workplace after a career break, a 21st century perspective which assumes women to be talented professionals, as well as committed mothers ( just not all at the same time), and acknowledges women returners as a talent pool which is not currently being considered.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brown, L. M. (2010). The relationship between motherhood and professional advancement: Perceptions versus reality. Employee Relations; Bradford, 32(5), 470–494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01425451011061649
Hoobler, J. M., Lemmon, G., & Wayne, S. J. (2011). Women’s underrepresentation in upper management: New insights on a persistent problem. Organizational Dynamics, 40(3), 151–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.04.001
Suk, J. C. (2010). Are Gender Stereotypes Bad for Women? Rethinking Antidiscrimination Law and Work-Family Conflict. Columbia Law Review, 110(1), 1–69. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=47506508&site=ehost-live
Tomlinson, J., Olsen, W., & Purdam, K. (2009). Women Returners and Potential Returners: Employment Profiles and Labour Market Opportunities—A Case Study of the United Kingdom. European Sociological Review, 25(3), 349–363. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcn053
WorkThatWorks-Report.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://digitalmums.com/uploads/WorkThatWorks-Report.pdf
Ref: 3849 Impact Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Identitying managerial practices related to identity leadership in managers Shalin Gehlot, University of East London
Introduction: This paper assesses the participant’s scores on the identity leadership inventory (ILI) and compares it with the manager’s behavior and attitude in different situations like dealing with conflict, building rapport with employees, increasing team bonding etc. This study explores the way in which ILI can be used to find any patterns between levels of identity leadership and management styles. The main objectives of this study is to obtain data regarding managerial habits in relation to identity leadership and help fill in the gaps for the literature on leadership.
Design and Methods: The sample will consist of 10 participants. Ideally, I will look for 5 males and 5 females but if the study is taken up majorly by one group it will not be a considered an issue, as the study will not be looking for gender differences in managerial habits. All the participants interviewed for this study will be working at a managerial position or higher and will have 5 or more employees that they supervise. The participants will also be required to have at least 2 years of experience in the managerial position.
This volunteer position will be advertised to my professional contacts that qualify for the study located in India, USA, UK and Canada and also on professional platforms like LinkedIn. When the participants contact me regarding their interest to participate in the study, the participants will be sent the consent form and the information sheet regarding the study. The participants will be required to sign the online consent form and send it back to me. The participants will have the opportunity to contact me in order to learn more about the study before they sign the consent form. Once I have received the consent form, the participants will be sent the link to fill out ILI on Qualtrics and also two potential dates for the online interview.. The results from the ILI will not be seen until after the interview is taken to avoid any influence or resulting assumptions. The interview will last for an hour and will be conducted online through Skype/Facetime. The interviews will last for 1 hour.
The participants will have three weeks of time to opt out of the study. After those three weeks, I will start analyzing their data and it will not be possible for participants to withdraw their data anymore.
Materials and Measures
• Identity Leadership
After the participants agree to participate, they will have one week of time until they get interviewed. When the participants contact me with to volunteer in the study, they will be sent a link to the online survey on Qualtrics, which includes the ILI and two dates for the online interview. ILI is an inventory that measures identity across four different dimensions that are leader prototypicality, identity advancement, identity entrepreneurship and identity impresarioship. The participants will be asked to report their asnwers on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1-7; 1 being not at all representative and 7 being completely representative (Steffens et al., 2014). The Chronbach’s alpha for this scale- all correlations are significant with p< .001.
• Interview Guidelines
During the interview the participants will be required to answer open-ended questions regarding their managerial habits that they display at work. The participants will be asked about their everyday job, their tasks and the type of challenges they face. For example:
• How do you deal with a conflict between employees at work?
• Could you tell me about an instance where you had to resolve a conflict between employees?
• How do you make sure your employees feel connected as a group rather than individuals?
• How do you make people feel as a group working towards a shared goal rather than individuals working towards a different goal? • How do you deal with employees coming late at work?
Data Analysis: As mentioned above, the quantitative (Phase 1) and qualitative data (Phase 2) will be collected separately. I will determine the scores from the ILI and then use thematic analysis to examine any pattern or themes that emerge from the interview. The data from the ILI will only used to determine the level of identity leadership in each manager. The data from Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be matched using their unique id used on Qualtrics prior to data analysis. To further study the data, I will use thematic analysis to find any significant pattern shown by high/medium/low levels of identity leadership managers and their management styles.
Ethics and Risk Assessment: Due to the meeting conducted online, there will not be any security issue for the participants or me and hence the location for the interview will be based on any quiet place that can allow the participants and researcher to have a conversation freely and openly and without any interference. The audio recordings from the interview will also be stored on my personal laptop in a password-protected file and only I will have the access to them to ensure safety and confidentiality of the data. The files will be tagged with the unique id that each participant possesses.
Rationale for submission: The two subjects studies here: leadership and management hold significant weight in the workplace. Identity leadership is also one of the newer emerging topics in the field of leadership and hence my submission would be of great interest to academics and practitioners. Due to the fairly young age of identity leadership inventory and compelling evidence of its success in the recent past, the conference delegates will be educated about the latest developments in the field of leadership and management. My study is also one of the firsts to use a qualitative research approach to study leadership and management together and hence it will give us a deeper understanding of how the two variables are related and how they could be studied in the future research.
Ref: 4034 Invited Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(S) Mental ill-health care, sickness absence and well-being: What are the challenges and what works? Roxane Gervais, Independent Practitioner
This symposium considers the challenges of managing mental health problems at work and how employees could be better supported. This is a key issue in occupational psychology research and practice, so the session will have broad appeal. The symposium comprises four papers representing different perspectives on understanding and improving wellbeing and managing attendance behaviours at work: from occupational psychology, occupational health psychology, occupational psychiatry and occupational medicine. The need to adopt a systemic approach when developing interventions is emphasised where strategies are implemented and integrated at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The importance of increasing mutual understanding between professionals is highlighted to identify best practice in improving mental health at work. Each talk will consider the problem area, discuss ‘what works’ and identify priorities for research and practice. The symposium will conclude with a discussion of key issues on managing mental health and assisting employees in returning to work. Opportunities for interdisciplinary research and practice are also considered. Ref: 4029 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work Roxane Gervais, Independent Practitioner (1) Supporting return to work after ill health: Essential for high performing organisations
Return to work (RTW) programmes or policies are essential components of any organisation. While work should not cause ill health that results in workers having to step away from the organisation to improve their wellbeing, the reality is that health problems are pervasive in organisations. For example, in Great Britain, ill health statistics for 2017/2018 show that 595,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This figure includes new and long-standing conditions and equates to a prevalence rate of 1,800 per 100,000 workers, with 15.4 million days lost, averaging 25.8 days lost per case. Further, Great Britain’s Health and Safety Executive has estimated that work-related health problems cost £5.2 billion each year, where the costs to employers amounted to £1billion (Health and Safety Executive, no date, a, b; 2018). Clearly, the extent and wide-ranging costs of employee sickness are a major concern for many organisations. As well as the direct costs to employees and their families and the financial burden of sickness benefits and early retirement, ill health incurs more indirect costs, in terms of, for example, staff substitution/replacement, lost productivity and reduced quality of service. Financial pressures and feelings of obligation to their organisation and fellow workers may encourage presenteeism, where employees continue to work while unwell or return to work from sickness absence before they are fully recovered (Gervais, Weyman, & Williamson, 2008; Kinman, 2019). This practice may lead to negative consequences for organisations, such as reduced productivity, and for individuals, such as impaired health. Due to the impact of sickness absence, return to work procedures and practices are essential components of the work environment, as they help individuals remain functional while employed. There is evidence that work, especially if it is ‘good quality’ work, helps employees maintain optimum health (Coats & Lehki, 2008); in addition, research has found strong associations between worklessness and poor physical and mental health (Marmot, 2004; Waddell and Burton, 2006). However, the options that are available to assist workers when they return to work may not necessarily accommodate their needs, or help them remain in their previous or adjusted jobs. It is essential therefore that any procedures and practices meet the needs of people who have been absent from work through sickness and need a facilitated return. This presentation involves a structured literature review that determines the policies, practices and programmes that can effectively support workers in their return to work after periods of sickness absence. The findings indicate that return to work programmes are diverse and encompass different ways to assist workers in finding meaningful and suitable work following injury or illness (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety 2017). Overall, employers should use an evidence-informed approach in supporting workers’ return. It is important for programmes to be bespoke to the organisation to meet the specific adjustment and rehabilitation needs of workers. While the bespoke process is essential, there are various programmes that are likely to be helpful to organisations, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Examples include the IGLOO programme, an integrated framework that promotes the use of resources across the organisation (at the individual, the group, the leader and the organisational levels) to support individuals in returning to the workplace (Nielsen, Yarker, Munir, & Bültmann, 2018). Another programme that is likely to help employees return to work effectively, is an online toolkit that uses six steps, focusing on, for example, improving the communication process between employees and employers and enhancing their knowledge and skills (Kingston University et al., no date). Another option that employers might consider is adjustment latitude (Johansson, Lundberg & Lundberg, 2006); this involves giving workers the opportunity to select the work tasks and determine the pace that can accommodate their health constraints. This approach has been found to improve return to work experiences and may help individuals and organisations arrive at an acceptable solution for all. Ref: 4030 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(2) Sickness presenteeism: causes, consequences and management Gail Kinman, University of Bedfordshire
The overall level of sickness absence in the United Kingdom (UK) has declined since 2003 (ONS, 2016), but this does not mean that the working population is becoming healthier. Large scale surveys show that people are increasingly more likely to work through sickness or return to work before they are fully recovered. An annual survey conducted by the CIPD (2018) reported that around one-third of organisations that participated observed an increase in sickness presenteeism from the previous year. Presenteeism was found to be particularly common in the public sector and in larger organisations. Although working while not fully fit is not necessarily damaging and can aid recovery, evidence for its potentially damaging effects is growing. It is clearly important for organisations to take steps to reduce absenteeism and encourage staff back to work. Nonetheless, increasing awareness of the wide-ranging costs of presenteeism (Garrow, 2016) means that organisations should be aware of the factors that encourage such behaviour and the potential risks to employee wellbeing and productivity.
This presentation provides an overview of the prevalence of presenteeism and the contextual and individual difference factors that can underpin it. Also considered is the potential impact of working while sick on the wellbeing of employees themselves and the more indirect effects on others, such as co-workers and service users/patients. Research that has found links between presenteeism and impaired job performance is explored, along with the pathways that might explain these effects. The need for organisations to assess the risks of presenteeism and measure and manage it like other workplace hazards is highlighted along with ways this might be accomplished. Particular focus is placed on the implications of presenteeism for the current and future mental health of employees.
The talk draws on research conducted by the author with different groups of employees, many of whom work in safety-critical environments (|such as prison officers, healthcare professionals and academics) to illustrate the contextual, individual and relational causes of presenteeism (Kinman, 2019; Kinman & Wray, 2017; Kinman & Teoh, 2018). The reasons why people work while sick are influenced by occupational and organisational factors (such as job type, role and culture), but personal circumstances (such as financial position and sickness record) and individual attitudes (such as job involvement, commitment and feelings of responsibility) are also important. Stigma, especially in relation to disclosing work-related stress and mental health problems, appears to be a key factor that underpins presenteeism across occupational groups.
Multi-level, systemic approaches to managing presenteeism are required in order to develop a ‘healthy’ sickness absence culture. Such initiatives should encompass primary prevention, where risks factors are identified and wherever possible eliminated at source, as well as secondary or individual-level interventions. The role played by occupational psychologists in helping organisations manage presenteeism is considered. Future priorities are outlined, particularly the need to examine presenteeism in groups that have been little studied, such as among precarious workers, where it is likely to be particularly prevalent and potentially damaging.
References
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2018). https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/health- and-well-being-at-work_tcm18-40863.pdf
Garrow, V. Presenteeism: A Review of Current Thinking. Institute for Employment Studies (2016). http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/507_0.pdf
Kinman, G. (2019). Sickness presenteeism at work: prevalence, costs and management. British Medical Bulletin, 129(1), 69-78. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldy043
Kinman, G., Clements, A., & Hart, J. (2019). When are you coming back? Presenteeism in UK prison officers. The Prison Journal,99(3), 363-383.
Kinman, G. & Teoh, K. (2018). What could make a difference to the mental health of UK doctors: A review of the research evidence. The Louise Tebboth Foundation and the Society of Occupational Medicine. https://www.som.org.uk/new-report-reveals-uk-doctors-greater-risk-work-related-stress- burnout-and-depression-and-anxiety
Kinman, G. & Wray, K. (2018) Presenteeism in academic employees – occupational and individual factors. Occupational Medicine.68(1), 46-50 .
Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourprod uctivity/articles/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket/2016
Ref: 4031 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(3) Developing and sustaining psychological resilience at work through peer support Neil Greenberg, King's College London; Royal College of Psychiatrists
Exposure to workplace, and non-workplace, stressors can have a detrimental impact on the mental health of staff. This is important as poor mental health is associated with functional impairment and an increased potential for staff to develop mental health disorders. These concerns may, in turn, lead to people ceasing work which can have a knock-on impact on output and staff morale. As discussed in the previous presentation, presenteeism, which appears to be on the increase according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development(2018), is an important consideration for all organisations, as reduced productivity is likely to have a detrimental impact on output. Presenteeism is an especially important concern for people working in safety critical roles.
There is good evidence that many people find it difficult to seek help from professionals when they experience mental health difficulties(Borschmann et al. 2014). There are numerous barriers to help- seeking including self and public stigma, career fears and practical difficulties in accessing professional support(Jones et al., 2013). Such difficulties mean that the majority of the UK population who experience mental health disorders do not seek any professional support at all(NHS, 2014). This is highly unfortunate as early, effective, treatment of mental health disorders can prevent the loss of employment, relationships and self-esteem. However, there is also very good evidence that social support is generally protective of mental health and unsurprisingly there is a strong link between people feeling able to access social support at work and them reporting good mental health(Jones et al., 2012).
One way of enhancing social support at work, as well as providing an effective method of ‘early detection, is through the use of peer support programmes such as TRiM (trauma risk management) and Sustaining Resilience at work (StRaW) which aim to deal with traumatic and non-traumatic stressors respectively. Both programmes are evidence based and used in a number of large organisations across the UK and abroad. This presentation will provide an overview of the scientific rationale for implementing peer support networks as a method for improving psychological resilience and help-seeking within workplaces. It will briefly introduce two evidence-based models of peer support which are currently in use and discuss the evidence which supports the use of such an approach. This evidence is drawn from a wide range of organisations including the military, diplomatic and emergency services. The talk will aim to stimulate discussion as to how occupational psychologists can help organisations develop socially supportive workplaces.
References
Borschmann, R., Greenberg, N., Jones, N., & Henderson, R.C. (2014) Campaigns to reduce mental illness stigma in Europe: a scoping review. Die Psychiatrie, 11(1), 43-50.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2018). Presenteeism hits record high in UK organisations as stress at work rises. Available at https://www.cipd.co.uk/about/media/press/020518-health-wellbeing-survey
Jones, N., Seddon, R., Fear, N.T., McAllister, P., Wessely, S., & Greenberg N. (2012). Leadership, Cohesion, Morale, and the Mental Health of UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Psychiatry, 75(1), 49- 59. doi: 10.1521/psyc.2012.75.1.49.
Jones, N., Twardzicki, M., Fertout, M., Jackson, T., & Greenberg, N. (2013). Mental Health, Stigmatising Beliefs, Barriers to Care and Help-Seeking in a Non-Deployed Sample of UK Army Personnel. Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy,3:129.doi: 10.4172/2161-0487.1000129
NHS Digital. (2018). Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014. Available at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and- information/publications/statistical/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey/adult-psychiatric-morbidity- survey-survey-of-mental-health-and-wellbeing-england-2014
Ref: 4032 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(4) Transparency and Compassion in Workplace Mental Health John Gration, Representative member of the Mental Health (MH) Special Interest Group of the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM)
Some of the challenges of mental health problems at work and how the related needs of workers can be supported has been explored by previous speakers. This theme will be continued from my perspective of an experienced occupational physician who has worked in a number of employment sectors, to help encourage you, as occupational psychologists, in our collaborative goal to make the world of work a better and healthier place. The SOM represents many occupational health (OH) professionals (SOM, 2019). This presentation gives personal thoughts and opinions on this broad topic.
OH is primarily an advisory and preventive specialty which seeks to nurture health, safety and wellbeing, and thereby reduce health risks that may exist at work as part of the canvas of working life. A national Fit for Work service was trialled in recent years and failed. It aspired to be accessible for all including employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or the self-employed, who usually have no other OH services.
The main focus and conduit for UK healthcare is the General Practitioner (GP), whose broad role is in primary health matters such as the assessment, management and referral of patients presenting to them. GP service manageability is reliant on short consultations and the available support of National Health Service (NHS) or NHS affiliated services, and to a much lesser extent, other health services or professionals, including psychologists. Services for mental health include whatever psychiatric and psychological/counselling services may be commissioned and available locally, or other services GPs or their patients may be aware of. Private healthcare services are available, also often via GP referral.
The shared understanding, uptake and utilisation of healthcare services is variable. The working well may typically (especially men) access GP services infrequently, sometimes because of how such services are organised. This may be an issue in relation to the challenges of managing presenteeism. In this NHS context, how can we adopt a systemic approach to implementing intervention at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels? In practice, the following approaches by the multi- disciplinary OH team – of which psychologists and occupational psychologists can play an important part – may help to determine what is really affecting the health of people who work (transparency). This can thereby help with compassionate solution-finding to prevent or address MH issues at work, which can have wide ramifications:
What predisposed the employee to be absent from work? Confidential discussion with the employee patient helps to determine whether, and if so which, organisational, relational, workplace or external / other factors may have led to illness or related illness behaviour – such as self-certification or GP certification from work. Often the primary causes for absence are not work-related, sometimes even when work is cited and the GP Fit Note states, for example, ‘work-related stress’. As the patient’s advocate the GP will rarely if ever indicate anything remotely critical or questioning about the patient or their alleged concerns. Fit Note completion may be very poorly evidence-based and hearsay from the patient may, for a number of reasons, be written on it. Root cause understanding should be sought by the OH team, who usually have much more time to do this than GPs, to discover what is actually going on in the context of work and health. This usually reveals what may have led to problems and how these might have been prevented, and how recurrence may be averted. Prolonged sickness absence from work very rarely resolves work-related stress perceptions for example, whereas transparency and compassionate collaboration at work can do so.
What precipitated the absence from work, or in some cases what facilitated or enabled sickness absence to occur, which might have been avoided? Was it the lack of communications, should the employee have flagged concerns earlier and if so why was that the case, or was there a simple trigger or ‘final straw’ that led the person to absent themselves from work? We know that the best achievable sickness absence levels are typically between one and two per cent, but many organisations’ sickness absence levels are three or more times that figure, which indicates that a considerable proportion of sickness absence may be behavioural, i.e. some people decide not to attend work and provide self-certification or obtain GP certification accordingly. Good understanding of employees by their employer, which is done through their managers, is key. Such relationships help to maintain good morale and positive workplace psychology and meet ‘psychological contract’ expectations. We all want or need to feel valued.
What perpetuates ongoing MH issues at work? Management texts resound with the importance of transparency, communication, focus on solutions and review, and “win-win” approaches that often exemplify what compassion is in practice. People want to contribute to and be respected and valued in their work. Managers who recognise these realities and manage them well can be worth their weight in Valium. The Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards, and their accompanying stress risk assessments, reflect constructive discussion and record agreed action plans which help to reduce MH risks and enhance wellbeing at work (HSE, 2019): manageable workloads, management support and communication, good quality relationships in the workplace, positive management of change, clarity of role and respect for the employee’s contribution. They are often applied only when problems or stress-related sickness absence arise but can be used more proactively to help prevent work health problems and create more collaborative, transparent and compassionate work relationships and environments.
The steps which may have been agreed in HSE’s Management Standards stress risk assessments should be reviewed periodically by the manager with the employee. The employee should be made clearly aware of their responsibilities, for example to flag up early and help to resolve any work- related health or safety concerns – as enshrined in the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974). It is naive to think that, even with the best will and plans in the world, MH problems at work might not recur. Good collaboration in planning, implementing and following up with employees, can all help to lessen the chance that they will.
References:
Health and Safety Executive. (online).What are the Management Standards?Available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/index.htm
Society of Occupational Medicine. (2019).Mental health and the workplace. A guide for line managers. Available at https://www.som.org.uk/sites/som.org.uk/files/Mental_health_and_the_workplace_2019.pdf
Nicholson PJ, Gration J. What occupational medicine offers to primary care. British Journal of General Practice2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp17X692213
Ref: Workshop Topic: Career Development
Writing for OP Matters Robert Goate, Division of Occupational Psychology
OP Matters is the quarterly journal for the DOP, going out to 4000 members in either paper or electronic format. It aims to represent the successes, challenges, opinions and actions of the DOP, its members, the BPS and the wider occupational psychology community. If you'd like to find out how to submit work to the journal, and to find out how to get published, come along to the session to meet the editor, Rob Goate.
Ref: 3752 Impact Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Gender influence on perceptions of psychosocial risks & efficacy of stress- management interventions Joanne Gray, Birkbeck, University of London Research Introduction / Rationale: The disparity in the prevalence of reported work related stress was the starting point for this research project; it guided me to wanting to find out whether there are differences in perceptions of work related stress amongst men and women, and whether women do in fact appraise stress more gravely than their male counterparts. Given the psychological impact for individuals suffering from ill-health caused by stress and the cost to organisations and the economy at large, I was also motivated to find out if some stress management interventions are perceived to be more effective than others and again whether gender influences those perceptions. Randall and Nielsen (2010: P117) suggest that perception is a key component in the experience of work stress; therefore it is also likely to play a major role in how employees respond to interventions, in that if an intervention is perceived to be effective then it will have a better chance of combatting stress.
My hope is organisations will be encouraged to move from a ‘one size fits’ all approach to workplace wellbeing and that in time we will start to see a downward trajectory in the statistics related to work related stress, depression or anxiety in the UK.
Research Methodology & Analysis: A cross-sectional qualitative study involving focus groups and one to one interviews was carried out with head office staff at a medium sized retailer in England.
Participants were purposefully recruited for the study: 12 employees (6 male, 6 female), who were representative across different job bands and who were at different stages of their career, using Hall & Mansfield’s (1975) career stage labels. In order to provide a useful comparison of experiences and establish similarities and differences across the two groups, I used matched male and female samples, based on age / career life stage.
The first data collection method involved running two 1.5 hour focus groups, one with the six female participants and one with the six male participants, aimed at getting participants to work together to develop a risk assessment of the psychosocial risks they perceived to exist within the organisation using the six areas of work design outlined in the Health Safety Executive Framework (2017).
The second stage of data collection involved face-to-face interviews with each of the twelve participants (mean average interview length was 56 minutes). The one to one interviews were aimed specifically at exploring perspectives on the perceived efficacy of stress-management interventions and enabled individual perceptions and emergent issues to be identified.
In analysing the data, I have taken an interpretivist approach using template analysis, which is better for comparing differences in shared perspectives of different groups (King, 2004) than thematic analysis or discourse analysis.
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards Framework provides a useful approach to outlining six key areas of work design that if not managed properly would be regarded as psychosocial risk that are associated with poor health and well-being. The framework covers the following areas of work design: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change.
Cooper & Cartwright (1997) outline three main approaches to developing intervention strategies to reduce workplace stress and improve wellbeing: primary interventions that aim to eliminate sources of stress; secondary interventions that are designed to detect & manage stress, usually at an individual-level; and tertiary interventions that are more concerned with the therapeutic treatment & recovery. Giga et al. (2003), present meta-analysis of efficacy of stress management interventions and conclude there is still a tendency to focus on individual interventions.
A number of studies highlight gender differences in relation to job stressors and strains; the ‘social / psychological hypothesis’ suggests that women and men appraise stressful situations differently (Jick & Mitz, 1985, Michael et al., 2009) and on the whole studies tend to highlight how women report higher levels of stress than men (Micheal et al., 2009; Misra et al., 2000). Building on this, the ‘differential vulnerability hypothesis’ suggests that when faced with identical stressors, women will tend to perceive them as more stressful than men will (Roxburgh, 1996).
With regard to gender differences regarding specific psychosocial risks and in considering role related risks, the notion of ambiguity intolerance is of interest. Ambiguity intolerance can be used to explain why people may act differently in complex situations and has been associated with poor task performance, increased strain and lower job satisfaction (Eylon & Bamberger, 2000. Intolerance of ambiguity (Frenkel-Brunswik, 1949) refers to an individual’s tendency to construe ambiguous situations as a potential source of threat or discomfort (Rosen et al., 2014). Role stress is thought to manifest when there is ambiguity in relation to incompatible expectations and / or vague expectations for individuals working in an organization (Kim et al., 2009). Overall the literature suggests that men tend to be more intolerant of ambiguity than women (Kim et al., 2009; Karatepe et al., 2006; Siguaw & Hoenycutt Jr, 1995; Rotter & O’Connell, 1982).
Building on the idea of social norms, in relation to risks associated with relationships and support; there is an argument that gender roles representing learned patterns of behaviour associated with stereotypically masculine or feminine characteristics determine behaviour and attitudes (Brewer et al., 2002) which may therefore influence perceptions of psychosocial risks. Gardiner and Tiggemann (1999) found that women reported higher levels of job stressors in terms of a lack of power in the organisation, resulting in a perception that they face greater pressure from office politics than men do. Linked to this idea of socialisation theory and prescriptive gender stereotypes (Heilman, 2012), it has been suggested that women are more sensitive to social cues and therefore have a heightened awareness of what is and isn’t regarded as appropriate behaviour, when compared to men (Gilligan, 1982).
In moving on to consider gender implications related to stress management interventions and specifically with regard to the notion of flexibility; gendered work practices dating back to the industrial revolution are argued to be enduring in many organisations even today (Chatarakul Na Ayudhya & Lewis, 2010). Whilst there is a notable shift in work-based practices in relation to flexible working, it is argued that ‘family-friendly’ working practices are still very much designed around being able to accommodate women’s domestic responsibilities (Dick & Nadin, 2006) as such issues relating to management discretion around flexible working can then influence perceptions of unfairness, which is believed to impact on morale (Chatarakul Na Ayudhya & Lewis, 2010). As a result, despite much progress in de-gendering flexibility and framing it around work-life balance.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme?
Whilst there is a plethora of research that explores the relationship between gender and stress manifestation, the approach to frameworks for how organizations may tackle workplace wellbeing issues are universal in nature. There appears to be little research that simultaneously explores the relationship between gender, the felt experience of psychosocial risks at work and perceptions around effective interventions to counteract work related stress. This research project responds to a call for more depth to be added to the existing research literature and more insight into who is likely to profit from which type of workplace stress management intervention programme and under what circumstances, which demonstrates a practical application of scientific theory.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
There are four themes from this research that I believe could be presented well using the 10 minute impact paper session, these are: gender differences in perceptions of psychosocial risks relating to i. ambiguity intolerance and ii. socialization theories of interpersonal relationships; and a no difference hypothesis with regard to perceived efficacy of interventions with a focus on the importance of iii. flexibility and iv. communication, which have interestingly been very much grounded in feminine gender norms and gendered practices within organizations.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
I believe it is novel in introducing the potential gendered nature of intolerance of ambiguity theory to perceptions of role conflict, which may have implications not only for well-being strategies, but may also play a key role in the development of more effective performance management systems.
I also believe it is important to highlight the potential impact of power, politics and relationships at work and how this can manifest into negative felt experiences, particularly for women.
Highlighting the universal appeal of primary interventions of flexible working practices and effective communication in preventing work-related stress is a call to arms for organizations to step up and make positive changes that should benefit everyone. It is also a challenge to breakdown gendered norms in organizations; as is it argued that flexibility which derived from ‘family-friendly policies’ aimed at mobilizing women in work, and the need for better communication in organizations are both rooted in feminine discourse.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
I would hope that there might be elements of my presentation that delegates can relate to and also elements that they potentially hadn’t considered which would be stimulating.
Being an exploratory and qualitative study, I would also hope that some of the insights I am presenting might be considered interesting enough for quantitative researchers to want to take forward to evaluate more generalizable correlations.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Work related stress, depression or anxiety accounts for 40% of all work related ill- health and almost half of all working days lost due to ill health. Yet in 2018 over 50% of organizations did not have a well-being strategy (REBA, 2018). There has been a tendency for organizations to focus on secondary or tertiary interventions to alleviate work related stress (Grawitch et al, 2015), which is argued to act as a sticking plaster not a cure. This present study reinforces the that whilst men and women may perceive and evaluate stressful situations differently, their perspectives converge when it comes to the importance of primary interventions of flexible working arrangements and effective communication, which are universally perceived to be effective in counter-acting the demands of work and the pace of change in modern working environments.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? Electronic copies of slides
Ref: 4028 Invited Speaker Topic: Well-being and Work Managing traumatic stress in the workplace. Neil Greenberg, King’s College London; Royal College of Psychiatrists
Many organisations, such as the emergency services, military and some healthcare or social services providers, routinely expose their employees to traumatic material. Whilst only a minority of employees exposed to such events go on to develop formal mental health difficulties, trauma-exposed organisations have a duty of care to take mitigate the impact of traumatic events on their staff as much as they can reasonably can. The early and effective management of traumatic stress reactions is often complicated by unhelpful and inaccurate media reporting which suggests that distress should be managed by healthcare professionals providing direct care to individuals who have not developed formal mental health disorders. It is thus perhaps understandable that management faced with distressed individuals will assume that the correct intervention is healthcare-focused when in fact the available evidence does not support such views. This presentation will provide an overview of the evidence on this topic from a preventative medicine viewpoint[1]. Specifically, the information presented will look at what the published evidence suggests can be done to prevent workers from being adversely affected by trauma, detecting early on when they have been and treating those who do unfortunately develop a formal mental health disorder in an effective and timely manner[2]. The talk will cover topics such as the impact of managers and colleagues on mental health, stigma and failing to seek help for mental health problems, psychological health screening[3], peer support programmes[4], active monitoring and the short-term management of traumatic stress reactions and evidence-based approaches to treatment[5]. Specific attention will be paid to the recommendations of the 2018 NICE guidelines on the management of PTSD and the UK Psychological Trauma Society guidelines[6]on managing traumatic stress in the workplace. Attendees will leave appraised of the current evidence which will hopefully stimulate discussion and debate on this important topic.
[1]Brooks S, Rubin JG and Greenberg N. Managing traumatic stress in the workplace. Occup Med (Lond). 2019 Feb 7;69(1):2-4. [2]Brooks, S.K., Rubin, G.J. & Greenberg, N. (2018). Traumatic stress within disaster-exposed occupations: overview of the literature and suggestions for the management of traumatic stress in the workplace. British Medical Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldy040 [3]Rona RJ, Burdett H, Khondoker M, Chesnokov M, Green K, Pernet D, Jones N, Greenberg N, Wessely S, Fear NT. Post-deployment screening for mental disorders and tailored advice about help-seeking in the UK military: a cluster randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. 2017 Apr 8;389(10077):1410-1423 [4]Hunt E, Jones N, Hastings V and Greenberg N. TRiM: an organizational response to traumatic events in Cumbria Constabulary. Occup Med (Lond) 2013 Dec;63(8):549-55. [5]National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). NICE guideline [NG116] Published date: December 2018. [6]http://www.ukpts.co.uk/site/assets/UKPTS-Guidance-Document-120614.pdf
Ref: 3834 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Under-representation of women and minority leaders, over time and with personality John Hackston, Thomas Ticheuer The Myers-Briggs Company Introduction: Women make up less than 10% of executive directorships in FTSE100 companies (Vinnicombe, Doldor & Sealy, 2018), despite evidence that firms with female representation on the board perform better (Conyon & He, 2017). Less than 4% of executive directors in the top 150 FTSE companies describe themselves as black or minority ethnic (Spencer Stuart, 2017). Considering gender and ethnicity separately may be inadequate if there is an interaction between ethnicity and gender in how leaders construct their role; Showunmi, Atewologun & Bebbington (2015) found that white women leaders and minority ethnic women leaders defined leadership in different ways and had differing views on leadership barriers. Personality may also have a role to play; for example, women are more likely to have an interpersonally focussed, values-driven decision-making style (Eagly & Johnson, 1990). Hackston (2017) found that for women, personality differences in decision- making style between leaders and lower-level employees were much greater than the equivalent differences for men, suggesting that a preference for values-based decision-making may affect promotion prospects for women, but not for men.
This quantitative study used a large dataset to investigate the relationship between gender, ethnicity, personality and level of seniority, in order to investigate the following hypotheses:
• Female and minority ethnic individuals would be under-represented at senior levels in organizations, with minority ethnic women the most effected
• The size of these effects should have decreased over the last 15 years, but will still be significant
• There will be personality differences, in particular in decision-making style, between leaders and other employees, but these differences would be greater for women than for men.
Methodology: The study comprised 1,799,429 individuals who had completed the US English Form M version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment (Myers et al, 1998) between 2004 and 2018, as part of a wide range of development programmes. The assessment measures four dimensions, Extraversion/Introversion (where we get our energy from), Sensing/Intuition (what information we prefer), Thinking/Feeling (what process we use to make decisions) and Judging/Perceiving (whether we prefer living in a more structured or more open way). Within the (US-based) sample, 52% were female and 29% self-identified as belonging to a minority ethnic group, with “Latino, Latina or Hispanic” the most frequent individual choice (7%). Mean age was 39 years; a range of occupational levels and occupational types were represented.
Results: As predicted, female and minority ethnic individuals were under-represented at senior levels. For example, 13% of men reached executive or senior management level but under 8% of women. Amongst minority groups, those identifying as “Latino, Latina or Hispanic” and as “Asian” were especially under-represented.
% of % of % of Level % of men women majority minority Executive/Top executive 3.3 1.6 2.5 1.7 Senior Management 10.1 6.2 8.7 5.9 Middle Management 33.3 25.7 29.5 24.9 1st Line Management 16.2 13.2 14.3 14.7 Non-Supervisory 27.7 39.7 34.8 36.8 employee Entry-level employee 9.4 13.6 10.3 15.9 χ2 = 51418, sig 0.000 χ2 = 15562, sig 0.000
As predicted minority ethnic women were particularly affected. Just over 14% of majority men reached executive or senior management level, but less than 6% of minority women.
% of Male % of Female % of Male % of Female Level Majority Majority Minority Minority Executive/Top executive 3.4 1.7 2.4 1.2 Senior Management 10.9 6.6 7.5 4.7 Middle Management 32.8 26.4 29.6 21.3 1st Line Management 15.8 13.0 16.7 13.2 Non-Supervisory 28.7 40.4 30.4 41.7 Employee Entry-Level Employee 8.4 12.0 13.4 17.8
The number of women at senior levels increased from 2004 to 2018, but women were still under- represented in 2018. In the chart below, the percentages show the observed number of women at each level divided by the number that would be expected by chance, given the total number of men and women in the sample. For example, in 2004 only just over half (56%) the number of women that would be expected made it to Executive level (given the percentage of women in the whole sample and the percentage of the total sample at Executive level).
Across the time period, there is no such consistent trend for minority leaders, but rather a downward trend to 2009 and an upward trend thereafter; this will be explored in more detail in our presentation.
Previous research (e.g. Myers et al, 1998; OPP Ltd, 2016) has demonstrated that personality preferences for Extraversion, Intuition and Thinking are over-represented at more senior levels, and that men are more likely than women to have preferences for Thinking. This was also found in the current data; in addition, that those identifying as being from a minority group were less likely to have an Intuitive preference than those from a majority group.
%Thinking % Intuitive Level Male Female Majority Minority Executive/Top 75.6 57.0 54.8 47.4 executive Senior Management 79.8 61.8 49.4 42.1 Middle Management 80.6 58.3 39.9 32.9 1st Line Management 78.3 52.0 34.1 26.9 Non-Supervisory 73.9 35.9 38.6 30.7 Employee Entry-Level Employee 69.0 38.8 38.9 31.8
A univariate analysis of variance revealed that gender, majority/minority and each aspect of personality had a significant impact on occupational level, with gender, Thinking-Feeling and then majority/minority showing the greatest effect size. The analysis also showed a significant interaction effect between gender and Thinking-Feeling. This is reflected in the table above. For men, there was a difference of 6.6 percentage points between Executive and Entry Level; for women, the difference was 18.2 percentage points.
Summary and Conclusions: Women and those who identify as minority ethnic are under- represented at senior levels in organizations, with minority ethnic women the most effected; while this under-representation has decreased somewhat over the last 15 years, there is still a significant effect. Personality differences in preferences for taking in information (Sensing/Intuition) and decision-making (Thinking/Feeling) exacerbate these effects for minority groups and women respectively.
While the under-representation of women and minority groups at senior-levels is well-known, the interaction with personality is less well-documented. Occupational psychologists are well-placed to promote awareness of these issues with their clients and in so doing help reduce barriers to advancement. On an individual basis, we can help managers and others to see that, for example, including a consideration of people and values in their decisions could be a useful and valid thing to do; a similar approach can be used to help teams to see the importance of this approach. Moving up to the level of the organisation is difficult, but not impossible, especially if there is ongoing support.
The presentation will explore these issues in more detail and discuss other results, for example taking in some surprising findings regarding female under-representation and type of occupation. It will also include interactive elements and time for questions, and attendees can be provided with PDF copies of the presentation.
References
Conyon, M. J., & He, L. (2017). Firm performance and boardroom gender diversity: A quantile regression approach. Journal of Business Research, 79, 198-211
Dezső, C. L., David Gaddis Ross, D. G. & Uribe, J. (2015). Is there an implicit quota on women in top management? A large-sample statistical analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 27(1), 98-115
Eagly, A.H. & Johannesen-Schmidt. M.C. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: a meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569– 591
Hackston, J. (2017). Decisions, decisions? The implications of gender differences in decision-making style and self-confidence. Assessment & Development Matters, 9(2), 8-11.
Myers, I. B., McCaulley, M. H., Quenk, N. L., & Hammer, A. L. (1998). MBTI® Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (3rd ed). Mountain View, CA: CPP Inc.
OPP Ltd. (2016). MBTI Step I Instrument: European Data Supplement. Oxford: OPP
Showunmi, V., Atewologun, D. & Bebbington, D. (2015). Ethnic, gender and class intersections in British women’s leadership experiences. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(6), 917-935
The 2018 UK Spencer Stuart Board Index. Spencer Stuart.
Vinnicombe, S., Doldor, E., & Sealy, S. (2018). The Female FTSE Board Report 2018: Busy Going Nowhere with The Female Executive Pipeline. Cranfield University.
Ref: 3924 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work How secure are you? Links between personality and cybersecurity attitudes and behaviour John Hackston, The Myers-Briggs Company Introduction: The World Economic Forum identifies data fraud and cyberattack as major issues facing society (World Economic Forum, 2019). In a 2019 survey of 1,700 IT professionals, 78% reported a successful cyberattack within the last year (Cyberedge Group, 2019), seeing detection of rogue insiders and other insider attacks as one of the threats organizations are least prepared for. Rogue insiders are current or former employees, contractors or others who can access an organization’s IT network or systems and who have carried out malicious attacks. While much research has focused on these rogue insiders (for example, Cappelli and Trzeciak, 2012), less attention has been paid to the unintentional or accidental insider. These do not have malicious intent but have compromised an organization’s IT network or systems via their accidental actions. They can be equally as damaging as malicious insiders, and many organizations have put much effort into staff training and education in order to mitigate this threat. Indeed, this “human factor” is often seen as the weak link in information security (Metalidou et al, 2014). However, a “one size fits all” approach may not always be effective, and it would be advantageous if employees could identify their individual susceptibility to different cyberthreats.
Several specialised scales have been developed to examine the human factors influencing security behaviour and thereby how likely an employee is to become an accidental insider, or how personality relates to what attacks an individual is more susceptible to. These include the Security Behaviour Intention Scale (SeBIS: Egleman and Peer, 2015) and the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS_Q: Parsons et al, 2014). These are, however, for the most part specialised research instruments, not widely used by organizations. Conversely, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) model of personality (Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, & Hammer, 1998) is already widely used for self-development by organizations and individuals (Furnham, 2017). It therefore provides a useful starting point for personality-based guidelines for the many people who already know their MBTI personality type. This study set out to identify the relationship between the MBTI model and cybersecurity behaviour, and thereby develop such guidelines. It is the first to look specifically at how MBTI type relates to cybersecurity, and one of only a small number to address the link between cybersecurity behaviour and personality.
Methodology: Data was collected via online survey from participants who had previously completed the MBTI questionnaire and had feedback to help them decide their true or ‘best-fit’ personality type. The MBTI measures four dimensions, Extraversion/Introversion (E or I: where we get our energy from), Sensing/Intuition (S or N: what information we prefer), Thinking/Feeling (T or F: what process we use to make decisions) and Judging/Perceiving (J or P: whether we prefer living in a more structured or more open way). Participants also completed biographical and job-related information, and questions relating to cybersecurity behaviours (suggested by previous research: Egelman and Peer, 2015; Parsons et al, 2014; Whitty et al, 2015). They were also asked about their experiences of phishing and given right/wrong cybersecurity knowledge questions.
Data collection is ongoing, with further campaigns planned. This submission presents preliminary results based on 520 respondents, but the final presentation will include additional data (target n ≈ 1,000). The current sample was 63% female and 36% male (1% preferred not to say or preferred to self-describe); age ranged from 20 to 73 years with an average (mean) of 41. A range of nationalities, job types, job levels and types of organization were represented.
Preliminary Results: There is insufficient space here to describe the results in full; a selection of the preliminary findings is presented. 64% of respondents reported that they had experienced phishing or other cyberattacks in the last year, 29% in the last month, and 14% in the last week. Men were more likely to report these incidents than women, as were those in sales, service and related roles.
Most took cybersecurity seriously; 81% agreed or strongly agreed that “A data breach would be disastrous for my organization” and only 14% agreed or strongly agreed that “If my organization did have a data breach, it would only be a public relations issue”. Based on one-way ANOVAs, those working in an IT organization were significantly more likely to agree with the first statement, as were those working in larger organizations; the owners or CEOs of smaller organizations were less likely to agree.
Four scales of security-related attitude and behaviour were developed, in addition to short scales of job satisfaction and job-related stress. All had adequate to good internal consistency reliabilities:
Scale Alpha No. Items Follows security rules and 0.796 11 procedures Impatience and risk-taking 0.725 4 Proactive security awareness 0.757 8 Secures devices and passwords 0.640 6 Job satisfaction 0.824 4 Job-related stress 0.783 2
Those who scored highly on the right/wrong questions also had higher scores on Follows security rules and procedures, Proactive security awareness and Secures devices and passwords. There were also personality-related differences. The following table shows significant differences (5% level or better, independent-variables t-test) between preference pairs, together with the direction of the difference. For example, those with a preference for Introversion had a significantly higher score on Proactive security awareness than those with a preference for Extraversion. All showed a small to moderate effect size.
Cohen Cohen Cohen Cohen E-I S-N T-F J-P d d d d Follows security rules and - - - - - J 0.33 procedures Proactive security awareness I 0.22 - - T 0.37 - - Secures devices and passwords - - S 0.21 - - - - Job satisfaction E 0.25 ------
These differences, together with responses to individual items, will be used to develop behavioural guidelines for each MBTI type. For example, those with type preferences for ESTP are the most likely to ignore security rules, believing that many of these rules don’t apply to them, whereas those with preferences for Sensing and Feeling (SF) can be too trusting of public Wi-Fi networks.
Discussion and Conclusions: Cyberattacks are a major threat to business; insider attacks, including accidental insiders, are problems that many organizations are not prepared for. Occupational psychologists have a role to play, by carrying out research into cybersecurity behaviour and applying these findings to the workplace. This study suggests that many will have experienced phishing attacks in the last year. The difference between men and women was not predicted, though a limitation of this study is that it was based on self-report data; men may be more likely to notice a phishing attack or be more willing to characterise an approach as phishing, rather than being more likely to be the target of such an attack. Those at senior levels in smaller organizations may not be taking cybersecurity sufficiently seriously.
The four scales of cybersecurity-related attitude and behaviour will be refined and used to develop a short questionnaire that will be shared with attendees and used along with the right/wrong questions as part of a practical exercise to help delegates gauge their own cybersecurity awareness. Behavioural guidelines for each MBTI type will be shared, and attendees will be able to take away copies of these and the cybersecurity questionnaire; PDF copies of the presentation slides will also be made available.
Though the focus of this research has been on the behaviour of individuals at work, many of the findings will also be applicable to security practices at home, in particular the personality-based guidelines. We all have the potential to be our own accidental insiders,
References
Cappelli. D., Moore, A., & Trzeciak, R. (2012). The CERT Guide to Insider Threats. Academic Press.
Cyberedge Group (2019). 2019 Cyberthreat Defense Report.
Egleman, S., & Peer, E. (2015). Scaling the security wall: Developing a Security Behavior Intentions Scale (SeBIS). Proceedings of the ACM CHI’15 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, I, 2873-2882
Furnham, A. (2017). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds), The SAGE Handbook of Personality and Individual Differences. New York: Sage.
Metalidou. E., Marinagi, C., Trivellas, P., Eberhagen, N., Skourlas, C., & Giannakopoulos, G. (2014). The human factor of information security: Unintentional damage perspective. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 147, 424-428
Myers, I. B., McCaulley, M. H., Quenk, N. L., & Hammer, A. L. (1998). MBTI Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (3rd Ed). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
Parsons, K., McCormac, A., Butavicius, M., Pattinson, M., & Jerram, C. (2014). Determining employee awareness using the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q). Computers & Security, 42, 165-176.
Whitty, M., Doodson, J., Creese, S., & Hodges, D. (2015). Individual differences in cyber security behaviors: An examination of who is sharing passwords. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking 18(1), 3-7.
World Economic Forum (2019). The Global Risks Report 2019 (14th Edition). World Economic Forum, Geneva.
Ref: 3967 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Thin blue line: Risk Type Personality Traits in Police Officers, Psychological Capital & Engagement Katerina Hadjipetrou, Northumbria University
Policing is known globally to be one of the more stressful, higher risk and at times dangerous occupations (Lambert et al., 2017). In comparison to all occupations in the UK, statistics have shown that police officers are twelve times more likely to encounter physical assault, as well as being four times more likely to suffer a severe injury. The same statistical research has also shown that stress, anxiety and depression rates exceed those of alternative occupations (HSE, 2013). Furthermore, a detailed report examining the increase of work absenteeism within officers suggests that stress has a key impact on work absence, with results showing resilience as playing a moderating role (Violanti et al., 2014). Stress and reduced performance are considered as an imbalance between resources and demands (Xanthopoulou et al., 2007), therefore research shows that a decrease to resources (such as the drop in financial capital, decrease of officers in service) directly impacts the demands (the increase in crime, increased workload), resulting in a substantial influence on the rise of stress, anxiety, absenteeism depression and suicide (Violanti et al., 2014, Lambert et al., 2014). Personal resources such as Psychological Capital, a higher order construct made up of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, has a positive relationship with work engagement (Karatepe et al., 2015) and negative relationship with stress levels (Xanthopoulou et al., 2007), and contains the ability to impact the outcomes of work performance and overall well-being (Avey et al., 2009; Youssef et al., 2015). Personal resources influence the level of stress and burnout individuals will encounter, there is an abundance of research looking at the relationship of personality with factors associated with workplace stress, engagement, burnout, anxiety etc, as well as with relationships of the Five Factor Model with Psychological Capital. The most consistent findings include a negative relationship between personality trait neuroticism and PsyCap with conscientiousness emotional stability and extraversion having a stronger positive relationship (Brandt et al., 2011). At a more subtheme level, neuroticism is also negatively correlated with resilience (Choi et al., 2014) while conscientiousness and agreeableness are both positively correlated with work engagement (Akhtar et al., 2015) Furthermore, though personality is a more stable construct, research shows that psychological capital and engagement are malleable through intervention and have significant relationships with well-being and job performance (Brandt et al., 2011; Gillet et al., 2013; Luthans et al., 2015), as well as being negatively related to stress, anxiety and depression (Luthans et al., 2007; Barr, 2018, Shi et al., 2015).
Although research has been conducted regarding personality and engagement, personality and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) (Brandt et al., 2011) and PsyCap with engagement (Karatepe, 2015), there is no research to the researcher’s knowledge that investigates the relationships between psychological capital, engagement and risk-taking personality traits in police officers. Given the risk related nature of the job, and the extensive research FFM of personality has previously received in relation to stress burnout psychological capital and engagement, the researcher has selected the risk type compass, as an alternative and relevant personality measure. This research will provide an understanding of the relationship of the Risk Types in police officers, their psychological capital and their levels of engagement. As there are 9 risk Types, 4 subcategories in PsyCap as well as 3 facets of engagement, there is a potential to investigate several areas of interest with this proposed study. Previous research has shown that Police Officers have a larger distribution in ‘wary’ personality types (Toms, 2016), which is highly risk averse with emotionality. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships between psychological capital as an alternative form of resources in police officers against their personality traits, to develop an understanding of their psychological needs and the relationship between these factors in predicting their levels of engagement. If the results show there is a common risk type among officers, and there is a relationship with a sub-variable in PsyCap or engagement there is the potential to provide an insight into developing targeted evidence-based interventions depending on the personality groups. As PsyCap and engagement are so vast, a lot of time and resources may be wasted on areas that are not of importance, with little attention given to the relevant areas which require developing. The idea is that a narrower and more targeted, rather than a broad approach will be more beneficial and potentially have a stronger impact on officer well-being in the longer term.
Method: The study is conducted using quantitative methods of research. Data collection is via online surveys. Psychological Capital Questionnaire, a higher order construct of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism (Avey et al., 2009), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale survey (Schaufeli et al., 2006) and the BPS registered Risk Type Compass Index, containing 18 subthemes of the Risk Type Compass draw from the Five-Factor Model of Personality to measure the ‘risk-relevant’ personality traits of individuals. The subthemes combine to form two bi-polar scales; the [Daring:Measured] and [Emotional:Calm]. The scales combine to create the Risk Tolerance Index (RTi). Participants score on each scale, and these two scores combine to locate them on the compass. The result is a 360° spectrum that comprises of nine Risk Types. Analysis of over 13 thousand participants indicates that these Risk Types are relatively evenly distributed across the general population
Participants: The sample group consist of active police officers in the general UK region of any age, gender, and experience. It is anticipated that between 80-100 people will participate in the research.
Hypotheses:
H1: Police Officers will have a significantly larger degree of Wary, when compared to the norm group.
H2: Psychological Capital will predict Engagement.
H3: The Emotional:Calm scale, Daring:Measured scale and overall Risk Tolerance Index score will be related to Psychological Capital and Engagement.
Ethical considerations: Participants are asked include a memorable code and their email, followed by a series of demographic questions such as age, gender, length of service, position (PC, sergeant or above). Anonymity is an important ethical consideration therefore for the datasets to remain anonymous, the two datasets will be matched using the memorable codes and emails inserted at the beginning of each questionnaire. The emails are then deleted, and data will be analysed with anonymised and unidentifiable codes inputted by the participant.
Results (so far): The majority (60%-75%) of data collection has occurred. Data collection will be completed within 14 days.
The data presented in the table 1 (below) show the distribution as expected, with participants showing a larger distribution in Wary and Intense, in comparison to the general population. A Chi Square Goodness of Fit statistical test will be conducted once the data collection has been completed.
Table 1
Table 2
Correlational testing (table 2) using a Multiple Pearsons Correlation on the data so far (N=60) shows the results indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between Psychological capital average with the Emotional:Calm scale (.471) and a positive relationship with the Risk Tolerance Index (.309). At a subtheme level there is a strong positive correlation between optimism and the Emotional:Calm scale (.626) and the Risk Tolerance Index (.384). There is a positive correlation between the Resilience and Emotional:Calm scale (.369) and the Risk Tolerance Index (.476). Although the Daring:Measured scale does not currently show a significant relationship with PsyCap, significant relationships are beginning to emerge between the subtheme levels of PsyCap and Daring:Measured such as resilience (-.273) and optimism (.341). Further results with a larger participant group expect to determine a more significant relationship between subthemes of Psychological Capital and Engagement and the Daring:Measured scale. Further regression analysis will also be conducted with a larger sample size, in order to determine more detail on the predictiveness of one variable on another (e.g. PsyCap predicts Engagement).
Discussion: Although the Daring:Measured scale is yet to show a significant relationship with Psychological Capital average, the Emotional:Calm scale results in relation to PsyCap were as expected, given that the lower end of the scale is drawn from aspects of the five-factor model trait neuroticism. Subtheme levels showing significant positive relationships to the Emotional:Calm scale are resilience and optimism. The results of this so far have significant implications at a practitioner point of view, as further results show a larger distribution of officers displayed at the Wary and Intense Types, meaning that targeted interventions could be affective in practice.
References
Akhtar, R., Boustani, L., Tsivrikos, D., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015). The engageable personality: Personality and trait EI as predictors of work engagement. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 44-49.
Avey, J. B., Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2009). Psychological capital: A positive resource for combating employee stress and turnover. Human resource management, 48(5), 677-693.
Barr, P. (2018). The five-factor model of personality, work stress and professional quality of life in neonatal intensive care unit nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(6), 1349-1358.
Brandt, T., Gomes, J. F., & Boyanova, D. (2011). Personality and psychological capital as indicators of future job success? (3).
Choi, Yongduk, and Dongseop Lee. "Psychological Capital, Big Five Traits, and Employee Outcomes." Journal of Managerial Psychology 29.2 (2014): 122-40. Web.
Grover, S., Teo, S., Pick, D., Roche, M. and Newton, C. (2018), "Psychological capital as a personal resource in the JD-R model", Personnel Review, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 968-984.
HSE (2013). Police service- Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/police/statistics.htm
Karatepe, O. M., & Karadas, G. (2015). Do psychological capital and work engagement foster frontline employees’ satisfaction? A study in the hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(6), 1254-1278.
Lambert, E., Frank, J., Qureshi, H., & Vito, G. (2017). Examining Police Officer Work Stress Using the Job Demands–Resources Model. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 33(4), 348-367.
Schaufeli, W. (2017). Applying the Job Demands-Resources model: A ‘how to’ guide to measuring and tackling work engagement and burnout: A ‘how to’ guide to measuring and tackling work engagement and burnout. Organizational Dynamics, 46(2), 120-132.
Shi, M., Liu, L., Wang, Z. Y., & Wang, L. (2015). The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between big five personality and anxiety among Chinese medical students: a cross-sectional study. PloS one, 10(3), e0119916.
Violanti, J. M., Fekedulegn, D., Hartley, T. A., Andrew, M. E., Charles, L., Tinney-Zara, C. A., & Burchfiel, C. M. (2014). Police Work Absence: An Analysis of Stress and Resiliency. Journal of law enforcement leadership and ethics, 1(1), 49–67.
Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. and Schaufeli, W.B. (2007), “The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model”, International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 121-141.
Youssef C. M., & Luthans, F. (2015). Psychological capital and well-being. Stress and Health, 31(3), 180-188. Ref: 3933 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Making assessments innovative, digital and future focussed in a candidate driven Indian market. Anneloes Hak, Dr. Anna Koczwara, Victoria Ashworth, Kanwal Kaul, Geetanjali Chhabra Royal Bank of Scotland Context and research: As a global employer in the Financial Services sector headquartered in the UK and with a significant presence in India (c15,000 employees), we recruit about 1400-1500 Clerical roles in India and have c30,000 applicants for these roles a year. Alongside promoting the use of consistent best practice methodology within our recruitment processes, it is important to acknowledge that differences need to be considered when designing a solution. In India, globalisation, demographic changes and adoption of industry 4.0 is having a significant impact on the skills we need to recruit for (EY, 2017). The rapid pace of change in jobs and skills, is shifting the emphasis from recruiting based on past experience, to focussing on transferable skills and behaviours like adaptability and complex thinking (LinkedIn, 2018). As a result, organisations that operate within India need to rethink their recruitment strategy with a focus on the capabilities (behaviours, skills and abilities) needed in the future.
We also know that providing a positive assessment experience that reflects the company brand during the recruitment process is now a high priority (Miles & McCamey, 2016; Mercer, 2019). With the drop in unemployment rates in India, candidates now have more power and recruitment has become a war to showcase employer brand, provide a great candidate experience and strategic sourcing (All Things Talent, 2019). The current average age of the India workforce is 29, which puts the focus on Millennials (Times of India, 2019) who view innovation as the key purpose of organisations (EY, 2017). Therefore, providing an assessment that enhances quality and candidate experience through digitally powered innovation is vital and a key differentiator in the marketplace. In addition, the Financial Services sector in India is impacted the most by the launch of digital products and services and new business innovations (EY, 2017). Therefore, it is important to reflect what is important to workers in the assessment and recruitment process without compromising on the candidate experience, fairness and accuracy aspects of the assessment.
Taking this research into account, it was important for us to review our assessment approach for recruiting Clerical level employees by:
• Focussing on capabilities important for the future
• Transforming the assessment experience, making it more user-friendly, fair, accurate and digital.
As well as these context considerations, there were two other considerations that are unique to the India market that helped shape our approach. The first was a requirement to sift candidates based on their suitability for either a Customer Service or Operations role. These types of Clerical roles receive large volumes of applicants, but experience has shown us that these candidates would value support in helping them identify their most suitable job path, in turn increasing their engagement and productivity (Bakker, 2011). Therefore, we needed a single assessment to identify, based on specific competency models, which role candidates may be more suited to.
Secondly, one the market challenges in India is the practices of completing assessment with help of someone else. Usage of proctoring methods is key to ensure candidate integrity and test security (Financial Times, 2018). Currently, large numbers of candidates are invited to complete tests under invigilation; a timely and costly exercise which does not reflect a digital and tech-savvy organisation. Therefore, the on-line proctoring solutions we explored included continuous web and video based monitoring of the candidates. This provides invigilation whilst candidates complete assessment remotely.
We piloted personality and cognitive ability assessments with two large assessment suppliers and conducted deep statistical analysis to evaluate if their assessments could accurately categorise, differentiate and sift candidates based on their fit for either Customer Service or Operations roles. All participants were asked to complete both suppliers’ assessments.
We have submitted into the ‘Psychological Assessment at Work’ category. Our pilot focuses on using online psychometric assessment in the recruitment process which supports the decision making for fit for either Customer Service or Operations roles. Our pilot especially looked at making the assessment suitable, fair, engaging and fit for purpose for the Indian candidate population.
Design and Methodology: Occupational Psychologists and Talent Acquisition professionals partnered to conduct the pilot.
Prior to piloting, we created a Customer Service and an Operations competency model for both suppliers based on current job profiles, future role profiles and critical incident interviews with Line Managers in India (Flanagan, 1954). The models consisted of cognitive and personality competencies relevant to the role. Following initial analysis, we made refinements to the models using hierarchical regression modelling. We examined each of the models’ competencies to identify the unique contributions to both Customer Service and Operations models; we amended them accordingly, whilst still ensuring they were content valid.
Assessment data from the pilot was used to conduct statistical analysis in line with the BPS guidelines for psychological research.
We applied a holistic and objective approach and used the below evaluation criteria to assess both tests.
The criteria we set out were:
Statistical requirements:
• Construct and convergent validity: The competencies need to measure what they say they measure i.e. robust and valid measures of personality and ability in this context.
O We ran within-test correlations to examine the construct validity and to check for multi- collinearity (p > .80) between competencies within each assessment. Convergent validity was measured by running correlations between assessments.
• Predictive validity: The assessments need to be able to predict performance in role.
O Predictive validity is often stated as the ‘gold standard’ of psychometric analysis and therefore important to include within the evaluation (Boateng et al., 2018). By exploring the predictive validity of the tests we identified the extent to which the assessment predicted performance in the role. We collected criterion data (via an online survey), asking Line Managers to rate their direct reports on multiple performance measures e.g. knowledge, skills and abilities.
• ‘Fit’ score: The assessment needs to provide good ‘fit’ with the Customer Service and Ops roles. O We reviewed how well the models actually measure the competencies required in either a Customer Service or Operations role. We looked at ‘fit’ i.e. how well Customer Service participants scored on the customer service model, compared to the operations participants and vice versa.
• Adverse Impact: The assessment needs to be fair and inclusive, with the 4/5 rule being met (Biddle, 2006).
O We looked at adverse impact ratios for gender and applied the 4/5th rule. We also explored any significant differences in scores on the competencies between business areas and roles.
Administration and logistics:
• The assessment needs to be able to:
O Sift out a required amount of candidates
O Provide a proctoring solution o Be practically implemented
Stakeholder and participant perceptions:
• The assessment needs to be positively perceived by stakeholders and pilot participants.
• Participants were asked to rate the assessments on four key evaluation criteria (Bauer et al, 2012): clarity of instructions, relevance to the role, length and fairness.
Results: 314 job incumbents were invited to complete the assessments from both suppliers, with a completion rate of 85%. Performance data to support validation analysis was completed by 93% of job incumbents’ managers. All participants completed the feedback survey.
We are currently finalising the analysis and providing a recommendation based on how well the assessments rate against each criterion.
Initial results from the pilot demonstrate overall participants were positive. Participants felt the assessments were fair to include, and provided them with the opportunity to showcase the capabilities that are important for the role. Across the feedback criteria mean scores ranged between 3.5-4.1 out of 5.
The initial analysis shows that there is variable performance between the two assessments in predicting performance measures and differentiating between the two role types. We are currently conducting further analysis on this which will be presented at the conference.
Discussion and conclusion: Our approach has pushed the boundaries of the traditional paper-and- pencil assessment and applied it in the Indian context. Our methodology is based on the underlying principle of using assessments that are future capability focused and digitally driven. By considering the context and drivers within the India market, we were able to develop a unique approach, which also has the potential to be applied more widely within the business. This approach of streamlining skills to clerical roles between UK and India creates opportunities for productivity enhancement across the business.
The pilot demonstrated a great partnership between Occupational Psychologists and Talent Acquisition professionals in India. The unique contribution of applying best practice in assessments as Occupational Psychologists, alongside Talent Acquisition professionals in India who are experts in their processes and market is having a direct positive impact. We are keen to share this experience with our fellow professionals to stimulate debate and share knowledge.
Initial evaluation of our pilot showed that candidate feedback was positive. Candidate’s perceptions of assessments are very important; negative experiences can result in good candidates self-selecting out of the process and increase the possibility of legal challenge (Hülsheger and Anderson, 2009). Like many other sectors, organisations in the Financial Services sector recognise the importance of customer centricity and providing a positive candidate experience is key. Research demonstrates that 88% of candidates are more likely to buy from a company when provided with a positive candidate experience (AON, 2019).
The proctoring solutions explored are also focussed on candidate experience. Proctoring must not negatively impact the candidate experience and should be seamlessly built-in as part of the assessment journey. With a focus on digital and innovation, using this solution can offer opportunities across our organisation.
References
• Bauer, T.N., J. McCarthy, J., Anderson, N., Truxillo D.M. & Salgado J.F., (2012), What we know about applicant reactions to selection: Research Summary and Best Practices.
• All things talent (2019) How Talent Acquisition Has Evolved Over
• the Years - An Insider’s Critique.
• Miles, S.J & McCamey, R., (2016) The candidate experience: Is it damaging your employer brand? Business Horizons, 61 (5), 755-764.
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• EY (2017) Future of jobs in India A 2022 perspective.
• Deloitte (2018) Power Up: UK Skills
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• Biddle, D. (2006) Adverse Impact and Test Validation, 2nd edition. Ref: 3782 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Using values fit to guide self-selection decisions Alanna Harrington, Danielle Ashby, Kate Young Cubiks This study explores the impact of a newly designed values based assessment for self-selection purposes on the criterion of the job applicant’s intention to apply. The assessment was developed to identify values-based organisation-fit, which is the congruence between the personal values of the employee and the values espoused by the organisation (Edwards & Cable, 2009). The assessment includes several novel user experience design elements including;
• The configurability of feedback such that there are several different types of feedback that a client organisation can choose to display to the candidate; purely narrative, purely numerical and a combination of both.
• The use of a combined image and text question format, where images can be changed to meet the client organisation’s branding requirements.
This led to two main research questions;
1. How do the results of the assessment influence intention to apply? Is this influenced by the format in which the results are communicated?
2. How does the choice of images influence participant’s responses?
The following hypotheses are tested:
H1: There will be a positive relationship between the level of value congruence and the participant’s intention to apply
H2: The relationship between the level of congruence and the participant’s intention to apply will be moderated by the type of feedback given (narrative, numerical or combined)
H3: Participants endorsement of a value will be significantly greater if the image displays a person of the same gender.
H4: Participants endorsement of a value will be significantly greater if the image displays a person of the same ethnicity.
H5: There will be no significant difference in endorsement of images when images are neutral in terms of gender and ethnicity.
Design & Methodology: These hypotheses are being tested by asking 700 research participants to complete one of three versions of the assessment, with different conditions for feedback and imagery in each assessment. The participants are then asked to answer several questions about their intention to apply for the organisation after taking the assessment. For the hypotheses relating to the feedback conditions, a multiple regression analysis will be conducted to identify the relationship between congruence and intention to apply. A moderation analysis will be conducted to examine feedback format as a potential moderator of that relationship.
The hypotheses related to the choice of images will be tested using a series of one way independent ANOVAs. The study is currently in data collection phase but analyses will be completed ahead of the conference so finalised results will be presented during the session.
Ethical Considerations: The primary ethical consideration in this study is the anonymity of the participants. The participants were selected through a survey company which means that we needed to record identifying information such as name and email address in order to identify who had completed and therefore was entitled to compensation. To ensure we had the full consent of the participants to share their information in this way, we included briefing information before they completed the assessment explaining why we were collecting this data and how it would be processed, and provided the necessary details to ensure the data collection process was compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (2018). The study was considered against the BPS Code of Human Research Ethics (2018) and no other risks to the participants was identified.
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
A two fold approach was taken when developing the values based assessment. First, a literature review was conducted on the topic of values, and work values specifically, to ensure that our framework was grounded in established theory and research evidence. There are several different theories of work values, therefore, a review of several prominent theories was conducted in detail. Two theories that informed the theoretical basis of the values framework are Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (Schwartz, 1992) and Facets of Work Values (Elizur, 19884). The second strand in the development was to ensure that the generic values chosen for the values based assessment tool provided broad coverage of the values that are used in practice by organisations globally. A large sample of organisations was surveyed and content analysis was used to refine the resulting list of values into categorisation of values that are conceptually similar. Based on this research, a generic values framework of nineteen values was created and trialled with 100 participants for whom value congruence data was available. Further refinements were made based on the results of this analysis.
Work values can be defined as “opinions of the employee about what can be expected from work and how to act that such expectations can be achieved” (Latkobikj & Popovska, 2016). There is empirical evidence to suggest that values congruence has an impact on important job related outcomes. Several research studies have found evidence of a link between work value congruence and job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intentions to stay (Megliono et. al., 1989, Chatman, 1991, Ryan & Chapman, 2003, Cennamo & Gardner, 2008). There is also evidence of a relationship between work values and job choice decisions (Judge & Bretz, 1992). Thus, it is predicted that those who received a high value congruence score on the assessment will be more likely to apply. No existing research was found on the effect of the format of communicating assessment results to applicants, therefore the hypothesis about the effect of feedback format is two-tailed as there is no existing theory available to draw a hypothesis about the direction of this effect.
Due to lack of available research in the assessment literature, the hypotheses related to imagery are drawn from other domains. The similarity-attraction paradigm proposes that individuals are more positive about people who are similar to them Byrne (1971), thus it is hypothesised that individuals will respond more favourably to images showing those who are similar in terms of gender or ethnicity. Furthermore, Vrana & Rollock (2002) found that the ethnicity of individuals portrayed in imagery influences the emotional responses of the viewer. 2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
The proposal links directly with the theme as it illustrates an example of Occupational Psychologists employing an evidence based approach to designing a psychological assessment. The design of the assessment’s psychometric content itself is heavily based on existing psychological literature, and we are employing experimental design techniques to gather evidence for its usefulness in the desired context and the impact on fairness of several design features that are unique to this assessment.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
It is appropriate as it investigates the usefulness of values based assessment in a self-selection context, specifically whether sharing similar values with an organisation influences the decision to apply for a role. It also investigates the use of images in a values based assessment and how this impacts response style.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Use of more innovative and visually impactful assessments has increased in recent years. It has become more common to replace item questions with visual representations, thereby increasing user engagement (Baker, Mechling, & Ruylea, 2012; Hamari, Koivisto, & Sarsa, 2014). However, the increased use of images in assessment has not resulted in an increase in empirical research investigating the impact of this. Leutner et al., (2016) investigated the use of images as a replacement for a likert scale in a creativity assessment and found that it had acceptable levels of validity and reliability. However, to the researchers knowledge there is no extant literature available on the effect of using a combination of imagery and text as a question format, and specifically the effect of varying the image while keeping the statement constant.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
The proposed research is novel, there is a lack of research that has investigated the use of images in psychometric assessments and whether the images influence participant response style.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Many individuals are interested in values, whether it be personal or work values. It is very popular for organisations to advertise their work values, as a way of attracting candidates. As mentioned above, there is also empirical evidence to suggest that work values congruence has an impact on important work outcomes such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intentions to stay. These are all work outcomes that affect the general public, and could therefore be of interest to them when applying for jobs.
Another aspect of this values based assessment that may be interesting to non-occupational psychologists is the focus on the candidate experience, specifically, the look and feel of the assessment reflecting a social media style that the public will be familiar with.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
An electronic copy of the slides presented will be made available. Ref: 3848 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Lay theories and ageist attitudes towards older workers Shaun Hiu, Anna Rabinovich University of Exeter Introduction: The growing presence of older workers (aged 50+ employed full-time) signals the realities of an intergenerational workforce where employees spanning multiple age groups can be expected to work alongside one another (Bennet, Pitt, & Price, 2012). Positive working relationships may be undermined when prejudiced beliefs are held towards members of a different age group. In particular, this could be the case for older workers who can become targets of ageism (Voss, Bodner, & Rothermund, 2018).
Ageism can manifest as discrimination in important organisational decisions such as hiring (Harris, Krygsman, Waschenko, & Rudman, 2018). Based on previous research, age-related stereotypes are known antecedents of ageism (Voss et al., 2018). Compared to younger workers, older workers are negatively stereotyped as less competent and adaptable (Ng & Feldman, 2012). In contrast, older workers tend to be positively stereotyped as warm which is associated with reduced ageism (Kroon, van Selm, ter Hoeven, & Vliegenthart, 2016).
To reach potential solutions to workplace ageism, it is important to investigate the psychological processes that contribute to its endorsement. Existing research has explained ageism in terms of social identity theory (Rupp, Vodanovich, & Credé, 2005) and the contact hypothesis (Henry, Zacher, & Desmette, 2015). Another potential explanation may involve lay theories – theories that individuals create and rely on to make sense of their everyday lives (Hong, Levy, & Chiu, 2001). We focused on three lay theories which we believe have relevance to ageist attitudes: essentialist beliefs about cognitive ageing (EBCA; Weiss & Weiss, 2016) – the perception that cognitive decline is an inevitable and inescapable outcome of ageing; fixed (vs. growth) mindsets (Levy, Stroessner, & Dweck, 1998) – the perception that human attributes are fixed or malleable; and the lay theory of time (LTT) – the lay theory concerning how one views the relationships amongst events in time as a function of progress/development or part of a cycle. We hypothesised that age-related stereotypes mediate the relationship between these lay theories and ageist attitudes at work (Fig. 1).
H1: Perceiving cognitive decline as an inevitable part of ageing (EBCA) will be related to ageist attitudes at work. This relationship will be mediated by competence and adaptability stereotypes because individuals with high EBCA will perceive older workers as ill-fitted to handle the complexities of the working world and unable to change this.
H2: Fixed mindsets will be associated with ageist attitudes but this relationship will be mediated differently by the three stereotypes. Whilst the mediated effect of mindsets on ageist attitudes via competence and adaptability will be positively-signed, the mediated effect via warmth will be negatively-signed. Past research found that individuals with fixed mindsets are more likely than those with growth mindsets to endorse stereotypes regardless of valence (Levy et al., 1998), and hold prejudiced attitudes towards low-status outgroups (Madan, Basu, Rattan, & Savani, 2019).
H3: Perceiving time as progress and change (rather than repetition of the past) will be related to ageism, and this relationship will be mediated by low competence stereotype. This prediction is based on the suggestion that individuals who perceive time as change will believe that older workers’ experience has little relevance to future challenges and may undermine (rather than improve) their performance (Allen & de Grip, 2012).
Methods: Both pilot and main studies were conducted using samples of younger workers (aged 18- 30 employed full-time).
Pilot study. The aim of the pilot study was to develop an ageist attitudes towards older workers (AATOW) scale. To our knowledge, no scale exists for ageist attitudes towards the elderly in the work context. We conducted exploratory factor analysis and tested convergent validity with the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (AAS; Cary, Chasteen, & Remedios, 2016). One hundred and seven younger workers were surveyed via Prolific Academic. We derived a 15-item one-factor solution which strongly correlated with the AAS (r(104)=0.585, p<0.001).
Main study. One hundred and sixty-seven younger workers were surveyed via Prolific Academic (age: M=25.62, SD=3.12 years; 53.9% male). Participants answered questions regarding demographic characteristics (age, gender, supervisor status, education, length at current job, and occupational field), EBCA, mindsets, LTT, age-related stereotypes , age group identification, contact frequency and contact quality with older workers, and AATOW. Contact frequency and quality were multiplied to form a measure of intergenerational contact.
Results: We conducted path analysis using maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors and Satorra-Bentler scaled chi-square test. Age, gender, supervisor status, age group identification, and intergenerational contact were included as covariates. Our full predicted model did not fit the data well (Satorra-Bentler scaled χ2(18)=40.239, p=0.002; CFI=0.936; TLI=0.801; RMSEA=0.086, 90% CI [0.052, 0.120]; SRMR=0.066). We simplified the model by removing LTT and warmth stereotype from the model as we did not find a significant relationship between LTT and competence stereotype or between warmth stereotype and AATOW.
The simplified model (Fig. 2) had acceptable fit (Satorra-Bentler scaled χ2(10)=18.096, p=0.053; CFI=0.970; TLI=0.895; RMSEA=0.070, 90% CI [0.006, 0.118]; SRMR=0.055). The relationship between EBCA and AATOW was only mediated by adaptability (β=0.087, 95% CI [0.022, 0.152], p=0.011) but not competence (β=0.040, 95% CI [-0.007, 0.087], p=0.098). Likewise, the relationship between mindsets and AATOW was only mediated by adaptability (β=0.119, 95% CI [0.050, 0.189], p=0.001) but not competence (β=0.028, 95% CI [-0.009, 0.065], p=0.136). In summary, we found partial support for H1 and H2, but no support for H3.
Discussion: Our findings support the notion that an individuals’ lay theories are related to how they perceive and evaluate their older colleagues. We found that the more strongly younger workers viewed cognitive decline as an inevitable part of ageing and/or human attributes as relatively fixed and stable, the less likely they were to perceive older workers as adaptable, which subsequently contributed to greater endorsement of ageist attitudes. Past research on EBCA have observed its relationship with greater physiological stress during cognitively-challenging tasks amongst the elderly (Weiss & Weiss, 2016). Our findings extend the literature on EBCA and demonstrates its link with negative perceptions of the elderly's adaptability at work. Our work is also consistent with mindsets research on stereotype endorsement and prejudice (Levy et al., 1998; Madan et al., 2019). Our work extends the mindsets literature by demonstrating associations with age stereotype endorsement and ageism in the workplace. Interestingly, we observed a positive direct effect of progress-oriented LTT on AATOW in our initial predicted model, suggesting that future research is needed on the relationship between time perceptions and ageism.
We neither observed an indirect relationship via competence for all three lay theories nor a relationship between warmth stereotype and either mindsets or AATOW. The absence of a significant indirect effect via competence may be explained by the large degree of covariance between competence and adaptability, suggesting that workplace competency may be perceived as a function of being adaptable enough to learn new knowledge to keep up with dynamic work demands (Paloniemi, 2006). The absence of significant relationships between warmth and either mindsets or AATOW may be due to the way it was operationalised. The items used may have not have captured warmth characteristics that are relevant to the work setting such as customer- orientation, reliability, and commitment (Van Dalen, Henkens, & Schippers, 2010).
Our study contributes to the literature on lay theories and ageism by being one of the first studies to draw links between the two areas. We also highlight the status of inadaptability as a core stereotype of older workers in addition to the dominant competence and warmth dimensions within the stereotype content model (Cuddy, Glick, & Beninger, 2011). Our work also contributes to the burgeoning area of organisational lay theories by giving precedence to future investigations examining systemic ageism caused by organisational practices that espouse potentially maladaptive lay theories (Murphy & Dweck, 2010). Our study is limited by its correlational design. Future experiments are needed to draw causal links between EBCA, mindsets, and ageism.
References
Allen, J., & de Grip, A. (2012). Does skill obsolescence increase the risk of employment loss? Applied Economics, 44, 3237-3245. doi:10.1080/00036846.2011.570727
Bennet, J., Pitt, M., & Price, S. (2012). Understanding the impact of generational issues in the workplace. Facilities, 30, 278-288. doi:10.1108/02632771211220086
Cary, L. A., Chasteen, A. L., & Remedios, J. (2016). The ambivalent ageism scale: Developing and validating a scale to measure benevolent and hostile ageism. The Gerontologist, 57, e27-e36. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw118
Cuddy, A. J. C., Glick, P., & Beninger, A. (2011). The dynamics of warmth and competence judgments, and their outcomes in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 31, 73-98. doi:doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2011.10.004
Harris, K., Krygsman, S., Waschenko, J., & Rudman, D. L. (2018). Ageism and the older worker: A scoping review. The Gerontologist, 58, e1-e14. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw194
Henry, H., Zacher, H., & Desmette, D. (2015). Reducing age bias and turnover intentions by enhancing intergenerational contact quality in the workplace: The role of opportunities for generativity and development. Work, Aging and Retirement, 1, 243-253. doi:10.1093/workar/wav005
Hong, Y., Levy, S. R., & Chiu, C. (2001). The contribution of the lay theories approach to the study of groups. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 98-106. doi:10.1207/S15327957PSPR0502_1
Kroon, A. C., van Selm, M., ter Hoeven, C. L., & Vliegenthart, R. (2016). Poles apart: The processing and consequences of mixed media stereotypes of older workers. Journal of Communication, 66, 811- 833. doi:10.1111/jcom.12249
Levy, S. R., Stroessner, S. J., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Stereotype formation and endorsement: The role of implicit theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1421-1436. doi:10.1037/0022- 3514.74.6.1421
Madan, S., Basu, S., Rattan, A., & Savani, K. (2019). Support for resettling refugees: The role of fixed versus growth mind-sets. Psychological Science, 30, 238-249. doi:10.1177/0956797618813561
Murphy, M. C., & Dweck, C. S. (2010). A culture of genius: How an organization’s lay theory shapes people’s cognition, affect, and behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 283-296. doi:10.1177/0146167209347380 Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2012). Evaluating six common stereotypes about older workers with meta-analytical data. Personnel Psychology, 65, 821-858. doi:10.1111/peps.12003
Paloniemi, S. (2006). Experience, competence and workplace learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 18, 439-450. doi:10.1108/13665620610693006
Rupp, D. E., Vodanovich, S. J., & Credé, M. (2005). The multidimensional nature of ageism: Construct validity and group differences. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145, 335-362. doi:10.3200/SOCP.145.3.335-362
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Voss, P., Bodner, E., & Rothermund, K. (2018). Ageism: The relationship between age stereotypes and age discrimination. In L. Ayalon & C. Tesch-Römer (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on ageism (pp. 11-31). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Weiss, D., & Weiss, M. (2016). The interplay of subjective social status and essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging on cortisol reactivity to challenge in older adults. Psychophysiology, 53, 1256-1262. doi:10.1111/psyp.12667
Ref: 3767 Poster Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Deductively measuring Personality: Business-focused Inventory of Personality – 6 Factors (BIP-6F) C. Richard Hossiep1, Nicola Brazil2 1University of Muenster, 2Hogrefe Ltd The BIP-6F is a 48-item short occupational personality questionnaire that was deductively constructed and that measures personality on six factors: Commitment, Discipline, Social Competence, Cooperation, Dominance and Stability. In the present study, both quantitative and qualitative evidence was gathered, linking the science behind assessments to the practicality of how occupational psychologists can use personality data in their work.
To establish accuracy quantitatively, drawing from a sample of n = 1,457, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) were performed to confirm the factor structure. All factors were distinct from each other and provided good content fit, and results using the more advanced Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) suggest the fit was very good for a 6-factor model with the previously supposed factors.
Unique to this study was the data collected on ten qualitative outcome variables – ranging from salary and well-being to Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Using self-reports from all participants, multiple links with outcome variables could be established with Dominance, Social Competence and Stability being most consistently linked. Following the personality nuances research results based on item level predictions were also analyzed, and the results further highlight the importance of personality nuances in predicting work-related outcomes.
With scientific evidence for both the accuracy and appropriateness of the BIP-6F as an occupational personality measure, the BIP-6F can add value to the work of an occupational psychologist as a shorter option when assessing candidates or employees in both developmental and assessment contexts.
Background/rational: The Business-focused inventory of Personality – 6 Factors (BIP-6F) is the English version of a deductively constructed short version of the Business-focused inventory of Personality (BIP). Being one of the three most frequently used personality questionnaires in the German speaking countries there was an urgent need for evidence concerning the English version.
The empirical as well as conception link to the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality has been previously established, emphasizing its appropriate rational and theoretical basis. While the BIP contains 210 items and is more appropriate in situations like development centers or executive assessments, due to its brevity (48 items) the BIP-6F can also be used in other settings. The six factors of the BIP-6F have been derived by factor analyzing the statistical structure of the BIP. So the BIP-6F offers a broader picture, with largely independent factors, while the BIP offers a more detailed view on personality at the workplace
Methods: Both quantitative and qualitative data was gathered concerning the accuracy and appropriateness of the BIP-6F. In addition to the original 48 items 30 new items for a total of 78 items were tested. Data of 1457 respondents was gathered, including data on ten outcome-related variables, including salary, wellbeing and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Drawing on qualitative methods, the response processes involved in answering the items were investigated via Think-Alound sessions (n = 10). In these, data was gathered on high, medium and low values on each items to compare the processes that lead to either answer.
In the quantitative analysis, the 78 items were tested with regard to their factor loadings, variance, mean values and content fit. Using the hold-out sample technique, both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to test the factor structure. In addition the newly established Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) – which was previously shown to be especially appropriate in the context of analyzing data from personality questionnaires – was applied to analyze the data.
Results/ Conclusions: Results suggest satisfactory fit of the supposed six-factor structure. As with most personality questionnaires, the fit on conventional theresholds of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was rather low, but using the more advanced Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) the fit was very good. All factors were distinct from each other and provided good content fit.
Multiple links with outcome variables could be established with Dominance, Social Competence and Stability being most consistently linked and Cooperation and Discipline being least consistently linked. Further, Discipline – if significantly - was negatively linked to the outcome variables. Cumulative factor scores explained around 10% of variance in the outcome variables, ranging from 23.4% in leadership skills over 15.5% in salary to 9.2% in hierarchical position. Following the personality nuances research results based on item level predictions were also analyzed. This approach increased the explained variance significantly to around 20%, ranging from 31% for leadership skills over 26.6 % in salary to 20.1% in hierarchical position. These results further highlight the importance of personality nuances in predicting work-related outcomes.
Evidence for both the accuracy and appropriateness of the BIP-6F as an occupational personality measure was found. Both the factor structure and links to outcomes could be shown. As a psychometrically developed measure the BIP-6F can add value as an instrument in both selection and development contexts. Until now there was no evidence for the accuracy or appropriateness of the English version of the BIP-6F. Item-level predictions should be further investigated as a possible addition to factor and facet scores in predicting work-related outcomes.
As a rather concise but yet psychometrically sound and elaborate occupational personality questionnaire, the BIP-6F offers advantages above and beyond rather long, “traditional” personality tests in applied settings.
Ref: 3867 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Pursuing organizational impact: A socio-technical approach Helen Hughes1, Matthew Davis1, Mark Robinson1, Alison McKay2 1Leeds University Business School, 2University of Leeds The pursuit of impactful research is a cornerstone of good academic practice and integral to the professional identities of academic occupational psychologists. Research approaches that actively seek to create impact increases the likelihood that research outcomes may be used to generate positive change, e.g., by delivering improvements in the management and performance of organisations, together with enhancing the quality and experience of work for employees. This, in turn, makes research relevant, representative, and credible. This aim is reflected in the Division of Occupational Psychology’s 2020 conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’.
Despite the seemingly obvious benefits of conducting applied and impactful research, there has been a longstanding debate regarding the division between science and practice, (e.g., Anderson, Herriot, & Hodgkinson, 2001; Bartlett & Francis-Smythe, 2016; Gelade, 2006; Rynes, Bartunek, & Daft, 2001; Starkey & Madan, 2001). This debate seems strange to us, given that many of the pioneering insights in our discipline have arisen from observations of the real-world and researchers’ engagement in addressing specific practical challenges (e.g., the Tavistock Studies, see Bion, 1948).
In this paper we consider the challenges, opportunities and research models that relate to undertaking impactful academic research. We seek to go beyond calls for engaged scholarship or for bridges between academia and practice and instead offer practical strategies for pursuing applied and impactful research.
We begin by reflecting upon the competing academic pressures and research goals that can crowd out applied research. Next we define what we mean by impactful research and relate this to frameworks used under research assessment exercises and promotion criteria. We then consider different approaches to creating impactful research in occupational psychology, and how each approach can help meet different research goals.
As part of our discussion, we introduce a range of conceptualizations that have been presented in the literature contrasting different ways of approaching impactful research (e.g., Anderson et al., 2001; Zhang, Levenson, & Crossley, 2015). We outline four broad approaches that we characterise as instrumental to delivering impactful research and illustrate these using key examples from our peers within the UK, Europe and the USA who provide exemplars of successful practice. We outline the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of each approach. While seemingly distinct, there are overlaps in practice between these approaches, much like business models which can be combined or innovated to suit particular needs. We then introduce our own hybrid approach toward research, built upon a belief in the value of building long-term partnerships with organisations to create research impact. We conceptualize impact delivery as a socio-technical challenge (e.g., Cherns, 1976; Clegg, 2000; Mumford, 1983). Accordingly, we believe that complex organisational systems involve human behaviour (socio components) and physical or technological aspects (technical components), and can consequently be considered socio-technical systems (Clegg, 2000). The over-arching contention is that system components are inter-related and so change in any one is likely to cause change or adaptation elsewhere.
Our perspective is that key global challenges can only be resolved by interdisciplinary work, bringing together complementary tools, methods, and thinking. Reflecting this, our centre connects academics and practitioners from multiple disciplines (including engineering, medicine, mathematics, design, and geography). This distinctive inter-disciplinarity enables us to approach problems from different perspectives, creating new solutions and theory that challenge previous assumptions. Over the last 10 years we have collectively been awarded over £6 million in research funding from multiple sources, working with both public and private sector organisations (including those in the manufacturing, automotive, and IT industries, as well as medical health trusts, transportation, retail services, and charities).
We demonstrate our hybrid approach using case study examples from our collaborations with industry in addressing organisational design challenges. The case studies are based on projects that have yielded both practical outcomes for the organisations and academic outputs (either published or in progress). The examples include the design of physical workspace, work design, organisational change, social network analysis and the simulation of teams. In each case, we illustrate how collaboration is symbiotic – the organisation gains academic expertise to help solve problems, and we benefit from our research creating impact within their organisation.
We reflect on our own experience to draw out key learnings regarding undertaking applied and impactful research. We provide specific recommendations for those who seek to deliver research impact while grappling with the competing pressures inherent in academia. We conclude by recognising that impact is one of several competing metrics for research excellence and that this presents inevitable trade-offs. Conceptualizing the delivery of impact as a socio-technical challenge helps us to frame and address such conflicts in practice, highlighting possible, unintended consequences that can emerge during such trade-offs.
Please note that references to the case studies and other supporting conceptual work have been omitted to maintain the anonymity of the review process. This conference paper reflects a full paper currently under revision for a special issue scheduled to be published later in 2020/21 in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. Session attendees will be provided with a copy of the full manuscript.
References:
Anderson, N., Herriot, P., & Hodgkinson, G. P. (2001). The practitioner-researcher divide in Industrial, Work and Organizational (IWO) psychology: Where are we now, and where do we go from here? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74(4), 391–411. doi:10.1348/096317901167451 Bartlett, D. & Francis-Smythe, J. (2016) Bridging the divide in work and organizational psychology: Evidence from practice. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25(5),615–630. doi:10.1080/1359432X.2016.1156672
Bion, W. R., (1948). Psychiatry at a time of crisis. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 21, 81–89. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1948.tb01159.x
Cherns, A. (1976). The principles of sociotechnical design. Human Relations, 29(8), 783–792. doi: 10.1177/001872677602900806
Clegg, C. W. (2000). Sociotechnical principles for system design. Applied Ergonomics, 31(5), 463–477. doi:10.1016/S0003-6870(00)00009-0
Gelade, G. A. (2006). But what does it mean in practice? The Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology from a practitioner perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 79, 153–160. doi:10.1348/096317905X85638
Mumford, E. (1983). Designing secretaries: The participative design of a word processing system. Manchester: Manchester Business School.
Rynes, S. L., Bartunek, J. M., & Daft, R. L. (2001). Across the great divide: Knowledge creation and transfer between practitioners and academics. Academy of Management Journal, 44(2), 340–355. doi:10.5465/3069460
Starkey, K., & Madan, P. (2001). Bridging the relevance gap: Aligning stakeholders in the future of management research. British Journal of Management, 12, S3–S26. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12.s1.2
Zhang, W., Levenson, A., & Crossley, C. (2015). Move your research from the ivy tower to the board room: A primer on action research for academics, consultants, and business executives. Human Resource Management, 54(1), 151–174. doi:10.1002/hrm.21616
Ref: 3906 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work An exploration of employee experiences of working in a virtual team environment Afshan Iqbal, University of Leeds
Introduction: In recent years, with the rise of globalisation and technological enhancements, the world is becoming far more interconnected and as such, Hurd and Dyer (2017) suggest that this is changing the way we live and work. As a result, more and more organisations are adopting new ways of working and arguably moving away from the traditional team structures in favour of more flexible and virtual team structures (Ford et al, 2017). An exploration into the current literature suggests that by using virtual teams, enables organisations to access a more diverse talent pool from larger geographical areas and therefore widening the scope of being able to recruit a variety of individuals with different skill sets (Jones and Graham, 2015). Furthermore, it provides employees with greater flexibility as the essence of virtual working means it no longer constrains individuals to one particular location, especially if they have other commitments such as family commitments which prevent them from relocation (Eubanks et al, 2017). With a growing number of dual-earner couples, single parents as well as more people taking on caring responsibilities, Zacher et al (2012) argued that there has never been a more challenging time for employees to adequately manage the conflicts between work and family life. Essentially, the nature of virtual working grants employees the flexibility to carry out their tasks away from a central office location (Gajendra and Harrison, 2007). Moreover, members of virtual teams are predominantly geographically dispersed, work remotely, with limited face-to-face interaction and as a result, primarily communicate with one another using technology (Dulebohn and Hoch, 2017).
Aims & Objectives: This research therefore aims to explore individual experiences of employees who are not tethered to a fixed office location. The aim is to understand the challenges they face whilst working remotely, whilst drawing upon key theories such as Social Identity Theory, Job Demands- Resource (JD-R) model and Organisational Commitment.
This study explores;
• How virtual workers communicate with their colleagues, the methods of communication used and the impact it has on team cohesiveness and belonging
• Through the utilisation of technological devices; the presence of technostress and the perceived expectations to be contactable at all times
• The impact remote working has on employee wellbeing and feelings of isolation
Methodology: Due to the exploratory nature of this research, a qualitative methodology was applied in order to deepen our understanding of a topic in an emerging area (Bryman and Bell, 2015). The underlying aim is to gain a rich, deep understanding of virtual working from the perspectives of individual employees, to better understand their experiences of working in a remote manner, away from any colleagues and establishing a working relationship with limited face to face interaction (Silverman, 2017). The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews.
There were nine interview participants in total. All of whom worked in a remote and virtual manner within the Insurance & Financial Services and Higher Education sectors. All of whom were either solely working from home or divided their time between client offices and home. Due to the varying locations of each participant and demanding work schedules, the interviews were all conducted by telephone, for their convenience. Each interview was audio-recorded and then transcribed, in order to be analysed using Thematic Analysis (Clarke and Braun, 2017). A process broadly involving familiarity with the dataset, generating initial codes to understand the patterns forming within the data and identify overarching themes.
Ethics: At the time of recruiting the participants, they were each provided with a written explanation of the research aims and objectives, and what is required of them. Participation was entirely voluntary and they were informed of their right to withdraw. Written, informed consent was obtained prior to the interviews taking place. Each participant was also assured of anonymity in any publications to conceal their identity. All data was stored securely and confidentially and password- protected.
No sensitive data was collected during the process.
Data Analysis: Whilst at this moment in time, the data analysis is still in its preliminary stages, some key themes are beginning to emerge.
• Theme 1 – Anytime, Anywhere
One of the key themes to consistently emerge across all nine interviews, was the level of flexibility afforded to employees through the concept of being able to work ‘anytime, anywhere’ (Davis, 2002). There was a consensus that this granted each participant a level of freedom and autonomy to find a balance between their work and personal lives
• Theme 2 – Stress, what stress? Technostress
Another prevalent theme was of a perceived expectation to be readily available and contactable at all times. Furthermore, participants recognised how easy it was to remain contactable due to the work devices being within reach in the house, on evenings and weekends. There was also to a degree, a feeling of having to maintain virtual ‘presenteeism’ or visibility due to the fact that these individuals were not visible to other colleagues in an office.
• Theme 3 – Wellbeing and the ‘dark side’
A common pattern also appears to be emerging from the data regarding feelings of isolation and loneliness. A recognition amongst participants that there are times when two or three days may pass without any contact with others outside the confines of their own home. Whereas going to the office on a daily basis provides an element of social interaction. These feelings of isolation can be further exacerbated by the long working hours and prolonged periods of time driving alone from one meeting to another.
• Theme 4 – Communication is key
Finally, an overarching theme which, even in these early stages of analysis, seemingly ties the other three together is that of communication. There seems to be a pattern emerging across the data whereby, regular contact with the team (such as a morning conference call) enables the team to catch up, have some interaction and share knowledge and best practice as a group in order to create cohesiveness amongst the team members and make the individuals feel as though they are a part of a team.
Conclusion: Again, whilst this is still very much in the early stages of data analysis, there already appears to be links to theories coming through the data. For instance, links to social identity theory (Tajfel, 1974), whereby the participants have expressed a desire to be part of a team and socially interact with their colleagues. Furthermore, the theme around technostress, could be linked to the JD-R model, which looks at the imbalance between the job demands on the individual and the resources they have available to manage those demands (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007). In this instance, the imbalance is between the perceptions of being available online all the time and the expectation of instantaneous responses versus organisation and time management in order to meet those demands. Furthermore, the preliminary findings suggest there may be practical implications to managing and supporting these groups of workers who may often feel neglected
References
Bakker, A.B., and Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands-Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. DOI: 10.1108/02683940710733115
Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. (4th ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Clarke, V., and Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 12(3), 297- 298. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613
Davis, G. (2002). Anytime/anyplace computing and the future of knowledge work. Communications of the ACM, 45(12), 67-73. DOI: 10.1145/585597.585617 Dulebohn, J.H., and Hoch, J.E. (2017). Virtual teams in organizations. Human Resource Management Review, 27(4), 569-574. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.12.004
Eubanks, D.L., Palanski, M., Olabisi, J., Johnson, A., and Dove, J. (2016). Team dynamics in virtual, partially distributed teams: Optional role fulfilment. Computer in Human Behaviour, 61, 556-568. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.035
Ford, R.C., Piccolo, R. F., and Ford, L.R. (2017). Strategies for building effective virtual teams: Trust is key. Business Horizons, 60(1), 25-34. DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2016.08.009
Gajendra, R.S., and Harrison, D.A. (2007). The good, the bad and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524-1541. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
Hurd, F., and Dyer, S. (2017). We’re all in this together? The search for collective belonging in a globalised single industry town. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 37 (1/2), 106- 122. DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-08-2015-0089
Jones, N.B., and Graham, C.M. (2015). Virtual teams in business and distance education: Reflections from an MBA Class. Journal of Business & Economic Policy, 2(1), 49-59. Retrieved from http://jbepnet.com/journal/index/2156
Silverman, D. 2017. How was it for you? The interview society and the irresistible rise of the (poorly and analysed) interview. Qualitative Research, 17(2), 144-158. DOI: 10.1177/1468794116668231
Tajfel, H. (1974). Social identity and intergroup behavior. Social Science Information, 13(2), 65–93. DOI:10.1177/053901847401300204
Zacher. H., Jimmieson. N.L., and Winter. G. (2012). Eldercare demands, mental health and work performance: the moderating role of satisfaction with eldercare tasks. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17(1), 52-64. DOI: 10.1037/a0025154
Ref: 3839 Poster Topic: Learning, Training and Development Investigating the challenges of shyness at work Shelley Jacobs, Colleen Addicott University of Hertfordshire Abstract Summary
Shyness involves, tense, worried and awkward behaviour in social situations as well as discomfort and inhibition with strangers (Zalk et al 2017). Previous research predominantly examines shyness in children and adolescents. This study aims to explore the challenges of shyness at work. A secondary aim is to explore the relationship between shyness, work adaptability and perceptions of career success.
This is a mixed method case study – focussing on employees of a property management company (Michael Laurie Magar Ltd) and gaining comparison questionnaire data from a broader group (obtained via social media).
Questionnaires were distributed, combining 3 existing questionnaires: Revised Cheek-Buss Shyness Scale, (Cheek, 1983); Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012); and Subjective Career Success Inventory (Shockley et al, 2015). Semi structured interviews were also conducted exploring challenges of shyness at work, career adaptability and perceptions of career success.
The questionnaire data will be interrogated and relationships between Shyness, work adaptability and perceptions of career success explored. Comparisons will be made with age, gender and how long they have worked in their current role. Content analysis of the interviews will be conducted to identify themes that describe the challenges of shyness, work adaptability and perceptions of career success.
In our evolving world of work where collaboration, communication and interpersonal skills are regarded as prerequisites for most jobs, a greater awareness and understanding of the impact of shyness at work is required for coaching and personal development.
Ref: 3874 Impact Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development The effect of visual distractions and workload on physiological stress levels Nikita Jain, University of Leeds
Introduction: The working environment has an abundance of visual distractions such as co-workers moving around the office. Movement in the periphery can redirect gaze leading to an attentional shift from the task at hand (Findley and Gilchrist, 2003). Complex cognitive tasks carried out in the workplace are likely to be negatively affected by distraction such as increased stress Heerwagen, Kelly, Kampschroer & Powell, 2006). Considering that organisations are transitioning from traditional offices to the use of open-offices and agile offices, the effect visual background movement on common workplace tasks such as reading, and writing has not been researched which makes it difficult for organisations to train employees on how to effectively manage their workplace.
Research Aims and Objectives: Different organisations have different workplace environments. Open-plan offices can lead to cognitive overload and lack of psychological privacy. Between and within organisations work tasks differ in complexity requiring altering levels of concentration. For this reason, a systems approach should be taken by organisations to ensure the environment fits with the tasks carried out by employees (Davis, Leach, Clegg, 2011). It is unclear how to implement this approach without having a clear understanding of the impact of environmental conditions such as visual distractions has on task performance. There is a risk for perceptual overstimulation in open- plan offices (Desor, 1972). However, the isolated effect of how background movement within the visual field effects performance on tasks of varying complexities is unclear. For organisations to better implement a systems approach to ensure a task-environment fit, it is important to understand the impact this form of visual distraction has on task performance.
Along with distracting environments in the workplace comes stress (Sörqvist & Marsh, 2015). Stress reactions from visual distractions such as movement in the workplace have not been demonstrated in previous research. There is uncertainty on whether background movement as a visual distraction acts as the stressor, if it is the workload or if it is the combined effects of them both. This study will aim to better understand the interaction between the visual environment and task workload and the impact these factors have on physiological stress so that organisations can better control identified stress factors for employees.
Methodology: 26 participants volunteered to participate in this study. The experiment used a repeated measures design with two visual distraction conditions and two workload conditions. In each visual distraction condition, participants carried out a task of high workload and a task of low workload, as shown in Table 1. Time taken and accuracy will measure task performance. This study was carried out in highly controlled conditions, with the laboratory replicating an open office environment, this was to ensure the effects found were due to visual distractions that would occur in a typical workplace setting.
Table 1
The task difficulty presented in each visual distraction condition
Visual distraction Task difficulty High visual distraction Low task difficulty High task difficulty No visual distraction Low task difficulty High task difficulty
Visual distraction: In the visual distraction condition, the researcher made movements such as walking across the room and tidying up the office space. In the no distraction condition the researcher was absent. To ensure consistency, the researcher moved at timed intervals in both conditions. The order effects for the presentation of the tasks and visual distractions will be controlled by counterbalancing across participants to avoid confounding.
Tasks: Both task complexity conditions required participants to read a passage of text presented for ninety seconds only. The high workload task presented 1500 characters to read within the space of ninety seconds whereas the low workload task presented 500 characters. The timeframe represents the time pressure of deadlines that employees may face in the workplace. High workload in a timeframe compared to low workload in the same timeframe can be less manageable, more stressful and lead to lower performance. After this time, the task automatically moved on to three comprehension questions and a summarising task, these methods will allow assessment of surface and deep levels of understanding of the content (Marton & Säaljö, 1976).
Stress: Throughout all the conditions, heart rate variability was measured as an indicator of stress. This measure assessed whether participants physiological stress reactions differed depending on the visual distractions and task complexity.
Ethics: The study had no ethical issues and was approved by the University of Leeds. To ensure high ethical standards all task data was anonymous.
Results: This research project is currently in the early stages of analysis. Early analysis has found there to be a significant interaction between workload and visual distractions on stress levels. There was no significant interaction between visual distractions and performance in tasks of low and high workload, however, participants had higher performance in the low workload condition than the high workload condition. Further analysis is required for the discussion of this study.
Conclusion: There is currently no research on the impact movement distractions on performance in an open office environment. Literature has predominantly focused its attention around auditory distractions, and the physical environment (Roper & Juneja, 2008). As offices have transitioned from traditional cellular offices to open office environments, the distracting stimuli present in offices has also increased, however, the impact these distractions have on physiological stress has not been researched (Brennan, Chugh & Kline, 2002). An environment with distractions can add a layer of stress to an employee who is already feeling stressed about their work (Lamb & Kwok, 2016). In addition to this, heavy workload is reported to be one of the most common causes of stress. This study, therefore, aimed to take an interdisciplinary approach and assessed the interaction that workload and visual distractions have on both stress and task performance. References
Davis, M. C., Leach, D. J., & Clegg, C. W. (2011). The physical environment of the office: Contemporary and emerging issues. International review of industrial and organizational psychology, 26(1)
Desor, Janet A. "Toward a psychological theory of crowding." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 21, no. 1 (1972): 79.
Findlay, J. M., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2003). Active vision: The psychology of looking and seeing (No. 37). Oxford University Press.
Heerwagen, J. H., Kelly, K. V., Kampschroer, K., & Powell, K. M. (2006). The cognitive workplace. Creating the productive workplace, 136-150.
Lamb, S., & Kwok, K. C. (2016). A longitudinal investigation of work environment stressors on the performance and wellbeing of office workers. Applied Ergonomics, 52, 104-111.
Marton, F., & Säaljö, R. (1976). On qualitative differences in learning—ii Outcome as a function of the learner's conception of the task. british Journal of educational Psychology, 46(2), 115-127.
Sörqvist, P., & Marsh, J. E. (2015). How concentration shields against distraction. Current directions in psychological science, 24(4), 267-272.
Ref: 4085 Poster Topic: Learning, Training and Development An RCT to understand the elements of successful mental health training for managers Bridget Juniper1, Michelle O'Sullivan2 1Work and Well-Being Ltd, 2Rail Safety and Standards Board A Randomised Control Trial evaluating mental health training for line managers delivered face to face and through e-learning.
Background: Providing the right training for line managers is vital to help them understand, manage and promote mental health and wellbeing at work. This research aimed to find the best way to support the rail industry in providing mental health (MH) training for line managers (LMs). A literature review identified topics that mental health training for LMs should cover. Face to face and e-learning training that met this specification were then compared against each other and also with a control group who had not received training.
Results and Highlights
• Five topics need to be considered when commissioning mental health training line for managers: awareness of mental health; communication skills; the management of workplace risks; managing absence and return to work; and responding to signs and symptoms of mental ill health • Mental health training for line managers can be effectively delivered face to face or by e- learning. The raining modality can be guided by individual preference and organisational needs • Research on mental health training should include follow-up to assess knowledge attrition and a loss of skills with time • Refresher training and other interventions may be required to develop confidence in mental health-related communication skills • Workplace interventions for mental health need to be systemic and informed by the needs of the organisation and its workforce.
Ref: 3819 Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work
(S) The Race Pay Gap: The Role of Occupational Psychologists Binna Kandola, Pearn Kandola LLP
The race pay gap is receiving more attention from politicians and the media. Whilst much of the research into race and pay has been carried out by economists and sociologists, this symposium explores the contribution that occupational psychologists can make and the impact that they can have. The papers take a historical perspective first of all and then go into greater depth, examining first the minorities working in temporary employment and the career development experiences of African and Caribbean professionals. The final paper looks at what can be learned from the gender pay audits and how psychologists can apply these to race pay reviews.
Ref: 3822 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (1) The Race Pay Gap:The Role of Occupational Psychologists. An Overview Binna Kandola, Pearn Kandola LLP
In 2018, the gender pay gap took up a lot of column inches. Whether it be large businesses having to publicly declare their pay discrepancies, or well-known figures like Jodie Whittaker confirming that she'll receive the same pay for her role as Doctor Who as her male predecessors, the pressure has been rising and change seems to have begun.
But gender is not the only cause of pay discrepancy; there's another pay gap just as damaging that hasn't received anywhere near as much media attention. That is, until the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced that businesses may have to reveal their race pay gap, in the same way that they did their gender pay gap.
There's a long history of BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) people being paid less than their white colleagues. Analyses of pay by race have been carried out in many countries, and the similarity of the results is striking. Generally speaking, in every walk of life, in every craft and profession, minorities are consistently paid less than white people.
In November 2017, the BBC found itself at the centre of a significant gender pay gap scandal. Whilst its race pay gap was just as, if not more, prevalent, far less attention was given to it. The average white male earned:
• Four and a half times more than the highest earning white female
• Seven and a half times more than the highest paid minority male
• Nine times more than the highest paid minority female
The BBC is by no means a lone example, though. Independent Television News (ITN) IN 2018 revealed mean ethnicity pay gap of 16% which rose to 66% for bonus payments. The lack of attention given to the race pay gap is highlighted when one looks at organisations’ responses to dealing with it. Global professional services firm, PwC, also revealed a pay gap of 13% between its BAME and white staff. This gap is almost as substantial as the firm's gender pay gap of 14%. (Kandola, 2018)
As conversation has turned to opposing this injustice, we must ask why it exists in the first place. PwC's senior partner, Kevin Ellis, commented on his company's race pay gap that it "is entirely driven by the fact that there are more non-BAME staff in senior higher-paid roles and more BAME staff in junior administrative roles.”
This admission suggests that people are in fact being paid the same, regardless of race. Minority and majority staff simply happen to be doing different jobs – and so it's nothing to do with racism. This complacent and comforting (to PwC's partners at least) theory forces us to ask another question; why are the majority of BAME people not achieving the same opportunities as their white colleagues? (Kandola 2018)
Economists (for example, Del Rio and Alonso-Viltar 2015) and sociologists (for example, Javorsky, Cohen and Qian 2016) have known for some time that occupational segregation is one of the main factors behind the Race pay gap.
The creation of racial hierarchies began around the time of the slave trade, the first developed by Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus (Prewitt 2013).
These hierarchies still have an influence in societies and organisations today (Smedley and Smedley 2005). The results of pay research in different localities reveals this.
In the UK, research published by the Fawcett Society (2017) looking at the data from the 1990s to 2010s concluded that while progress has been made "large ethnic gender pay gaps remain" (Breach and Yaojun 2017). (See table below)
Highest Earning Groups per hour working full-time Lowest earning groups per hour working full-time Chinese men (£18.32) White Irish Women (£18.04) Black Caribbean Men (£13.34) White Irish Men (£17.39) Pakistani/Bangladeshi Men (£13.25) Indian Men (£17.13) White Other Women (£13.20) Chinese Women (£16.21) Black African Men (£13.04) White British Men (£15.35) Pakistani/Bangladeshi Women (£12.52) Black Asian Women (£12.34)
Similar results revealing a racial hierarchy at play have been found in many other countries, including the USA (Patterson 2017) and Canada (Conference Board of Canada, 2017).
The results reveal the complexity of interpreting intersectional studies, but also highlight the continued impact of racial hierarchies.
The Role of Psychologists
Whilst analyses about pay are most often conducted by economists and sociologists, occupational psychologists have an important part to play in closing the gap. This is because at the heart of the issue is the perceptions and stereotypes that are held by different ethnic groups. These stereotypes then have an impact at every stage of the employee life cycle from attraction, recruitment and selection to development and promotion. The stereotypes that exist about groups lead employers to identify those people who would be best suited to work in lower paying positions, with few benefits and greater job insecurity. As a consequence, if we see men in female-dominated roles, it is more likely they will be minority men (Del Rio and Alonso-Viltar 2015). White men working in such roles are more likely to receive unsolicited invitations to work in more highly paid "gender-appropriate" roles.
The race pay gap is a result of decisions taken at many different steps. Occupational Psychologists, therefore, are not just bystanders in the creation of the race pay gap but active participants. Acknowledging and accepting our role and responsibilities for the maintenance of the race pay gap has to be the first step in undertaking to find ways to close it
References
Del Rio.c. Alonso Viltar O (2015)
The Evaluation of Occupational Segregation in the United States 1940-2010: Gains and losses of gender-race/ethnicity groups. Demography 52 3), 967-988
Javorsky, J.E., Cohen P + Qian Y (2016) Man up, man down: Race ethnicity + the hierarchy of men in female dominated work The Sociological Quarterly 20, 733-758
Prewitt K (2013) What is your race? The Census and Our Flawed Efforts to Classify Americans Princeton University Press
Smedley, A and Smedley B.P. (2005) Race in Biology is Fiction, racism as a social problem is real: Anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. American Psychologists 60, 16-26
Breach A, +Yaojun L, (2017) Gender pay gap by ethnicity in Britain – Brieting https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/gender-pay-by-ethnicity-britain
Pattern E, (2017) Racial, gender wage gaps persist in the US despite some progress Pew Research Center
The Conference Board of Canada (2017) Racial Wage Gap, Society Provincial Rankings. How Canada performs.
Ref: 3823 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (2) Lessons from the Gender Pay Gap in Tackling the Ethnicity Pay Gap Nic Hammarling, Pearn Kandola LLP
With just 3% of organisations in the UK currently publishing their ethnicity pay gap on a voluntary basis, only estimates are available at this stage of the UK's ethnicity pay gap. Most consistent estimates put it in the region of 17% (Henehan Helena Rose, 2018); however this headline figure hides significant variations between different ethnicity minority groups. An audit of public-sector pay in London carried out for the mayor, Sadiq Khan, for example found that ethnic minority employees are paid up to 37% less on average, with particularly stark differences being found in the police force. The audit also highlighted that while the overall mean pay gap is 17.4%, this figure rises to 24.6% for employees from Black and Black British employees (Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting, 2019). Given that we are now have two years of published data regarding the gender pay gap, there are two questions that naturally arise, and a third for occupational psychologists in particular:
What lessons can we learn from the gender pay gap in addressing the ethnicity pay gap
• are the workplace barriers that have contributed towards the gender pay gap the same as those that have contributed to the ethnicity pay gap
• are occupational psychologists in any way relevant in tackling these pay gaps?
Our review of the two years of published gender pay gap results for FTSE 100 companies in the UK has found that there are seven major characteristics of the gender pay gap in FTSE 100 companies, including:
• the under-representation of women in senior roles,
• the over-representation of women in the lowest paid roles,
• the fact that having children doesn’t affect men's salaries – but it does affect women's (Cohen, 2019).
In addition, we know that within the UK, the gender pay gap is nearly zero for women in the workplace between the ages of 18 and 39 (Gender Pay Gap in the UK, 2019). At the age of 39 however, the pay gap kicks in and growths over the course of the next two decades. This coincides with an uptake in part-time working. Taken together, these findings are indicative of the prevailing societal and workplace norms that women should be the primary care givers for children. This suggests that much of the gender pay gap is driven by women having children. The true story is more complicated than that however as a key contributory factors to the gender pay gap is ethnicity, with ethnic minority women in particular over-represented in the lower pay quartile of our organisations. Indeed, it is virtually impossible for either the gender or ethnicity pay gap to be successfully addressed without also working on the other.
A similar review of the contributory factors to the ethnicity pay gap has found that fundamentally, people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to work in low-skilled, low-paid jobs. For example, 40% of African and 39% of Bangladeshi employees are overqualified for their roles, compared with 25% of white workers (Pickard, 2018). Stereotypical views of person-job fit also appear to play a role, with two in five workers from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds being employed in low-skilled jobs such as refuse collection, food preparation, cleaning or manual construction work.
Furthermore, black workers in the UK are more likely to work in caring, leisure and other service occupations where hourly pay rates are about 25% below the average (Pickard, 2018). Age may also be a contributory factor to the ethnicity pay gap, as BAME groups in the UK have a younger age profile and therefore at an earlier stage in their careers. Fundamentally however, our review of barriers to progression for BAME employees throughout their careers has found that not only are BAME employees less likely to receive career development support, they are also less likely to be mentored, and less likely to have access to opportunities to stretch their skills and responsibilities. Little wonder then that BAME employees are less likely to be promoted than their white counterparts.
It is clear therefore that there are a number of different contributory factors to the gender and ethnicity pay gaps, and that discussing them as though they are one in the same is erroneous and will lead to further problems. However, it is also clear that there is a core factor that contributes towards pay both gaps: while they are seen as suitable for low-paid roles, both women and BAME employees experience significant barriers to progression and promotion. In essence, the prevailing pro-white male is a huge driver behind the pay gaps. Indeed, the strength of this prototype is such that people assume that white people have leadership skills without any evidence of this (Lord & Maher, 1990), and we are more likely to explain away gaps or discrepancies in performance for white leaders (Wyatt & Silvester, 2015). Attribution errors then play a role with the positive performance of BAME managers being attributed to their having received help from others or to non leader-related qualities (Wilde, 2016.). Furthermore, black female leaders in particular are disproportionately sanctioned for making mistakes on the job under conditions of organisational failure (Rosette & Livingston, 2012). The fact that ethnicity pay gaps have been found across a number of western countries (Kandola, 2018) is indicative of just how ingrained these barriers and biases can be in the human psyche.
This pro-white male prototype is deeply embedded not only in the psyche of decision-makers, but also in key employee life cycle decisions, such as those relating to selection and promotion. Indeed, the use of psychometric tests that result in adverse impact is just one method by which some occupational psychologists are currently part of the problem, rather than the solution. Indeed, there are three clear points that mandate the role of occupational psychologists in tackling pay gaps in our organisations.
• The first is that a clear, evidence-based approach must be taken to reviewing the recruitment and promotion processes that we develop to ensure they are not introducing adverse impact.
• Secondly, occupational psychologists are well-placed to identify and address the impact of unconscious bias in our organisations.
• Thirdly, occupational psychologists understand how to bring about behaviour change in organisations.
These three points provide a clear call to action for Occupational Psychologists in taking a proactive approach to tackling pay gaps.
References
Cohen, M. (2019). The roots of the gender pay gap are deeper than discrimination. https://qz.com/1567008/the-systemic-reasons-why-the-gender-pay-gap-increases-over-time/
Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting (2019). https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_ethnicity_pay_gap_report_-_jan_2019.pdf Greater London Authority.
Gender Pay Gap in the UK: 2018 (2019). https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bu lletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2018 Office for National Statistics.
Henehan, K. & Rose, H. (2018). Opportunities Knocked? Exploring pay penalties among the UK’s ethnic minorities. Resolution Foundation, https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2018/07/Opportunities-Knocked.pdf,
Kandola, B. (2018). Racism at work: The danger of indifference. Pearn Kandola. Lord, R.G. & Maher, K.J. Perceptions of leadership and their implications in organizations. Applied Social. Psychology Organisational Settings. 129–154 (Lawerence Erbaum Associates, Hillsdale NJ 1990).
Pickard, J. (2018). How big is Britain's ethnic pay gap? https://www.ft.com/content/df660814- cd40-11e8-9fe5-24ad351828ab
Rosette, A. & W. Livingston, R. (2012). Failure is not an option for Black women: Effects of organizational performance on leaders with single versus dual-subordinate identities. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 48. 1162–1167.
Wilde, J. The Social Psychology of Organizations: Diagnosing Toxicity and Intervening in the workplace. (Routledge, 2016).
Wyatt, M. & Silvester, J. Reflections on the labyrinth: Investigating black and minority ethnic leaders’ career experiences. Hum. Relations 68, 1243–1269 (2015).
Ref: 3818 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (3) Race-related experiences of African & Caribbean professionals in the workplace Ryan Lewis, Pearn Kandola LLP
Introduction & Rationale: Given the challenges of ethnic and race identity issues faced by black professionals within the UK (Atewologun, Doyin, Singh & Val, 2010), exploration into its implications would help to gain deeper insight regarding the negative effects upon individuals who strive to be effective members within organisations. Mcgregor-Smith (2017) stated that if BME individuals were immediately fully represented across British workforces to the same degree as their white counterparts, it is estimated that GDP would be 1.3% higher – equivalent to approximately £24bn per year. It is important that organisations make the most of their available talent as it is a benefit which should not be underestimated. It has been acknowledged that there has been a dramatic shift in attitudes towards race, but suggests that prejudice has mutated and bias is still very prevalent but more subtle. Given the challenges of ethnic and race identity issues faced by black professionals, exploration into its implications would help to gain deeper insight regarding the negative effects upon individuals who strive to be effective members within organisations and the impact this can have on their careers.
Aim: To investigate the experiences of African / Caribbean professionals in the workplace, specifically in relation to their perception of ethnic discrimination and any impact it has had on their self-efficacy and career progression.
Objectives
• To identify themes of race-related experiences of African and Caribbean professionals in the workplace and its perceived effects in relation to perceived ethnic discrimination (PED), self-efficacy and career progression.
• To identify the differences between African / Caribbean and Caucasian professionals PED, self- efficacy and career progression. • To identify relationships between African / Caribbean and Caucasian professionals PED, self- efficacy and career progression.
Design & Methodology
• To explore the aforementioned subject areas, a mixed methods approach was used so to provide a deeper and broader understanding of the phenomena (McKim, 2017).
• 6 semi-structured face to face interviews were undertaken with African / Caribbean working male professionals within various sectors and job roles. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was administered to extract themes from interviewee transcripts (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009).
• 60 questionnaires were also completed to explore both the differences and relationships between working professionals’ PED, self-efficacy and career progression of African / Caribbean and Caucasian male and female working professionals.
Ethical & Practical Considerations: It was checked that the research interviewer had the necessary skills to navigate dialogue containing potentially emotive topics, as well as be able to tactfully deal with potentially distressing emotional reactions from participants. Following interviews, professional support service information was provided to participants should they have felt the need to access it.
Questionnaire Analysis & Findings
• An independent t-test identified African / Caribbean working professionals reported experiencing significantly more ethnic discrimination in the workplace than their Caucasian counterparts.
• t (58) = 3.21, p = .002
• A multiple linear regression identified a significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and career progression for both African / Caribbean and Caucasian working professionals.
• F (2, 57) = 18.65, p < .001
• Note: Questionnaires explored the perceptions of African / Caribbean and Caucasian male & female
Interview Analysis & Findings: 2 categories of themes (9 themes overall) were extracted from interview transcripts. These categorisations comprise of ‘repressive structures’ & ‘facilitative structures’ (Harris Cornileus, 2016) explained as follows:
Repressive structures - reoccurring practices and social rules that restrict the career development of black male professionals.
• Themes identified: Barriers to career progression - Greater requirement to operate strategically - Increased work pressure - Battling stereotypes - Covert discrimination.
• In the context of the current research, these were factors that worked towards having a negative impact on the experiences of black men in the workplace. Interviewees found that they were subjected to these things, as opposed to believing they personally contributed to these situations / experiences in any way.
Facilitative structures - strategies or beliefs developed by participants that aided their maintenance and/or progression within the workplace, in spite of any repressive structures they faced. • Themes identified: Mental resilience - Faith and responsibility - Ability to build and leverage key relationships - Education and continuous learning.
• In the context of the current research, these were factors that needed to be adopted in order to maintain or progress careers. Interviewees expressed these as being more personal and contextual factors. i.e. supportive mechanisms developed by themselves, needing only them to execute the supportive procedure, or incorporating external elements.
Interview Summary
• Perceptions of ethnic discrimination were prevalent throughout all interviews
• Despite the evidence of repressive structures, self-efficacy remained mostly unaffected. However, barriers to career progression were still prevalent throughout most interviews.
• It can be suggested that self-efficacy has remained at a relatively stable level due to the facilitative structures that interviewees employed.
Note: Interviews explored the experiences of African / Caribbean male professionals only.
Conclusion
• The study highlighted a clear difference in how African / Caribbean working male professionals’ experienced treatment in the workplace, relative to their Caucasian counterparts, as well as the impact this has had on their career progression. This is mainly in terms of being faced with unique barriers which serve to inhibit their career trajectory, as well as not being allowed to reach positions that utilise their maximum potential.
• This was evidenced through a range of experiences i.e. management making it difficult for participants to gain valuable developmental experience; having negative face to face interview experiences; witnessing hiring decisions based around company ‘fit’ as opposed to usage of prescribed merit-based systems; witnessing Caucasian colleagues ascend to more senior positions with lower level qualifications, lesser experience and undertaking lesser amounts of work; noticing the slowing down of career progression when applying for higher paying jobs - and in some cases difficulties securing work in low paid positions regardless of credentials.
• The cognitive load necessary to navigate through one’s working day is required to be much greater than their Caucasian counterparts as they are required to employ various mental strategies to manage the additional obstacles and stress that is brought to their everyday working experience. High cognitive load requires a greater amount of effort being used in ones working memory, which therefore places a greater pressure on African /Caribbean male professionals when undertaking tasks in their job.
Recommendations
• Findings indicate that in order for discrimination to be addressed and professionals to be treated fairer within the workplace, a thorough examination of company policy, procedures and practices needs to be undertaken, as well as regular examinations and periodical assessments of organisational compliance.
• Experiences highlight that discrimination can be both conscious and unconscious; what has the ability to have an impact on both is unconscious bias training. Especially within the ever-increasing interracial society in which we operate, it should be a highly prioritised organisational interest to recoginse and understand the overlapping economic, organisational and humanistic benefits of investing in unconscious bias interventions. This can help toward ensuring steps are being taken to create organisational environments that value and support the fostering of a racially diverse workforce.
References
Atewologun., & Singh, V. (2010). Challenging ethnic and gender identities: An exploration of UK black professionals’ identity construction. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 29(4), 332-347.
Harris Cornileus, T. (2016). The brotherhood in corporate america. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (150), 83-96.
McGregor-Smith (2017). Increase in BME workplace progression could give UK economy a pounds 24bn boost - baroness McGregor-smith review finds. M2 Presswire.
McKim, C. A. (2017). The value of mixed methods research: A mixed methods study. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 11(2), 202-222.
Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Ref: 3824 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (4) Don't be racist towards the temp: Ethnicity difference in temporary employment David Biggs, Advanced People Strategies Ltd
Introduction: Psychology has had an interest in different ethnic groups for many years (Kandola, 2018; Tyson, 2011). And even while most Psychologists nowadays would say that they fight against racism some may not even be aware of their own unconscious bias, racial and cultural prejudices (Biggs & Sagheb-Tehrani, 2008; Tyson, 2011). The concept of ethnicity can be traced back to Swiss Botanist Carolus Linnaeus who defined humans into four distinct types in the eighteenth century (Tyson, 2011). These were further refined concerning colour of skin and then furthermore into geographical location (Tyson, 2011). Some disciplines argue that to divide humans into different races or ethnicities is nonsense. Yet, humans will always like to stereotype other humans. Skin colour and geographical region seems to be the most convenient way of segregating human beings and as such persists in the modern day (Kandola, 2018).
Kandola (2018) argued that while there have been many positive changes in attitudes towards different ethnicities, racism may still be a problem at work. This may not necessarily be out and out racism (although I have seen that in my time as an occupational psychologist) but may range from micro-incivilities through to a lack of opportunity in the workplace. It is this latter aspect that this paper is concerned with.
Toms (2012) hit upon the notion that temporary workers and specifically employment agency workers are a vulnerable population of employees. Kandola (2018) further argued that there are two forms of labour market. A primary labour market composed of large, profitable and well-funded organisations who provide secure and permanent jobs. And a secondary labour market, dominated by precarious employment, temporary working and the gig economy. Kandola (2018) argued that while many people from ethnic minorities have secured permanent positions many of them still remain in temporary worker positions. This is our main focus of this study in that: Hypothesis 1: There is a difference between ethnicity categories and temporary and permanent work.
Method: The study used the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted between October and December, 2018 (ONS, 2019). The LFS is used by Government departments to develop and manage labour market policies (ONS, 2018). It is also used by academics interested in the UK labour market (Biggs & Toms, 2015). The survey is carried out in approximately 37,000 households a quarter, yielding labour market and demographic information about some 90,000 individuals direct and by proxy. The level of detail present within the survey makes it a useful tool in exploring the demographics of ethnic minorities and temporary workers as seen in other studies (Clark & Lindley, 2009; Zwysen & Longhi, 2018). Due to the categorical nature of the data, Chi-square was used as the main statistical test to ensure that differences reported were statistically significant.
Results: Our hypothesis H1 that there is a difference between ethnicity category and permanence of work was supported to a statistically significant level X2 (8, N = 35873) = 56.68, p <.01. The LFS data (ONS, 2019) demonstrated clear differences in permanency between the 9 ethnicity categories. Table A explores these results whereby the percentages are calculated as a percentage of the ethnic group to show differences between permanent and temporary employment in each of the ethnicity categories. Temporary employment is defined in the LFS as not permanent in some other way and includes: fixed term contractors, agency workers, seasonal workers, casual workers and others (ONS, 2018).
TABLE A:
Permanent or temporary job Total Permanent Temporary White 94.8% 5.2% 32159 Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups 90.4% 9.6% 366 Indian 94.7% 5.3% 857 Pakistani 91.9% 8.1% 384 Ethnicity (9 Bangladeshi 95.9% 4.1% 146 categories) UK level Chinese 89.7% 10.3% 175 Any other Asian background 92.9% 7.1% 408 Black/African/Caribbean/Black 91.1% 8.9% 919 British Other ethnic group 92.2% 7.8% 459 Total 94.5% 5.5% 35873
Discussion: In line with what was expected, all non-white ethnicity categories (with the exception of the Bangladeshi ethnicity category – discussed below) had higher levels of workers in temporary employment. Chinese workers were almost twice as likely as white workers to be in a temporary position. This supports the argument that non-white ethnicities are more likely to be in precarious temporary employment than their white counterparts (Kandola, 2018).
Toms (2012) demonstrated that temporary workers are a vulnerable group and suffer from a lack of permanency at work. Other authors have argued that temporary workers are typically less satisfied in their job than permanent workers especially when methodological issues are taken into account (Aleksynska, 2018; Biggs & Swailes, 2006; Cuyper, et al., 2007). This paints a rather bleak picture for non-white ethnicity categories who may have to suffer temporary positions. A rather less bleak picture is painted by Galais & Moser (2018). They used a 5-month longitudinal survey of 151 temporary agency workers to see if temporary employment gave rise to permanent work. They found that this was the case as temporary employment did give individuals valuable skills in the workplace.
Another argument may be that ethnic minorities prefer temporary work rather than permanent work. This argument rests on the concept of flexibility, in that temporary employment can offer the flexibility needed for some individuals (Biggs & Swailes, 2006). Perhaps individual biases come in to play here. Some individuals may value security and predictability in their lives and work; whereas, others don’t have such a need (Hogan, Hogan & Warrenfeltz, 2007). Whether temporary work is enjoyed or suffered by ethnic minorities does lead to some considerable debate.
Limitations: While the LFS guides Government policy and informs academic debate. The survey is only as good as the sampling and households that give data. A major concern of the LFS is that it does not necessarily give a detailed picture of particular groups within the survey such as temporary workers (Biggs, Burchell & Millmore, 2006). The Bangladeshi ethnicity category reported a lower level of temporary employment and a higher level of permanent work. Nevertheless, this ethnicity category only formed 0.41% of the overall sample taken (N=35,783). Therefore, it is suggested that if more than 146 individuals from this community were surveyed then their results would be in line with other non-white ethnicity categories.
Conclusions: While the Labour Force Survey has its flaws in terms of investigating minority populations, it is still a useful indicator of social statistics used by the UK Government to set Labour Force Policy. Our study demonstrated key differences in ethnicity and permanent and temporary working.
References
Aleksynska, M. (2018) Temporary employment, work quality, and job satisfaction Journal of Comparative Economics 46(3), 722-735 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2018.07.004
Biggs, D.M., Burchell, B. and Millmore, M. (2006) The changing world of the temporary worker: The potential HR impact of legislation. Personnel Review 35, 2, 191-206
Biggs, D.M. and Swailes, S. (2006) Relations, commitment and satisfaction in agency workers and permanent workers. Employee Relations 28, 2. 130-143
Biggs, D.M. and Sagheb-Tehrani, M. (2008) Providing developmental feedback to individuals from different ethnic minority groups using expert systems. Expert Systems 28, 2, 130-143
Biggs, D.M. & Toms, S. (2015) The influence of labour law on the UK economy: A mixed methods exploration CIPD Applied Research Conference, London, UK Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/the-agency-workers-directive-and-its-influence-on-the-uk- economy_2015_tcm18-15583.pdf
Clark, K. & Lindley, J. J (2009) Immigrant assimilation pre and post labour market entry: evidence from the UK Labour Force Survey. Journal of Population Economics. 22 (1), 175–198 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-007-0173-4
Cuyper, N., De Jong, J., De Witte, H., Isaksson, K., Rigotti, T. and Schalk, R. (2007) Literature review of theory and research on the psychological impact of temporary employment: towards a conceptual model. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(1), 25-51 Galais, N. and Moser, K. (2018) Temporary agency workers stepping into a permanent position: social skills matter, Employee Relations, 40(1), 124-138. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2016-0158
Hogan, R., Hogan J. and Warrenfeltz (2007) The Hogan Guide: Interpretation and use of Hogan inventories. Tulsa: Hogan Press
Kandola, B. (2018) Racism at work: The danger of indifference Oxford: Pearn Kandola Publishing
Office for National Statistics. (2018) Volume 1 – LFS Background and Methodology. Retrieved 26 July 2019, from https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetyp es/methodologies/labourforcesurveyuserguidance#labour-force-survey-lfs-user-guides
Office for National Statistics. (2019) Quarterly Labour Force Survey SN: 8447 (Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive)
Toms, S. (2012) The impact of the UK temporary employment industry in assisting agency workers since the year 2000. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholarly Press
Tyson, P. (2011) Psychology and Race. Chapter in Tyson, P., Jones, D. and Elcock, J. (Eds) Psychology in Social Context: Issues and Debates. Chichester: BPS Blackwell
Zwysen, W. & Longhi, S. (2018) Employment and earning differences in the early career of ethnic minority British graduates: the importance of university career, parental background and area characteristics, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(1), 154-172, DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2017.1338559
Ref: 3827 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) The Practice of Science in Candidate Assessment: Examples from high- profile recruiters Martin Kavanagh, Saville Assessment
We will explore how some of the largest recruiters in the UK are:
• Using evidence available to them to design effective assessment processes.
• Using robust approaches to demonstrate the effectiveness of their design.
The symposium will meet the following objectives:
• Encourage attendees to critically reflect on their own practice and consider which selection methods are the most scientifically robust.
• Provide attendees with a framework for how to work with clients in the contracting stage to identify what they are looking to achieve - and ensure these objectives are met.
• Share best practice examples of how recruiters are demonstrating the benefits of their assessment process in terms of five key measures of assessment effectiveness.
• Share a case study from a major UK retailer demonstrating how considering what you want to achieve, and how you will scientifically assess effectiveness, can result in evidence-based decisions on selection methods. Ref: 3941 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (1) The Practice of Science in Candidate Assessment: Are our choices informed by science? Lisa Waugh, Martin Kavanagh, Rab MacIver Saville Assessment Purpose: This paper examines whether, as Occupational Psychologists and HR professionals, we are consistently using the wealth of evidence available to us when making choices around candidate selection methods. It takes an introspective look at our priorities as practitioners and whether we could be using more of the scientific research to ensure our work is of the highest quality and recognised as such by the organisations we work with.
We argue that when an organisation is implementing an assessment process, often there are conflicting priorities: evidence of effectiveness, cost, practicalities, candidate engagement and what is currently happening with competitors. As assessment professionals we need to be cognisant of the scientific rigour of the assessments we recommend and whether it justifies the investments our clients make.
Through a combination of discussing existing research, presenting our original research, and facilitated questions and answers with the audience, we reflect on current practices and encourage attendees to think about how organisations are currently using their budget on different aspects of their assessment processes.
We explore whether a typical organisation’s spend is value for money in terms of scientific rigour. For example, meta-analytic research shows assessment centres have lower validity than ability and behavioural testing. Despite this, our research shows organisations typically spend a disproportionate amount of their budget on assessment centres, often at the expense of more scientifically evidenced methods.
We build on the work of Hopton (2019) on candidate engagement. We will link how candidate engagement relates to the principles of the remembering and experiencing self (Kahneman, 2011) and discuss Kahneman’s work in the context of candidate engagement.
We argue that, as a profession, by keeping in mind the most valid and scientifically rigorous elements of our assessment processes we demonstrate more of the true value of occupational psychology for organisations.
Agenda: We will start by considering a typical assessment process and the return on investment using our ROI model, a framework that we use for assessing the effectiveness of an intervention. This model contains five metrics:
• Quality – e.g. did the assessment identify the right people, of the right calibre, for the right roles?
• Engagement – e.g. after completing the assessment process, did candidates say positive things about their experience?
• Efficiency – e.g. did recruiters and other stakeholders (including candidates) spend as little time as was necessary assessing/completing the process?
• Cost – e.g. how cost effective was the assessment process? • Diversity and inclusion – e.g. was diversity in the candidate pipeline maintained through each assessment stage (gender, ethnic origin, etc)?
We will share the key findings of a literature review conducted around the most recent scientific research in assessment, and how this correlates with how organisations allocate their resources. We will share our key findings which include:
• The validity of different selection methods in predicting overall job performance, and how this has changed (and not changed) over the last few years.
• Presenting research into the latest developments in assessment and the implications of these.
• The extent to which organisations take evidence-based decisions to how their assessment process is managed – are the allocating spend appropriately and are they considering candidate engagement in the right way?
We’ll discuss the implications of these findings for practice in the field of occupational psychology and explore whether we are making best use of all the evidence available to us.
Key Messages and Insights
• As practitioners there is plenty of quality evidence available to us through our professional community. We can be doing more to use it, question it, and collect it ourselves in the assessment projects we work on.
• We need to maximise the use of science to make evidence-based decisions in selection. This will give organisations the best return on investment and make most efficient use of their resources.
• We can model the optimal way to allocate a resourcing budget for a selection process using the scientific evidence as a basis.
NB – Because this paper is intended as part of a multi-paper symposium, there is considerable overlap between the answers to the following questions and the equivalent questions in the submissions for the other papers.
Ethical Considerations
The papers presented in this symposium relate to all four ethical principles from the code of ethics and conduct:
Respect: Practitioners must actively review the latest evidence in selection practices in the area of Psychological Assessment at Work to ensure they are respecting individual and cultural differences.
Competence: Our clients and candidates should be able to assume competence. They should be safe in the assumption that any assessments Occupational Psychologists help them introduce/ask them to complete are utilising the latest thinking, scientific evidence, or robust, well understood, validation.
Responsibility: Our responsibility and professional accountability mean that we need to recognise the impact we are having when we make recommendations in a selection process.
Integrity: As well as presenting an evidence base, it is important practitioners help the end users understand it - and the implications of it.
All these ethical considerations will be explored during the proposed session. Answers to Submission Questions:
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Theories of return on investment; demonstrating assessment effectiveness; engagement; candidate satisfaction; predictive validity; the experiencing self and the remembering self.
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of “The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work”?
In this symposium, we’re hoping to demonstrate a more evidence-based approach can be taken to designing and implementing candidate assessment processes. We believe that despite have a grounding in science, many Occupational Psychologists and organisations alike could be doing more to consider the evidence before implementing an assessment process. There are even situations where Occupational Psychologists are not utilising available scientific research to inform their practice. We hope this symposium will prompt attendees to consider more deeply the practice of science in Occupational Psychology – and not as an afterthought.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Because our approach advocates directly applying science to the topic area of “Psychological Assessment at Work”.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
That practitioners are either (at best) incorrectly applying or (at worst) ignoring the evidence base which is available in terms of what makes an effective assessment. In addition to this, you regularly hear practitioners talk about the challenges of effectively validating and evaluating selection methods. In this symposium we demonstrate it can be done, and in a very pragmatic way.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Many delegates are likely to be users and/or developers of selection methods. Many will be aware of much of the research we will be speaking about but may not have considered it in the way we are presenting it. In addition, many of the attendees will be motivated to demonstrate the success of the selection methods they have introduced. Attending this session would give food for thought in terms of how to make their assessment processes more evidence-based
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
People are inherently interested in selection processes, their fairness and if they actually work. We believe gaining an understanding of the science behind what makes an effective assessment process will help the media and the public hold employers to account when they are using techniques which may hold relatively little scientific merit.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)?
Electronic copies of the presentation would be available on request (via the author’s provided email address) after the session.
References
Hopton, T. (2019, January). Candidates Just Wanna Have Fun? How to Truly Measure Assessee Engagement. Paper presented at DOP Annual Conference: Thriving at Work, Chester. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow.NewYork,NY:Farrar,Strauss,Giroux.
Ref: 3944 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Positive & negative prediction:a criterion-related validity study with a Global IT company Matthew Cauldwell, Hannah Mullaney Saville Assessment Purpose: This paper shares insights and reflections on a criterion-related validity study we undertook with a Global IT Services and Technology company. The study involved understanding the relationship between behavioural competencies measured by our Wave assessments and sales performance in a group of 200+ Sales people across EMEIA and North America. As criterion-related validity studies are notoriously difficult to execute in a field setting, we hope sharing our experience can aid other practitioners design and execute similar studies.
In sharing our experience we hope to cover the following discussion points:
• “Hard” performance criterion isn’t always fit for purpose – even in Sales populations.
• Our approach to reliably measuring overall performance.
• What do the positive/negative correlations tell us?
• Going beyond the data, how to we go about understanding what is really driving the numbers?
Through sharing this case study, we will outline our approach, a summary of the results and what they meant to the client. We will also draw attention to our duty as practitioners in Psychological Assessment at Work in helping our clients find appropriate meaning in the results. That is, not just blindly accepting the data, but understanding the effect that is driving it and the practical implications this has.
Agenda: We will start with a reflection on the general challenges that are related to criterion-related validity studies, particularly focussing on the challenge on obtaining reliable performance criterion. We will shift focus to sales populations and challenge the assumption that “Hard” sales performance data is often a reliable measure.
We will then present our sales criterion-related validity study we undertook with a Global IT Services and Technology company, including our purpose, methodology and results. Specifically, we will focus on our approach to measuring overall performance, given that the “hard” sales performance criterion wasn’t fit for purpose and present a summary of our findings.
We will run through the strong positive correlations we found as part of the study and how these could be explained through clear links to the sales process and the nature of the products and services being sold. For example, behavioural competencies related to creativity, innovation and empowering people tended to have strong relationships with performance. This can be explained by a need to inspire a vision of a desirable future state, driven by the technology products and services on offer. We will open up for discussion with the audience, who will be invited to provide examples of similar findings they have experienced with other clients.
We will then present some of the negative correlations in our analysis. In particular, there was a strong negative correlation between the behavioural competency of following procedures and overall performance. We will discuss with the group how we should interpret this and how such findings should be handled when helping a client understand the data. We will share how we managed this process and what we believe this negative correlation tells us, and what practical applications this lead to.
We will conclude with a summary of how we helped the client interpret these findings correctly and use them strategically. The audience will be invited to ask questions and provide examples of equivalent work from their areas of practice.
Key Messages and Insights
• The strong positive correlations found in this study show clear and explainable links between certain behavioural competencies and sales performance.
• As practitioners in the field of Psychological Assessment at Work we are enamoured with the spectre of positive correlations between our assessments and overall performance, but often the negative correlations tell you just as much.
• “Hard” performance criterion – such as sales KPIs aren’t always what they are made out to be when it comes to criterion-related validity studies.
• We have a duty as practitioners in the field of Psychological Assessment at Work to ensure appropriate respect is given to the data to ensure it is interpreted and understood correctly. In particular, we must guard against over-interpretation of the data at face value and dive deeper to understand what is really driving any correlations.
Ethical Considerations: This paper draws attention to the necessary respect with which criterion- related validity evidence should be given. Particularly, as assessment practitioners we must work with our clients to appropriately understand the inferences that can or cannot be made from such data. This is particularly salient in situations where the data will be used to inform practice.
Answers to Submission Questions
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Criterion-related validity; sales effectiveness; demonstrating assessment effectiveness
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of “The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work”?
In this symposium, we’re hoping to demonstrate a more evidence-based approach can be taken to designing and implementing candidate assessment processes. In this particular paper, we use the case of a criterion-related validity study to draw attention to appropriately interpreting both positive and negative correlations with job performance.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Because our approach advocates directly applying science to the topic area of “Psychological Assessment at Work”.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Criterion-related validity studies are often one of the most challenging, yet valued pieces of research in the field of Occupational Psychology. We feel that sharing our experiences will help other practitioners in the field overcome some of the challenges we faced. Both in execution and interpretation of the practical implications.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Many delegates are likely to be users and/or developers of selection methods. Many will be aware of much of the research we will be speaking about but may not have considered it in the way we are presenting it. In addition, many of the attendees will be motivated to demonstrate the success of the selection methods they have introduced. Attending this session would give food for thought in terms of how to make their assessment processes more evidence-based.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Our sales validation work shows some correlations between successful sales people and personality that would be absolutely expected. But also, some eye-opening ones. Sharing which areas of personality we have found to be negatively related to performance could lead to some interesting thought pieces and lively debate.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)?
Electronic copies of the presentation would be available on request (via the author’s provided email address) after the session.
Ref: 3945 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) Introducing a candidate selection method in an evidence-based way: An example from a UK retailer Tammy Ross1, Martin Kavanagh2 1Sainsbury's, 2Saville Assessment Purpose: As assessment practitioners, we rely on frameworks and best practice guidance to design selection methods. There isn’t however, across the Occupational Psychology community, a commonly used and agreed framework for evidencing these selection methods have achieved what they set out to achieve. By considering a case study from a major UK recruiter we’ll share a framework which could be adopted by others.
We’ll put forward that to truly demonstrate the success of an assessment intervention you must be clear on the following at the contracting stage, before a project kicks off:
• Exactly what you are looking to achieve.
• Clear objectives to measure success against.
• Metrics that will be used to monitor success against the agreed objectives.
• A process for monitoring the assessment for a set period of time.
• A process for reviewing the success of the intervention.
Implementing what is agreed allows the objective assessment of the improvements that have resulted from the intervention. Through sharing a case study of how a major UK retailer took an evidence-based approach to implementing a new assessment against five key areas of assessment effectiveness, we will present a framework which could be easily adopted by others.
We intend to conclude the session by hosting a facilitated question and answer with the audience to explore how new assessment techniques are introduced. The aim of this will be to encourage the audience to consider whether the presented framework could work in the environment they operate in.
Agenda: We’ll start by reviewing some of the well-established frameworks used in talent assessment practices (e.g. approaches to job analysis; design of competency frameworks; use of competency frameworks in selection). We’ll then contrast this with the fact that there are no comparable common frameworks for demonstrating the effectiveness of an assessment process – making it difficult to demonstrate the impact a new assessment process has had.
We’ll share how we adopted a return on investment model with five indices (Kavangh, MacIver, & Fung, 2019) to form the basis of the framework we are championing.
We’ll then present how the proposed framework was put into action in a real-life case study delivered by a major UK retailer. We will share the methodological approach taken, the initial findings from the work, and transparently reflect on the process undertaken and lessons learnt.
Finally, the paper will conclude with a summary of the main points and suggest areas for future direction, before the audience will be invited to ask questions and reflect on how this framework could work in their areas of practice.
Key Messages and Insights
• Psychological Assessment at Work is an area where best practice guidance and frameworks are commonplace. It would be beneficial to have a common framework for understanding whether new selection methods have had a positive impact.
• Following the best practice approach presented in this paper creates a positive experience for both the assessment designer and the end client (who will be using the assessment with their candidates).
• By having clearly defined and measurable criteria agreed up front, an objective evaluation of the impact an intervention has had is achievable.
• By considering five key areas of assessment effectiveness when agreeing success criteria you can dial up or dial down the importance of different success criteria, ensuring that your solution is positively impacting the end user in the right way.
NB – Because this paper is intended as part of a multi-paper symposium, there is considerable overlap between the answers to the following questions and the equivalent questions in the submissions for the other papers.
Ethical Considerations
The papers presented in this symposium relate to all four ethical principles from the code of ethics and conduct:
Respect: Practitioners must actively review the latest evidence in selection practices in the area of Psychological Assessment at Work to ensure they are respecting individual and cultural differences. Competence: Our clients and candidates should be able to assume competence. They should be safe in the assumption that any assessments Occupational Psychologists help them introduce/ask them to complete are utilising the latest thinking, scientific evidence, or robust, well understood, validation.
Responsibility: Our responsibility and professional accountability mean that we need to recognise the impact we are having when we make recommendations in a selection process.
Integrity: As well as presenting an evidence base, it is important practitioners help the end users understand it - and the implications of it.
All these ethical considerations will be explored during the proposed session.
Answers to Submission Questions
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Theories of return on investment; demonstrating assessment effectiveness; engagement; candidate satisfaction; predictive validity; the experiencing self and the remembering self.
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of “The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work”?
In this symposium, we’re hoping to demonstrate a more evidence-based approach can be taken to designing and implementing candidate assessment processes. We believe that despite have a grounding in science, many Occupational Psychologists and organisations alike could be doing more to consider the evidence before implementing an assessment process. There are even situations where Occupational Psychologists are not utilising available scientific research to inform their practice. We hope this symposium will prompt attendees to consider more deeply the practice of science in Occupational Psychology – and not as an afterthought.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Because our approach advocates directly applying science to the topic area of “Psychological Assessment at Work”.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
That practitioners are either (at best) incorrectly applying or (at worst) ignoring the evidence base which is available in terms of what makes an effective assessment. In addition to this, you regularly hear practitioners talk about the challenges of effectively validating and evaluating selection methods. In this symposium we demonstrate it can be done, and in a very pragmatic way.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Many delegates are likely to be users and/or developers of selection methods. Many will be aware of much of the research we will be speaking about but may not have considered it in the way we are presenting it. In addition, many of the attendees will be motivated to demonstrate the success of the selection methods they have introduced. Attending this session would give food for thought in terms of how to make their assessment processes more evidence-based.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
People are inherently interested in selection processes, their fairness and if they actually work. We believe gaining an understanding of the science behind what makes an effective assessment process will help the media and the public hold employers to account when they are using techniques which may hold relatively little scientific merit.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)?
Electronic copies of the presentation would be available on request (via the author’s provided email address) after the session.
References
Kavanagh, M. J., MacIver, R. & Fung, K.. (2019, January). Do as we say not as we do: Occupational Psychologists and selection. Paper presented at DOP Annual Conference: Thriving at Work, Chester.
Ref: 3799 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Prison officers’ experiences of aggression and quality of sleep: the importance of switching off Gail Kinman, Andrew James Clements University of Bedfordshire Background and objectives: Prison officers experience a high level of work-related stress and are at considerable risk of poor mental health and burnout. A recent study of UK prison officers found that wellbeing relating to demands, change, support, role, relationships and change management was low compared to published norms and the overall level of mental health was poor (Kinman, Clements and Hart, 2016a). Prison officers work long, antisocial hours in dangerous conditions. The incidence of serious attacks on prison staff by inmates is rising rapidly in the UK (MoJ, 2019 and is a powerful source of strain. Exposure to violence and aggression at work has been related to a range of negative outcomes in prison staff such as poor mental health, burnout, work-life conflict, absenteeism and turnover (Bourbonnais et al., 2007; Schat & Frone, 2011; Kinman, Clements and Hart, 2016b).
Although there is evidence that prison officers commonly experience impaired sleep (Walker et al., 2015), most studies have examined the role played by fatigue in response to shift work (Swenson et al., 2008). Little is known about the effects of exposure to violence and aggression on sleep quality, or the role played by recovery behaviours: i.e. affective rumination about work and detachment from work concerns. Insight is required into these issues, as poor sleep is likely to result in fatigue and impaired vigilance that can threaten the health and safety of prison officers and their colleagues. People working in safety critical jobs need to be well rested in order to discharge their duties safely and poor sleep is likely to further increase vulnerability to violent incidents. The ability to switch off from work worries and concerns could be a resource that protects POs from the negative impact of personal experiences of interpersonal aggression on sleep quality.
This presentation considers the type of aggressive incidents experienced by UK prison officers and examines relationships between experiences of violence and aggression and the quality of their sleep. It also draws on the perseverative cognition model of stress (Brosschot et al., 2006) and the effort-recovery model (Meijman & Mulder, 1998) to examine whether recovery behaviours (i.e. affective rumination and the ability to detach oneself from work concerns) mediate relationships between experiences of violence and aggression and sleep quality. Method: The presentation draws on quantitative data obtained from 1,514 officers (86% male) working in public sector prisons in the UK on a full-time basis. Experiences of aggression at work were assessed by a scale developed for this study. This examined the frequency of which respondents experience six types of aggressive behaviour from prisoners: verbal threats, verbal abuse, intimidation, physical assault, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. These areas were drawn from previous literature and guidance on workplace violence. Work-life recovery experiences (detachment and affective rumination) were measured by scales developed by Querstret and Cropley (2012). Sleep quality was rated on a scale from 1 = very good to 5 = very bad. Extracts from interviews with a small group of prison officers will also be included to illustrate personal experiences of violence and aggression. The study was considered by the University’s ethics committee and received clearance.
Results: The most common types of aggressive behaviours reported were verbal abuse and threats, closely followed by intimidation. Seven out of ten respondents reported that they had been assaulted by a prisoner at some stage in their career and more than half of these (55%) had experienced assault during the previous four years. Overall experiences of violence and aggression were strongly related to poor sleep quality. Officers who reported higher levels of affective rumination and less detachment between their work and personal life tended to experience better sleep. Evidence was found that detachment and affective rumination mediated the associations between both aspects of work demand (workload demands and experiences of violence and aggression) and sleep quality. Interviews with officers highlighted the risks they face on the job and the need for additional support not only to reduce the risk of violent incidents, but also to help officers deal with the aftermath of personal attacks.
Conclusions and recommendations: The findings of this study highlight the importance of rumination and detachment as key mechanisms that help prison officers switch off from work concerns in order to gain good quality sleep. There are also implications for people working in other sectors where staff are vulnerable to violence and aggression, or who tend to ruminate about work concerns. This presentation, therefore, is likely to be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field of wellbeing and work with other occupational groups. Insight is required into the behaviours that help people switch off from high risk jobs in order to inform effective interventions. This will form the basis for discussions with the audience.
References
Bourbonnais, R., Jauvin, N., Dussault, J., & Vezina, M. (2007). Psychosocial work environment, interpersonal violence at work and mental health among correctional officers. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30, 355-368.
Brosschot, J. F., Gerin, W., & Thayer, J. F. (2006). The perseverative cognition hypothesis: A review of worry, prolonged stress-related physiological activation, and health. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60(2), 113-124.
Kinman, G., Clements, A. & Hart, J. (2016a) Work-related wellbeing in UK prison officers: A benchmarking approach. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 9, 3, 290-307
Kinman, G., Clements, A. & Hart, J. (2016b) Work-life balance and wellbeing in UK prison officers: the role of recovery experiences. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 44, 2, 226-239 Meijman, T. F., & Mulder, G. (1998). Psychological aspects of workload. In P. J. D. Drenth & H. Thierry (Eds.), Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 5-33). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Ministry of Justice (2019). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/31/prison-violence-soars- record-levels-despite-70m-drive-tackle/
Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2012). Exploring the relationship between work-related rumination, sleep quality, and workrelated fatigue. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17, 341-353.
Schat, A. C., & Frone, M. R. (2011). Exposure to psychological aggression at work and job performance: The mediating role of job attitudes and personal health. Work & Stress, 25, 23-40.
Swenson, D. X., Waseleski, D., & Hartl, R. (2008). Shift work and correctional officers: Effects and strategies for adjustment. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 14(4), 299-310.
Walker, E.J., Jackson, C.A., Egan, H.H., & Tonkin, M. (2015) Workability and mental wellbeing among therapeutic prison officers, Occupational Medicine, 65, 549-551
Ref: 3864 Impact Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development The Thinking, Intentions and Traits Behind Behaviours that Affect Safety at Work Emily Kitson, University of Surrey Accidents and injuries are a major concern for organisations. The antecedents of safety behaviours have been under scrutiny in research for many years, which has provided guidance to practitioners in creating safer work environments and protecting people’s health. There appears to be a subtle divide between researchers in this field, where some conceptualise safety behaviours as an outcome of conscious decision-making to fulfil intentions, such as deliberate harmful violations or conscious promotions of safety practices (Beus, McCord and Zohar, 2016; Cohen et al, 2003). Others conceptualise the phenomena with subconscious processes and accidental behaviours, such as cognitive failure, slips and lapses (Wallace & Chen, 2005; Reason, 1990).
The difference in researchers’ interest is visible in their conceptualisation of safety behaviours, and the subsequent variables that they choose to measure. Valuable discussions and understanding have been developed for both conscious and subconscious decision-making and behaviour, including research that incorporates the influence of personality. Yet, research has not utilised the two standpoints together theoretically or empirically, which would sanction a more comprehensive explanation of safety behaviours. Therefore, there is a need to amalgamate them to grasp the picture in full as to why people behave unsafely at work. This present paper reviews the literature and proposes a model (see Figure 1) that serves this need, which provides explanations of safety behaviours, accidents and injuries that encompass both subconscious and conscious processes. The model has the potential to be utilised by practitioners to help diagnose the reasons behind unsafe behaviours in certain work contexts, so appropriate corrective action can be taken.
The model proposed is an adaptation of Cullen and Sackett’s (2003) model on counterproductive work behaviours (CWB), which identifies that personality traits and the work environment influences individuals’ attitudes, perceptions and emotions. These factors are incorporated into decision- making to determine what action to take. This model was chosen as a basis because in Cullen and Sackett’s paper, they identify unsafe behaviours as a form of CWBs and highlight the applicability of the model to them.
There are several characteristics of the CWB model that the author of the present paper wishes to shed light on, and to propose amendments that better fit with the safety literature. Firstly, the model in its current form does provide insight as to how and why individuals behave unsafely with and without conscious thinking. However, the theoretical underpinning is more established on the conscious decision-making standpoint, with the integration of the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). This makes logical sense for CWB as these behaviours are carried out consciously on the forefront of intentions, attitudes, behavioural control and subjective norms to act contrarily to the legitimate interests of the organisation (Sackett & DeVore, 2001). However, the explanation as to why unintentional mistakes in safety occur is not yet clear, such as cognitive failure, lapses and errors in judgement (Reason, 1990).
The dual system theory of cognition by Stanovich and West (2000) helps fill the gap. It corresponds with Cullen and Sackett’s model as individuals are able to make either deliberative, slow, controlled, rational and rule governed decisions. It also provides the additional insight into fast, effortless and automatic decisions that make individuals more susceptible to mistakes. Therefore, the proposed model integrates the dual system theory of cognition into Cullen and Sackett’s model (labelled Cognition System 1 and System 2) to deliver a holistic perspective that encompasses conscious and subconscious processing, which narrows the divide in this field.
This brings us onto the second point of intentions. Intentions and CWBs are likely to be corresponsive, as by definition these behaviours are driven by intentions to cause disruption or harm (Sackett & DeVore, 2001). With regard to safety behaviours, individuals can either intend to be safe or to cause harm (Cohen et al, 2003), and therefore it is important for the new model to distinguish between the two in order to explain safe or unsafe behaviours. Intentions and cognitions together provide an explanation for why people who have safe intentions behave safely or unsafely, as the relationship is dependent on the quality of their decision-making in the environmental context that they are in.
Proposition 1: There are two types of cognitive processes that individuals at work may utilise when making safety related decisions. System 1 is fast, less effortful, less conscious and can lead to behaviours that are not aligned with intentions. System 2 requires more planning and weighing up of factors to make decisions, and the resulting behaviours are corresponsive with individuals’ safe or harmful intentions.
The final characteristic to note of the CWB model is the direction of relationships between personality and the other noted factors. Indeed, traits have been found to directly predict safety behaviours (Beus, Dhanani & McCord, 2015). Cullen and Sackett theorise that personality is a stable construct that reflect internal biological states and predict relatively consistent patterns of behaviour, hence the unidirectional relationships. However, in modern day personality research, traits are considered as more dynamic than once thought and are malleable depending on the experiences individuals are exposed to, as well as the outcomes of their own decisions (Woods, Lievens, De Fruyt & Wille; 2013). A cyclical effect is plausible, where the process of making decisions and the consequential behaviour can be feedback of the self to individuals, who then may adjust to reduce the chance of having an accident in the future (Wruz & Roberts, 2017).
Proposition 2: Personality traits and safety behaviours/ safety outcomes have a bidirectional relationship where they affect each other. Theorising with the proposed model, the present author is currently conducting a meta-analysis on safety behaviours, decision-making, intentions and personality traits that are within and outside of the Big Five (Goldberg, 1990) to continue the attempt of narrowing the divide in the safety literature. Analysis is likely to be completed before the conference so that the results can be presented. Additionally, on the basis of this model, the author will be conducting a study to empirically evidence personality dynamics and the bidirectional relationships between traits and safety behaviours, as it is novel to the safety field. The study will use experiential sampling methodology with weekly measurements for 15 weeks and another three-month follow up, and data will be analysed using hierarchical linear modelling. The hypotheses and methodologies can also be discussed at the conference.
There are several notable practical implications for this work. With the comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of safety behaviours that this model provides, practitioners are able to evaluate environmental contexts and human factors to assimilate the reasons behind unsafe decisions that lead to problematic behaviour. They can then diagnose the issue and provide an appropriate intervention to reduce the number of future unsafe behaviours. For example, to investigate whether individuals’ cognitions, intentions or traits are aligned with safe behaviours and then intervene accordingly. Furthermore, by conceptualising personality traits as dynamic, practitioners can provide personality change interventions (e.g. Hudson et al, 2018) that tackle safety behaviours at a within-person level to create a safer workforce. Therefore, there is potential for improvement for already employed individuals with person-job misfit due to the dynamic nature of traits. Finally, there are implications for assessment and selection, where certain individuals may be more suited to, and safer, in certain environments due to their traits. Selecting in traits that are corresponsive to safety behaviours can help protect organisations and the people who work for them, and save time, money and resources in interventions and accident costs.
Figure 1: The Proposed Model Depicting the Relationships Between Personality, Cognitions, Intentions and Safety Behaviours
References
Beus, J. M., Dhanani, L. Y., & McCord, M. A. (2015). A meta-analysis of personality and workplace safety: Addressing unanswered questions. Journal of applied psychology, 100(2), 481-498. Beus, J. M., McCord, M. A., & Zohar, D. (2016). Workplace safety: A review and research synthesis. Organizational psychology review, 6(4), 352-381.
Cohen, L., Miller, T., Sheppard, M. A., Gordon, E., Gantz, T., & Atnafou, R. (2003). Bridging the gap: bringing together intentional and unintentional injury prevention efforts to improve health and well being. Journal of safety research, 34(5), 473-483.
Cullen, M. J., & Sackett, P. R. (2003). Personality and counterproductive workplace behavior. Personality and work: Reconsidering the role of personality in organizations, 14(2), 150-182.
Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative" description of personality": the big-five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6), 1216-1229.
Fishbein, M., Ajzen, I., 1975. Belief, Attitude, Intention and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts.
Hudson, N. W., Briley, D. A., Chopik, W. J., & Derringer, J. (2018). You Have to Follow Through: Attaining Behavioral Change Goals Predicts Volitional Personality Change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication.
Reason, J. (1990). Human error. Cambridge university press.
Wallace, J. C., & Chen, G. (2005). Development and validation of a work-specific measure of cognitive failure: Implications for occupational safety. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78(4), 615-632.
Woods, S. A., Lievens, F., De Fruyt, F., & Wille, B. (2013). Personality across working life: The longitudinal and reciprocal influences of personality on work. Journal of organizational behavior, 34(S1), S7-S25.
Wrzus, C., & Roberts, B. W. (2017). Processes of personality development in adulthood: The TESSERA framework. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 21(3), 253-277.
Ref: 3832 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work “To boldly go where no psychologist has gone before”- Examining test impact on Deaf BSL users Jenny Koehring, Danny Hinton University of Wolverhampton Introduction: There are an estimated 80,000 Deaf people in the UK who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first or preferred language (BDA, 2015). BSL is a language in its own right and differs from English not only in modality, but also in grammar and structure (Sutton-Spence & Woll, 1999).
As a cultural and linguistic minority (Ladd, 2003), Deaf BSL users face numerous communicative challenges in their daily lives, such as in their access to education, healthcare and, of course, employment. Despite the offers for reasonable adjustments based on the Equality Act (2010), and governmental support such as the Access to Work scheme (Gov.uk, 2018), many Deaf people still struggle to find work, or to progress within their organisations. In addition, Access to Work does not cover all aspects of work-related communication issues. For instance, funds for a sign language interpreter are only granted once the candidate gets to the interview stage. Psychometric testing that is often used to sift candidates early in the selection process, and is, increasingly, delivered online, is not covered by interpreting services. Considering that 45%% of UK companies now use psychometric testing for job selection purposes (CIPD, 2013), this forms a major barrier for Deaf sign language users to gaining employment.
Psychometric testing is generally based on the assumption that candidates will take the test in their native language (or one that they are adequately proficient in). This is not necessarily the case for Deaf sign language users, so that even a questionnaire asking for basic personal information can be a struggle, let alone, for example, a verbal reasoning test that relies on the test taker’s ability to make logical deductions and understand the meaning of words. On the other hand, there is a possibility that those who have grown up with a visual language and grammar that is depicted in visual space (e.g. Dudis, 2008), are quicker and more accurate in completing abstract tasks, as their visual comprehension is well established.
A further question is whether hearing people are more likely to be exposed to psychometric testing in their education and adult life, even if that is through play and unscientific versions of tests easily found online, which Deaf people may not come in contact with in the same way, due to cultural and lifestyle differences (Bahan, 2008).
All of the above issues and more have been encountered in the present pilot study, providing a plethora of avenues to explore in further research.
Method: The quantitative study employed a between-groups design, with the purpose of comparing the ability test performance of Deaf and hearing adults (18-67). All participants were asked to perform the same measures, aiming to elicit differences in test outcome.
Test modality was face-to-face for both groups. Due to lack of previous research in the area, studies on ethnic differences and in a clinical psychology context have been used to inform the research design.
Participants: Opportunity sampling was used to source participants with the support of various Deaf and interpreting organisations and individuals well known in the Deaf community. A G*Power analysis was performed to determine minimum sample size. A sample size of 128 participants was predicted, based on a moderately strong effect size, yielding statistical power of .80 (Cohen, 1988).
Over a period of six weeks, 62 participants were tested. Of the participants analysed, 40 were female, and 22 male, with an age range from 18 to 67 (M=40.77 years, SD 13.69); 28 identified as Deaf, 31 as hearing and three as hard of hearing. For statistical purposes, the latter were incorporated in the figure for Deaf participants as they identified with the Deaf community and culture and also stated that their first or preferred language was BSL.
Materials: Logiks General (Intermediate) by Cubiks was selected as most feasible to elicit differences in special measures. The general abilities battery consists of three tests: verbal (24 items), numerical (16 items) and abstract reasoning (10 items). Each test section is strictly timed at 4 minutes, but additional time is given for instructions and example items. According to the BPS test review, “the verbal and numerical subtests include a variety of item types including analogies and syllogisms, and number and word problems for the numerical subtest. The abstract subtest consists of sequencing questions.” (BPS, 2016). Administration time is estimated at 2 minutes preparation and 18 minutes administration although preparation time had to be extended to allow for questions and partial interpretation into sign language. Internal consistency reliability has been reported as .82 overall with .76 for the verbal, .72 for the numerical and .51 for the abstract test. Validity has also been demonstrated by the test publisher (Kurz, Welsh, Das & Chen, 2016). In addition, a Qualtrics questionnaire was designed to capture demographic data such as age, language preference and level of education. The questionnaire also asked for information on other disabilities, as research shows that additional disabilities are more prevalent in Deaf people than in the general population (Gallaudet University, 2011).
Results
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics of Overall Raw Scores
Raw scores N Mean (SD) Skewness (SE) Kurtosis (SE)
Verbal raw 62 12.90 (5.20) 0.26 (.304) -.667 (.599)
Numerical raw 62 6.16 (3.28) -.035 (.304) -.838 (.599)
Abstract raw 62 5.16 (2.28) -.085 (.304) -.817 (.599) Overall mean scores of each ability test are shown in Table 1. Verbal scores varied from 3 to 23 (out of 24 items), numerical scores ranged from zero -13 (out of 16 items) and abstract scores ranged from one-10 correctly answered questions out of 10 possible.
Independent sample t-tests were carried out for each measure with the following results:
Table 2
Mean Score Differences Between Groups
Hearing Deaf
Raw scores N M (SD) N M (SD) 95% CI
31 15.97 (3.74) 31 9.84 (4.65) [3.99, 8.27] Verbal raw
Numerical 31 6.65 (3.30) 31 5.68 (3.24) [-.69, 2.63] raw Abstract raw 31 5.26 (1.86) 31 5.06 (2.66) [-.97, 1.36] Table 3
Comparison of Mean Scores in Present Hearing Sample and Test Battery Norm Group
Test type Cubiks norm group Current study hearing sample Verbal M=13.6 SD= 4.2 M=15.96 SD= 3.74
Numerical M= 8.2 SD= 2.9 M=6.65 SD=3.30
Abstract M=5.9 SD= 2.0 M=5.26 SD=1.86
Total M=27.7 SD=7.1 M= 27.87 SD= 7.32 Note. Cubiks norm group Global (Entry Level) 1.0 (Cubiks, 2016)
Discussion: Psychometric testing is a widely used tool to assess candidate aptitude and may often be the first hurdle to overcome in the job application process. Little guidance is provided by test publishers as to reasonable adjustments, and norm groups are based on a hearing, native speaker population.
This study does not aim to provide solutions, but to highlight potential issues in the process of testing Deaf sign language users, and to call for a line of further research in this area. The results of this study raise many questions. Why is it that Deaf people’s results are overall marginally lower than those of hearing people and why do verbal reasoning test result show significant differences? Is it solely because of language barriers, or lack of education, or could it be due to neurological differences? Considering that it is not likely that Deaf people have a generally lower aptitude than hearing individuals, this method of assessment should be scrutinised in more depth for its viability with this specific participant group.
Furthermore, the question of reasonable adjustments remains unresolved. Would giving more time improve results? If so, how much extra time would be adequate to not disadvantage either group and to make results comparable? Another option for improvement may be the use of sign language interpreters, as suggested by the BPS guidelines (BPS, 2017). However, not only would this pose the question of translation equivalence (Baker, 2009), it would also cause problems in terms of reliability and validity, standardisation, timings and practicalities such as availability of interpreters, locations and visibility. In addition, psychometric testing often takes place online, which further complicates the use of interpreters.
In conclusion, results of this study show that much further research is needed to explore test impact for Deaf sign language users and to develop solutions for a variety of questions raised. This study provides an opportunity for practitioners and academics alike to engage in open dialogue on how to improve chances of success for Deaf people in employment settings through adequate psychometric measures.
References
Bahan, B. (2008). Upon the Formation of a Visual Variety of the Human Race. Dirksen, H., Bauman, L. (eds). Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 83-99.
Baker, M. (2011). In other words: A coursebook on translation. 2nd ed. London: Taylor & Francis.
BPS (2016). Test Review Logiks General. Psychological Testing Centre. Cromwell, J. (2005). Deafness and the art of psychometric testing. The Psychologist. 18(12): 739-40.
BPS (2017). Hearing Loss, deafness and psychometric testing. Retrieved from https://ptc.bps.org.uk/information-and-resources/information-testing/guidelines-testing-and-test- use
British Deaf Association (2015). Facts about the Deaf Community. Retrieved from https://bda.org.uk/fast-facts-about-the-deaf-community/.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2013). Annual Survey Report 2013: Resourcing and Talent Planning. Retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/resourcing-and-talent- planning_2013.PDF. Cubiks (2016). Logiks Technical & User Manual. Cubiks Intellectual Property Limited 2016).
Dudis, P. (2008) Annotating Real Space Depiction. [Online]. Retrieved from < http://www.sign- lang.uni-hamburg.de/lrec2008/pdf/lrec2008_dudis.pdf>.
Gallaudet University (2011). Demographics. Retrieved from https://research.gallaudet.edu/Demographics/.
Gov.uk (2018). Access to work. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/eligibility
Kurz, R., Welsh, K., Das, P., Chan, A. (2016). Validating speed-accuracy and differential aptitude sub- scores of a short general mental ability measure. International Test Commission Conference, Vancouver.
Ladd, P. (2003) Understanding Deaf culture: In search of deafhood. United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Sutton-Spence, R. & Woll, B. (1999) The linguistics of British sign language: An introduction. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Ref: 3866 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work
Evaluation of an Intervention to Promote Health and Wellbeing in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Laura Kudrna1, Lailah Alidu1, Thrive at Work Collaobration (authorship in no particular order) - Yasmin Akram, Lena Al-Khudairy, Karla Hemming, Joanna Hofman, Laura Kudrna, Richard Lilford, Madeline Nightingale, Rob Prideaux, Sean Russell, Alex Sutherland, Ivo Vlaev, Christian Van Stolk, Samuel Watson2 1University of Warwick, 2West Midlands Combined Authority, RAND Europe, University of Birmingham
Introduction: Good employee health and wellbeing is of key importance to employers and the economy. For example, in the workplace, 6.5m employees reported musculoskeletal problems in 2008 and this is predicted to rise to 7 m employees by 2030 (Vaughan-Jones & Barham, 2009). This equates to around 1 in 8 employees in England reporting having a musculoskeletal problem. In the West Midlands, the average number of sick days per person per year is 6.9. This indicates that up to 1.5 days per person per year could be lost due to MSK in the West Midlands. Similarly the impact of mental ill health in the West Midlands is significant; overall mental ill health costs the West Midlands an estimated £12.6bn annually, equivalent to £3100 per population head, per year. Employment costs as a result of mental ill health represent 31.5% of this total at £3.9bn. These costs include absence and presenteeism, as well as the cost of worklessness (Newbigging, 2017).
As a setting for health promotion, workplaces enable access to large groups of people to promote health and wellbeing. Workplace health promotion can lead to cost savings for organisations by reducing staff turnover and sickness absence and improving productivity (Oswald, Proto & Sgroi, 2015; Hassard et al, 2017). The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Hassard et al, 2017) recommend that a range of options are provided to businesses to implement workplace health promotion. Despite this evidence, many businesses find it hard to invest in the health and wellbeing of their employees, or do not invest at all; problems that are especially true for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). It is, therefore, important to consider how SMEs could be motivated to improve and invest in the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Theory and hypotheses: Psychological theory and research predicts both positive and negative effects of financial incentives on motivation and action to change (Porter & Lawler, 1968; Deci, 1971; Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999). On the one hand, financial incentives may enhance the extrinsic motivation of employers to take positive action on their employees’ health and wellbeing, which would produce a positive effect of financial incentives on our outcomes. It is also possible, however, that financial incentives could undermine the intrinsic motivation of employers to take positive action on their employees’ health and wellbeing by diminishing autonomy and shifting the locus of control from an external to an internal standard, thereby ‘crowding out’ their intrinsic motivation to take action. Such an effect may occur either as an immediate result of the incentive or once the incentive is removed (Promberger & Marteau, 2013), and in either case, would produce a negative effect of the financial incentives on our outcomes. The literature on self-determination theory discusses these two possibilities in-depth (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Deci, Olafsen, & Ryan, 2017).
Which scenario is most likely in our research? Evidence from health care settings – rather than the workplace – suggests that there are likely to be positive effects of financial incentives on changing healthcare practice, especially for areas such as improving processes of care, referrals and admissions, and compliance with guidelines and outcomes (Flodgren et al, 2011). We hypothesise that such incentives will also have positive effects in the workplace setting, particularly because our financial incentive is designed to promote the uptake of the Thrive at Work health and wellbeing ‘toolkit’ (West Midlands Combined Authority, 2019a). This toolkit contains information on how to promote positive mental health, musculosketetal (MSK) health and lifestyle health (e.g. smoking, alcohol and/or substance misuse, healthy eating, active travel). Thus, the incentive is provided within a context that supports employers to take action on promoting health and wellbeing at work.
Hypothesis 1: The uptake of the toolkit can be increased by a monetary incentive.
Alongside theory and evidence on the role of financial incentives, it is important to consider how psychological measurement theory applies to this trial. A threat to the internal validity of this research is reactivity of measurement, which occurs when the act of measurement influences what is being measured and represents a special case of Hawthorne effects (Campbell, 1957; Romanczyk, 1974; French & Sutton, 2010; Capellan, Wilde & Zhang, 2017). Although collecting information about motivation, health and wellbeing over the course of the trial is important because it permits an investigation of how these outcomes unfold over time, it could also bias the results if the act of collecting this information influences the outcomes separately to the effects of the financial incentive. The context in which measurement reactivity is likely to occur is not always clear (French & Sutton, 2010), which suggests that it should be assessed. To conduct an assessment of measurement reactivity, we use a version of the Solmon four-group design that includes one experimental group receiving no research until the very end of the trial (Solomon, 1949; Swanson & Holton, 2005).
Methods
Ethics. Full ethical approval for this research was granted by the University of Warwick ethics committee. Consideration was given to aspects of the research such as informed consent, anonymity, data processing and security, and the right to withdraw from the study. All individuals interviewed consented to their participation in the research. Research team. The intervention was delivered by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and assessed by independent evaluators at RAND Europe and the University of Warwick. These individuals represent the Thrive at Work Wellbeing Programme Collaboration (2019). Details of the Thrive at Work Commitment and Toolkit are available online (WMCA, 2019a-b).
Procedure. After agreeing to take part, SMEs were randomly allocated to one of four groups:
1. Intervention (1) baseline and post intervention assessment: 100% of the monetary incentive + Thrive at Work Commitment and Toolkit
2. Intervention (2) baseline and post intervention assessment: 50% of the monetary incentive + Thrive at Work Commitment and Toolkit
3. Control (1) baseline and post intervention assessment: Thrive at Work Commitment and Toolkit
4. Control (2) post intervention assessment only: Thrive at Work Commitment and Toolkit
The incentives were proportional to the size of the organisation and capped at a maximum of £12,500 (WMCA, 2019c). After randomisation, baseline quantitative assessments were conducted with Groups 1-3 (Oct ‘18 – Feb ’19). Following baseline assessments, qualitative interviews were conducted with a selection of SMEs and SMEs were informed of whether they would receive the incentive or not (de-blinding). Next, there were midline qualitative interviews (June ’19 – Aug ’19). Endpoint quantitative and qualitative assessments are planned from September ’19. Overall, there are two quantitative assessment periods (at baseline and endpoint) and three qualitative assessment periods (baseline, midline and endpoint). All researchers were blind to the group allocation of the SME that they collected data from. A mix of face-to-face and telephone data collection was conducted.
Participants. A total of 152 SMEs (10-250 employees) were recruited by the WMCA. A targeted emailing campaign was conducted via key public and private sector leaders, colleagues and ‘cascaders’ known to hold lists of stakeholders and businesses in the midlands region. Enrolment was carried out over a two and a half month period (July 2018–September 2018). All SMEs provided a list of their employees and a random sub-set of employees were selected for research. At baseline, 750 employees and 85 employers were interviewed.
Measures. The main outcome measure was, "Does your organisation take positive action on health and wellbeing?" Full methodological details of the study are published by the Thrive at Work Wellbeing Programme Collaboration (2019).
***Preliminary results and discussion will be available in January 2020.
References
Campbell, D. T. (1957). Factors relevant to the validity of experiments in social settings. Psychological Bulletin, 54(4), 297.
Capellan, J., Wilde, M. H., & Zhang, F. (2017). Measurement Reactivity in a Randomized Clinical Trial Using Self-Reported Data. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(1), 111-119.
Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18, 105–115.
Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627. Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19- 43.
Flodgren, G., Eccles, M. P., Shepperd, S., Scott, A., Parmelli, E., & Beyer, F. R. (2011). An overview of reviews evaluating the effectiveness of financial incentives in changing healthcare professional behaviours and patient outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (7).
French, D. P., & Sutton, S. (2010). Reactivity of measurement in health psychology: how much of a problem is it? What can be done about it?. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15(3), 453-468.
Hassard, J., Wang, D., Cox, T., Muylaert, K., Namysł, A., Kazenas, A., Flaspoler, E., & Podniece, Z. (2012). Motivation for employers to carry out workplace health promotion: literature review. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Newbigging K. (2017). Mental Health in the West Midlands Combined Authority. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.
Oswald, A. J., Proto, E., & Sgroi, D. (2015). Happiness and productivity. Journal of Labor Economics, 33(4), 789-822.
Porter, L. W., & Lawler, E. E. III. (1968). Managerial attitudes and performance. Homewood, IL: Irwin- Dorsey
Promberger, M., & Marteau, T. M. (2013). When do financial incentives reduce intrinsic motivation? Comparing behaviors studied in psychological and economic literatures. Health Psychology, 32(9), 950.
Romanczyk, R. G. (1974). Self-monitoring in the treatment of obesity: Parameters of reactivity. Behavior Therapy, 5(4), 531-540.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68.
Solomon, R. L. (1949). An extension of control group design. Psychological Bulletin, 46(2), 137.
Swanson, R. A., & Holton, E. F. (2005). Research in organizations: Foundations and methods in inquiry. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Thrive at Work Wellbeing Programme Collaboration (2019). Evaluation of a Policy Intervention to Promote the Health and Wellbeing of Workers in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. BMC Public Health, 19(493).
Vaughan-Jones, H. & Barham L. (2009). Healthy work: challenges and Apportunities to 2030: British United Provident Association.
WMCA (2019a). Thrive at Work – About the Programme. https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we- do/thrive/thrive-at-work/about-the-programme/
WMCA Authority (2019b). Thrive at Work – Commitment Framework. https://www.wmca.org.uk/media/2563/thrive-at-work-commitment-framework.pdf WMCA (2019c). Evaluation of the Wellbeing Premium Programme. https://www.wmca.org.uk/media/2446/evaluation-of-wellbeing-premium-programme.pdf
Ref: 3962 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) Personality Assessment Science & Practice: Mapping Measures to the Periodic Table of Personality Rainer Kurz, Cubiks
This symposium maps personality questionnaire scales to the Periodic Table of Personality (Woods & Anderson, 2016) using the Trait Descriptive Adjectives (TDA) measure of Goldberg (1992). PCA with Varimax rotation on results for N=1213 professionals and managers were used to create orthogonal regression-based factor scores. The mean age of this group was 46.06 (SD 12.86). 63% of the group identified as Female.
The first two papers are based on a co-validation sub-group (N=128) that completed PAPI 3 SL, HPI, HDS and MVPI questionnaires in addition to TDA.
The first paper is concerned with the construct validation of a Big 5 + Achieving research model operationalised through 30 PAPI scales.
The second paper is concerned with the construct validation of the scales of the Hogan questionnaires.
The third paper maps 10 Lumina Spark Aspects representing both poles of each Big 5 factor and 40 sub-ordinated Qualities with adaptive and maladaptive sub-scores.
Ref: 3964 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work
(1) Locating Scales of a Multi-level ‘Big 5 + Achieving’ Measure on the Periodic Table of Personality Rainer Kurz, Cubiks
Introduction: The development of the Trait Descriptive Adjective (TDA) questionnaire (Goldberg, 1992) cemented the dominance of the Big 5 personality trait model. Around the same time SHL published the IMAGES questionnaire which added an Achieving scale to the Big 5 which in factor analytic studies loaded on the opposite end of the Sympathetic marker scale for Agreeableness but was virtually uncorrelated. The HEXACO model added a Modesty-Humility factor which appears to overlap considerably with Agreeableness and may represent the opposite pole of an Achieving construct.
In the light of this Kurz (2015) developed a multi-level model where Achieving is added to the Big 5 factors and the factors paired up into Engagement, Enterprise and Excellence clusters modelled on the effectiveness factors Working Together, Promoting Change and Demonstrating Capability outlined by Kurz, Saville & MacIver (2009). The model allows for an overarching ‘general’ construct akin to the General Factor of Personality. It is operationalised building on the scales of the PAPI 3 questionnaire but could be emulated through other multidimensional measures.
Kurz (2015) reported an observed validity of .23 (N=929) for the research model across 10 languages and multiple organisations whereas a cross-validation study in a HR Consultancy (Jussila & Kurz, 2019) resulted in r=.39 (N=109). While criterion-related validity of this research model is promising the question arises how the model relates to the well-known Big 5 factors.
Woods & Anderson (2016) developed a ground-breaking methodology to locate any personality scale on the 45 fields of the ‘Periodic Table of Personality’ through co-administration of the TDA. Woods & Kurz (2016) replicated the TDA research using factor raw scores (instead of item responses) from a 2006 study finding largely consistent mappings and exploring the viability of a ‘Periodic Table of Performance’. Kurz (2016) applied the principles to a study with PAPI and NEO data finding that 26 NEO facets correlated most strongly with their own factor domain score. Tendermindedness (A6) however correlated most strongly with Openness and Trust (A1) with Emotional Stability. Assertiveness (A3) and Impulsiveness (N5) had negative correlations with Agreeableness that exceeded their own domain correlation.
A study was conducted to locate PAPI 3 derived scales on the Periodic Table of Personality.
Design: In a construct validation study N=128 professionals and managers completed TDA and the normative PAPI 3 SL version that uses a 7-point Likert scale to measure 26 dimensions with six items each (5 dimensions in addition yield two facet scores each) and a Social Desirability scale with 5 items.
51 participants identified as male and 77 as female. The median age was 50 with a range from 20 to 79. All TDA completions were in English. 122 PAPI completions were in English with the remaining completions in Dutch (N=4), Polish (N=1) and Czech (N=1).
Method: Kurz (2015) developed based on theoretical considerations and results of a large-scale validation study higher-order score algorithms using 20 PAPI Dimensions and 10 Facets that were added with integer weights of 5, 4, 3 ,2 and 1. Factor level scores were paired up to calculate cluster level scores. Three cluster levels scores were added into a ‘Performing’ Total score. For TDA orthogonal Big 5 regression scores were created through PCA with varimax rotation based on a larger sample of N=1213 participants in a wider study to increase robustness of the marker scores. PAPI scores were correlated with these TDA Big 5 factor regression scores as well as a Big 5 Sum calculated by adding them.
Results: At the factor level the theoretical origin in the Big 5 + Achieving model allows clear a-priori hypotheses.
Creating, Shaping and Delivering correlate very highly with their TDA counterparts Openness (.68), Extraversion (.67) and Conscientiousness (.65). All constituent scores have the primary loading on the hypothesised Big 5 factor apart from Need to connect (Q) that has a higher loading on Extraversion. Values are slightly lower for Adapting where the exceptions are that Emotional restraint (E) has a higher (negative) correlation with Extraversion. For Supporting correlation is slightly lower at .53 reflecting a more ‘active’ conceptualisation that builds on Transformational Leadership constructs. For Striving (representing broad Achieving construct) the highest correlations are with Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Openness. Work tempo and Competitiveness (A1) correlate highest with Extraversion with negative secondary loadings on Agreeableness.
For the factors, only Delivering was found to be ‘factor pure’ exceeding the 3.73 benchmark value set by Woods & Anderson (2016). The highest ratio of primary to secondary correlations for the dimensions was found for Need to finish a task (N) which was omitted from the research model due to a peculiar validity pattern (negative correlation with overall performance). Planner (H), Creative (R1) and Calm (Y1) also exceeded the threshold value. Kurz (2016) found that Vector index values, that represent the strength of association, were stable across two studies for values exceeding .40. All higher-order scales exceeded this value apart from Striving and Engaging which fell slightly below. Seven dimensions and two facets exceed a vector value of .40 thus clearly locating them on the Periodic Table of Personality. However, Need to be upwardly supportive (F), Work focus (G), Social desirability (SD), Competitiveness (A1), Need to achieve (A) and Persistence (V) obtained values below .20 reflecting a complex factor structure where scores are substantially influenced by more than two Big 5 constructs thus making their true location uncertain.
At the cluster level, Enterprising and Engaging feature primary and secondary loading as expected. For Excelling, Conscientiousness dominates with Extraversion in second place. The PAPI Performing score correlated .67 with the sum of the five orthogonal TDA factors suggesting that they tap into the same overarching construct that is variously referred to as the ‘General Factor of Personality’. Most scales correlate positively with the Big 5 sum but correlations are lower for Conscientiousness scales with Need for rules and guidelines (W) even correlating negatively.
Table 1: PAPI 3 SL N score variable names, research model weights (W) and correlations with TDA Big 5 Sum and Big 5 factor scores followed by primary and secondary loading, ratio and vector size. PAPI Score Variable Name W SUM E A C ES O 1st 2nd Ratio Vector
Performing .67 .51 .03 .18 .22 .43 E+ O+ 1.20 .45
Enterprising .49 .60 -.15 -.06 .06 .57 E+ O+ 1.06 .68
Excelling .40 .19 -.06 .61 -.04 .05 C+ E+ 3.18 .41
Engaging .56 .26 .30 -.14 .49 .25 ES+ A+ 1.61 .33
Creating .43 .34 -.05 -.16 .10 .68 O+ E+ 2.02 .58
Shaping .45 .67 -.18 .02 .02 .38 E+ O+ 1.76 .59
Striving .45 .47 -.15 .31 -.03 .28 E+ C+ 1.51 .32
Delivering .22 -.11 .04 .65 -.03 -.16 C+ (C+) -4.21 .45
Supporting .48 .40 .53 -.26 .13 .20 A+ E+ 1.32 .44
Adapting .43 .07 .02 .01 .61 .21 ES+ O+ 2.89 .41
PAPI Dimension Sum .66 .53 .05 .25 .16 .35 E+ O+ 1.51 .40
Discussion: The study demonstrates that the multi-level Big 5 + achieving PAPI research model covers the Big 5 personality factors largely as expected.
The observed correlations of TDA orthogonal factors Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness with their PAPI counterparts exceed the .65 value stipulated by EFPA test review criteria for ‘good’ construct convergence whereas for Emotional Stability the correlation exceeds the .55 value for ‘adequate’. The correlation for Agreeableness with Supportiveness falls slightly below the threshold reflecting validity-centric considerations in the design of the Big 5 + Achieving research model that placed the highest weight for Supporting on Inspirational Motivator (M) as it was found to be the single most valid dimension. Extraversion was the highest corelates of Striving followed by Conscientiousness. Kurz (2016) created orthogonal Big 5 regression scores from 30 NEO facets analogue to the TDA methodology of Woods & Anderson (2016). The NEO facet Achievement Striving correlated .76 with the Conscientiousness domain and only .23 with the Extraversion domain. While both approaches suggest that Extraversion and Conscientiousness largely underpin the broad achieving construct, ambiguity remains which factor domain should be considered the primary loading. Adding a 6th factor for a practitioner model helps to side-step this conundrum.
Cluster level constructs Engaging and Enterprising are clearly mapped to their theoretically expected personality factors. Excelling correlates most strongly with Conscientiousness as would be expected whereas the second highest correlation is with Extraversion.
The research model Total titled ‘Performing’ correlates .67 with the sum of orthogonal TDI factor scores suggesting the presence of a common General Factor of Personality. The correlations are highest for Extraversion and Openness reflecting the occupational origin of the PAPI questionnaire developed in 1959 for use with managers and professionals. Operationalising the Big 5 + Achieving research model with NEO or HEXACO may well result in different loadings.
References
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The Development of Markers for the Big - Five Factor Structure. Psychological Assessment, 92, 26-42.
Jussila, P. & Kurz, R. (2019). Cross-validating Success Factors – Aligning Personality and Competency Assessment & Theory. Paper at the EAWOP Conference in Turin.
Kurz, R. (2015). Personality Predictors of Leadership: Findings from Research in Europe. Presentation at the SIOP Conference in Philadelphia
Kurz, R. (2016). A NEO & PAPI Co-validation Journey from the General Factor of Personality to Big 5+. Paper at the ITC Conference in Vancouver.
Kurz, R., Saville, P. & MacIver, R. (2009). The structure of work effectiveness as measured through the Saville Consulting Wave® Performance 360 ‘B-A-G’ Model of Behaviour, Ability and Global Performance. Assessment & Development Matters, Volume 1, Edition 1. British Psychological Society: Leicester.
Woods, S. & Anderson, N. (2016). Toward a Periodic Table of Personality: Mapping Personality Scales Between the Five-Factor Model and the Circumplex Model. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2016, Vol. 101, No. 4, 582–604
Woods, S. & Kurz, R. (2016). Mapping Personality Inventories to the Periodic Table of Personality: Impact of Non-orthogonality’. Paper at the ITC Conference in Vancouver.
Ref: 3968 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Mapping Hogan Bright Side, Dark Side and Inside Scales to the Periodic Table of Personality Melanie Groenewald, Rainer Kurz Cubiks Introduction: The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), Hogan Development Survey (HDS) and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) are widely used across the world for occupational assessment. They are at times referred to as covering bright side, dark side and inside aspects of personality respectively. This paper locates the various scales on the Periodic Table of Personality developed by Woods & Anderson (2016) using the Trait Descriptive Adjectives (TDA) Big 5 personality measure developed by Goldberg (1992).
The HPI was one of the first personality questionnaires built on the Big 5 model of personality. Extraversion was split into Sociability and Ambition whereas Openness was split into Inquisitive and Learning Approach. The HPI also features a validity scale to identify cases with suspicious response patterns. Six occupational scales are frequently included in reporting
The HDS features 11 scales modelled on personality constructs that could cause difficulty at work. The questionnaire uses work relevant items. High scores are indicative of risk factors that may manifest under pressure and may lead to ‘derailment’. Based on Horney (1950) the first five scales could be considered as covering ‘Moving Away’, the next four ‘Moving Against’ and the last two ‘Moving Towards’ themes.
The MVPI features 10 scales that measure deep routed values and provide insights into internal motivators and drivers. Items cover lifestyle, beliefs, occupational preferences, aversions and preferred associates.
The HDS manual shows in table 3.8 convergence of HPI, HDS and MVPI across a large group of respondents (N=1,041). According to Kurz (2016) the first five factors closely resemble the Big 5 personality factors and the last factor seemingly covers ‘low achieving’ themes with loadings for HDS Leisurely, MVPI Hedonistic and HDS Cautious.
In the light of this substantial correlations between HPI, HDS and MVPI scales and orthogonal factors of the Trait Descriptive Adjectives (TDA) tool are expected. Calculating the sum of the Big 5 orthogonal factors provides an estimate of the General Factor of Personality (GF) identified by Musek (2008). Calculation of scale sums within each instrument and across the three instruments can provide insights into the nature of each instrument.
Design: In a construct validation study N=128 professionals and managers completed TDA alongside HPI, HDS and MVPI. 51 participants identified as male and 77 as female. The median age was 50 with a range from 20 to 79. All instrument completions were in English.
Method: For TDA, orthogonal Big 5 regression scores were created through PCA with varimax rotation based on a larger sample of N=1,213 participants in a wider study to increase robustness of the marker scores used across multiple construct validation studies. HPI, HDS and MVPI raw scale scores as well as summary scores within and across instruments were correlated with orthogonal TDA Big 5 regression scores as well as a Big 5 Sum calculated by summing these.
Results: For HPI, Sociability, Adjustment and Inquisitive correlated at least .55 with their orthogonal TDA score counterparts Extraversion, Emotional Stability and Openness. Interpersonal Sensitivity correlated .47 with Agreeableness, and.29 with Extraversion. Prudence has a sizeable correlation (.45) with Conscientiousness but also with Openness (-.39). Ambition correlated most highly (.63) with Extraversion, and with Emotional Stability (.26). Learning Approach was fairly independent from the orthogonal Big 5 factors with only modest correlations with Openness (.21) and Agreeableness (- .21). Inquisitive was the only ‘factor pure’ scale in the study. The correlations for occupational scales make sense intuitively for Service Orientation, Stress Tolerance, Sales and Manager. For Clerical and Reliability low correlations with Conscientiousness appear somewhat counter-intuitive in the light of the validity generalisation literature highlighting Conscientiousness as the best single predictor of work performance. Summing the seven main scales of HPI results in a composite score that correlates .63 with the sum of orthogonal Big 5 regression scores underpinned by close association with Extraversion (.48) and Emotional Stability (.37).
For HDS, Excitable and Sceptical correlate negatively with Emotional Stability as expected. The remaining Moving Away scales Cautious, Leisurely and Reserved correlate negatively with Extraversion. The primary and secondary correlations of Moving Against scales Bold, Mischievous, Colorful and Imaginative are Extraversion and Openness i.e. the Beta factor of personality. For Moving Towards scale Diligent the correlation with Conscientiousness is very high (.70) whereas Dutiful correlates moderately with Agreeableness (.35) and Openness (-.31). Moving Against scales correlate positively with the sum of the orthogonal Big 5 factors and Moving Away scales negatively. The sum of HDS scales correlates modestly with Emotional Stability (-.24) and Extraversion (-.16).
For MVPI, correlations with orthogonal TDA scores are generally lower than for HPI and MVPI. Extraversion is the highest positive Big 5 correlate of Affiliation and Power as would be expected but negatively correlated with Security. Agreeableness is the strongest positive correlate of Altruism but has negative correlations with Power, Commerce and Science. Conscientiousness is the strongest positive correlate of Tradition. Openness is moderately correlated with Aesthetic and has a modest correlation with Hedonism. Emotional Stability is barely correlated with MVPI values. The sum of MVPI scale values has a very modest correlation with the sum of Big 5 factors underpinned by Extraversion and Conscientiousness.
Table 1: Hogan score variable names and correlations with TDA Big 5 Sum and orthogonal Big 5 regression factor scores followed by primary and secondary loading, ratio and vector size.
Hogan Score Variables SUM E A C ES O 1st 2nd Ratio Vector
HPI Validity .39 .18 .02 .32 .25 .01 C+ ES+ 1.31 .17
HPI Adjustment .42 .21 .12 .00 .56 -.01 ES+ E+ 2.74 .36
HPI Ambition .57 .63 -.21 .20 .26 .26 E+ ES+ 2.38 .46
HPI Sociability .40 .64 .09 -.17 -.04 .29 E+ O+ 2.22 .49
HPI Interpersonal Sensitivity .40 .29 .47 -.19 .22 .02 A+ E+ 1.61 .31
HPI Prudence .17 -.24 .30 .45 .18 -.39 C+ O- -1.16 .35
HPI Inquisitive .25 .08 -.11 -.05 .08 .55 O+ O+ -5.05 .31
HPI Learning Approach .13 .08 -.21 .19 .00 .21 O+ A- -1.02 .09
HPI Service Orientation .34 .60 .51 .19 .15 .26 E+ A+ 1.17 .63
HPI Stress Tolerance .48 .28 -.08 .18 .51 .10 ES+ E+ 1.81 .34
HPI Reliability .06 -.20 .25 .16 .22 -.31 O- A+ -1.24 .16
HPI Clerical .51 .37 .08 .09 .34 .16 E+ ES+ 1.08 .26
HPI Sales .54 .69 .07 -.17 .11 .40 E+ O+ 1.70 .63 HPI Manager .53 .42 -.12 .36 .27 .14 E+ C+ 1.15 .30
HPI SUM .63 .48 .09 .12 .37 .24 E+ ES+ 1.31 .36
HDS Excitable -.42 -.27 -.19 -.02 -.38 -.02 ES- E- 1.39 .21
HDS Skeptical -.37 -.21 -.23 .07 -.33 -.08 ES- A- 1.44 .16
HDS Cautious -.45 -.60 .27 -.10 -.24 -.24 E- A+ -2.27 .43
HDS Reserved -.32 -.51 -.44 .21 .07 .03 E- A- 1.15 .45
HDS Leisurely -.25 -.32 .07 -.03 -.10 -.12 E- O- 2.62 .12
HDS Bold .30 .30 -.16 .20 -.01 .27 E+ O+ 1.09 .16
HDS Mischievous .28 .47 -.12 -.19 .02 .41 E+ O+ 1.15 .39
HDS Colorful .40 .67 .04 -.23 -.01 .35 E+ O+ 1.93 .57
HDS Imaginative .34 .29 -.07 -.19 .09 .61 O+ E+ 2.10 .46
HDS Diligent .03 .24 .34 .70 -.19 .07 C+ A+ 2.04 .60
HDS Dutiful -.09 -.23 .35 .10 -.13 -.31 A+ O- -1.13 .22
HDS SUM -.12 -.16 -.13 .12 -.24 .16 ES- E- 1.53 .08
MVPI Recognition .11 .30 -.08 -.01 -.13 .13 E+ O+ 2.26 .10
MVPI Power .24 .37 -.27 .20 .01 .16 E+ A- -1.36 .21
MVPI Hedonism -.18 .08 -.08 -.10 -.13 -.14 O- ES- 1.04 .04
MVPI Altruistic .16 -.01 .31 .00 .09 -.08 A+ ES+ 3.48 .11
MVPI Affiliation .34 .59 .18 -.15 .03 .04 E+ A+ 3.28 .38
MVPI Tradition .06 -.15 .04 .37 -.01 -.16 C+ O- -2.31 .16
MVPI Security -.22 -.46 .05 .40 -.13 -.35 E- C+ -1.15 .36
MVPI Commerce -.01 .16 -.25 .08 .06 -.07 A- E+ -1.58 .08
MVPI Aesthetic .18 .03 .11 -.09 -.02 .33 O+ A+ 2.96 .12
MVPI Science -.13 -.14 -.25 -.05 .06 .14 A- O+ -1.75 .08
MVPI SUM .11 .16 -.07 .13 -.04 .04 E+ C+ 1.28 .04
HPI + HDS + MVPI SUM .31 .26 -.05 .18 .05 .17 E+ C+ 1.44 .10
Discussion: The study locates the scales of the Hogan HPI, HDS and MVPI scales on the Periodic Table of Personality based on a modest sample size.
The HPI Big 5 counterparts load on the expected primary factor. Sociability and Ambition are closely associated with Extraversion. Openness corelates with Inquisitive but Learning Approach is largely independent of all TDA factors. Occupational scales for Service Orientation and Sales are clearly associated with two factors each whereas the remaining ones are associated with a wider range of factors. The high correlations between HPI Sum and TDA Sum suggest they both cover the General Factor of Personality.
For HDS the correlations clarify the nature of specific scales. With view to Moving Against scales, Bold, Mischievous and Colorful are co-located with Sociability in the E+O+ segment whereas Imaginative (O+E+) is located next to Inquisitive (O+O+). Diligent and Dutiful broadly follow the correlational pattern of Prudence. Moving Away scales broadly mirror HPI Adjustment and Ambition with reverse sign. The modest negative correlation between HDS sum and TDA sum confirm that the constructs typically measure ‘dark side’ aspects although Moving Against scales seem fairly closely associated with typical bright side construct that are valued at the work place.
The MVPI correlation pattern is very diverse. Recognition is similar to Sociability whereas Power and Commerce are somewhat similar to Ambition. Altruistic is similar to Interpersonal Sensitivity whereas Commerce and Science appear to have an opposite pattern. Tradition and Security feature a pattern similar to Prudence. Aesthetic is placed next to Inquisitive. The results are compatible with the Schwartz (1992) model of universal values that form a circumplex that revolves around a Self- transcendence (Agreeableness) vs. Self-advancement (Extraversion) dimension and a Conservation (Conscientiousness) vs. Openness to change (Openness) dimension.
The results show that HPI and HDS scales converge with relevant TDA scales. MVPI correlation patterns are more varied but largely in lines with expectations.
Future research could be conducted on larger samples to confirm the preliminary findings of this study.
References
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The Development of Markers for the Big - Five Factor Structure. Psychological Assessment, 92, 26-42.
Horney, K. (1950). Neurosis and human growth. New York: Norton.
Kurz, R. (2016). Investigating facets of personality that underpin adaptive and maladaptive behaviour. Paper at the BPS Coaching Psychology Conference in London.
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theory and empirical tests in 20 countries. In: Advances in experimental social psychology, Volume 25, 1-65, Elsevier.
Woods, S. & Anderson, N. (2016). Toward a Periodic Table of Personality: Mapping Personality Scales Between the Five-Factor Model and the Circumplex Model. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2016, Vol. 101, No. 4, 582–604
Ref: 3970 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) Mapping Lumina Spark to the Periodic Table of Personality Stewart Desson, Jonathan Cannon Lumina Learning
Introduction: This paper aims to map the Aspects and Qualities of the Lumina Spark Big Five model (Desson, Benton and Golding, 2014) to the Periodic Table of Personality, as conceived by Woods and Anderson (2016). The mapping follows the procedure used by Woods and Anderson (2016), at both the 10 Aspect (opposite polarities of each Big Five factor) and 40 quality levels, and considers both adaptive and maladaptive forms of the Big Five.
This research aims to provide evidence of the convergent validity between Lumina Spark and the Trait Descriptive Adjectives (TDA), while also building on the work by Woods and Anderson (2016), by conceptualising opposite sectors in the circumplex model as discrete dimensions.
Measures: Lumina Spark consists of 240 items, assessing the Big Five factors, with each Aspect bifurcated into their opposite polarities, with 4 Qualities per Aspect, each measured in both adaptive and maladaptive forms; items are rated on a five-point Likert scale.
The Trait Descriptive Adjectives (Goldberg, 1992) are a set of 100 marker traits for the lexical Big Five conceived by Goldberg (1992); adjectives are rated on a nine-point Likert scale.
Sample: The sample utilised for this research consists of N=671 professionals from mixed backgrounds, who had self-rated on Lumina Spark and the Trait Descriptive Adjectives. This sample had a mean age of 48.11, with 56% female.
Analyses: Following methods utilised by Goldberg (1992), Hofstee, Goldberg, & De Raad (1992), and Woods and Anderson (2016), principal components analysis with varimax rotation was run on the TDA to identify the orthogonal Big Five factors; regression factor scores were computed as new variables.
The Lumina Spark Aspects and Qualities in the adaptive, maladaptive, and combined forms were correlated against the regression factor scores. Primary and Secondary correlations were then used as the criteria for mapping Aspects and Qualities to the Periodic table, further informed by factor purity and vector length, as in Woods and Anderson (2016).
Results: Principal components analysis with varimax rotation of the TDA, extracting five factors, found that 93 of the 100 adjectives loaded onto their expected factors. Of the 7 that did not load on their expected factor, 3 had their secondary loading on the expected factor. This represented a stronger structure of the Big Five as compared to that found in Woods and Anderson (2016), and so was deemed satisfactory as a representation of the lexical Big Five.
Following the identification of the factor structure of the TDA and computing of regression factor scores, Aspects and Qualities of Lumina Spark (adaptive, maladaptive, and combined) were then correlated against the regression factor scores in order to map the Aspects and Qualities onto the Periodic Table. Primary and secondary correlations were identified, factor purity was assessed, and vector lengths were calculated in order to inform the mapping.
Table 1 shows results and mapping to the Periodic Table for the Lumina Spark combined (adaptive and maladaptive) Aspects.
Aspect O E A C ES Primary Secondary Ratio Vector
O+ Big Picture Thinking .69** .11** -.06 -.23** -.05 O+ C- 3.00 .73
O- Down to Earth -.37** -.36** -.03 .41** -.19** C+ O- 1.11 .55
E+ Extraverted .21** .73** .10** -.18** -.05 E+ O+ 3.48 .76
E- Introverted -.03 -.73** -.16** .14** -.08* E- A- 4.56 .75
A+ People Focused -.03 -.19** .56** -.10* -.13** A+ E- 2.95 .59 A- Outcome Focused .18** .20** -.48** .14** -.06 A- E+ 2.40 .52
C+ Discipline Driven -.05 -.08* -.09* .66** -.15** C+ ES- 4.40 .68
C- Inspiration Driven .27** .18** .11** -.56** .01 C- O+ 2.07 .62
ES+ Reward Reactor .18** .17** .09* .07 .60** ES+ O+ 3.33 .63
ES- Risk Reactor -.05 -.26** .00 -.08 -.67** ES- E- 2.58 .72
Table 2 shows results and mappings to the Periodic Table of the Lumina Spark combined (adaptive and maladaptive) Qualities.
Aspect Quality O E A C ES Primary Secondary Ratio Vector
O+
Conceptual .53** .04 -.05 -.19** .06 O+ C- 2.79 .56
Imaginative .63** .14** -.01 -.32** .07 O+ C- 1.97 .71
Radical .48** .21** -.19** -.18** .02 O+ E+ 2.29 .52
Introspective .32** -.15** .11** .07 -.35** ES- O+ 1.09 .47
O-
Practical -.38** -.12** -.05 .30** -.06 O- C+ 1.27 .48
Evidence Based -.13** -.28** -.03 .38** -.18** C+ E- 1.36 .47
Cautious -.31** -.35** .02 .18** -.25** E- O- 1.13 .47
Grounded -.36** -.36** -.04 .41** -.10* C+ O- 1.14 .55 E+
Sociable .10* .60** .22** -.20** -.01 E+ A+ 2.73 .64
Demonstrative .18** .59** .14** -.13** -.01 E+ O+ 3.28 .62
Takes Charge .22** .56** -.15** -.04 -.07 E+ O+ 2.55 .60
Expresses Emotions .20** .66** .13** -.24** -.19** E+ C- 2.75 .70 E-
Observing .00 -.67** -.16** .10* -.12** E- A- 4.19 .69
Measured -.07 -.53** -.27** .19** .00 E- A- 1.96 .59
Intimate -.05 -.57** .12** .05 -.09* E- A+ 4.75 .58
Contains Emotions .01 -.61** -.18** .11** -.06 E- A- 3.39 .64 A+
Accommodating -.18** -.34** .31** -.09* -.13** E- A+ 1.10 .46
Collaborative .06 -.04 .43** -.03 -.03 A+ A+ 7.17 .43
Empathetic .01 -.08* .51** -.09* -.15** A+ ES- 3.40 .53 Regard for Others .08* -.09* .54** -.08* -.06 A+ E- 6.00 .55
A-
Tough .21** .34** -.36** .13** .02 A- E+ 1.06 .50
Competitive .16** .26** -.32** -.02 -.06 A- E+ 1.23 .41
Logical .03 -.06 -.26** .21** .09* A- C+ 1.24 .33
Independent .08* -.04 -.44** .07 -.25** A- N+ 1.76 .51
C+
Purposeful .06 .08* -.16** .43** -.15** C+ A- 2.69 .46
Structured -.12** -.21** -.05 .52** -.13** C+ E- 2.48 .56
Reliable -.14** -.12** .04 .52** -.11** C+ O- 3.71 .54
Focuses Feelings .05 -.02 -.12** .63** -.08* C+ A- 5.25 .64
C-
Adaptable .07 -.02 .16** -.42** .02 C- A+ 2.63 .45
Flexible .18** .07 .08* -.53** .09* C- O+ 2.94 .56
Spontaneous .30** .17** .05 -.49** -.03 C- O+ 1.63 .57
Follows Feelings .25** .31** .06 -.31** -.04 C- E+ 1.00 .44
ES+
Optimistic .24** .38** .19** -.10** .29** E+ ES+ 1.31 .48
Confident .22** .50** -.14** .04 .18** E+ O+ 2.27 .55
Even Tempered -.03 -.32** .26** .17** .53** ES+ E- 1.66 .62
Resilient .09* -.05 -.07 .05 .56** ES+ O+ 6.22 .57
ES-
Vigilant -.12** -.40** .05 .07 -.55** ES- E- 1.38 .68
Modest -.09* -.41** .20** -.06 -.33** E- ES- 2.05 .46
Impassioned .08* .15** -.23** -.11** -.55** ES- A- 2.39 .60
Responsive -.02 -.13** -.02 -.13** -.61** ES- E- 4.69 .62
Discussion: Analysis and mapping to the Periodic Table of the Lumina Spark combined Aspects, shown in Table 1, show strong convergent validity to the Trait Descriptive Adjectives, with all Aspects’ primary or secondary correlation congruent with their expected factor.
Looking at the combined Quality level (Table 2), for the most part, Qualities were correlating primarily or secondarily with their expected factors, with the Qualities “Evidence Based” (O-) and “Confident” (ES+), correlating most strongly with unexpected factors: C+ E- and E+ O+ respectively. In trying to interpret these findings, a few reasons can be cited as potential explanations. With regards to the Quality “Evidence Based”, one possible explanation is that this cross-loading is the result of bifurcating each Aspect into discrete polarities. A similar finding can be seen in Botwin and Buss (1989), who in their development of a behavioural Big Five measure, found convergence of their measures of high Openness with the IPIP-300 Openness, but divergence of their measures of low Openness with the IPIP-300 Openness, which instead converged with the IPIP-300 Conscientiousness.
With regards to the Quality “Confident”, a possible explanation for this could be found in the development of the Aspects and Qualities of Lumina Spark. In the bifurcation of Aspects and Qualities into their opposite polarities, a method used was to identify markers of one polarity (e.g. modest) and identify lexical opposites of those markers to denote the opposite polarity (e.g. confident). This rationale, combined with extrapolation of aforementioned findings by Botwin and Buss (1989), could serve as explanations for the cross-correlations of these two Qualities
When analysing the model at an adaptive and maladaptive Aspect level, similar findings are seen, with all Aspects (adaptive and maladaptive) correlating primarily with their intended factor, apart from the adaptive form of the Aspect “Down to Earth” (O-), with the maladaptive form correlating primarily with the correct factor.
Finally, at the most detailed adaptive and maladaptive Quality level, Qualities generally correlated primarily or secondarily with their intended factor, with 10 out of 80 correlating elsewhere. Previously mentioned possible reasons can be further attributed to these Qualities, with the issues stemming from the bifurcation of Aspects and Qualities into opposite polarities. Post-hoc analysis on this most detailed level will be conducted in order to justify the wayward Qualities’ place in their intended Aspects, which will serve as justifications further up the model as well.
For the most part however, Aspects and Qualities were found to correlated as expected, and thus shows the robust convergent validity between Lumina Spark and the TDA. Furthermore, by conceptualising opposite sectors of the circumplex model as discrete dimensions, we were able to show that these sectors are not necessarily direct opposites of each other, with one being the low form of its opposite, but instead discrete Aspects and Qualities can be mapped to these sectors.
References
Desson, S., Benton, S., & Golding, J. (2014). Measuring both ends of the Big 5 personality scales independently.
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor Structure. Psychological Assessment, 4, 26-42.
Hofstee, W. K. B., de Raad, B., & Goldberg, L. R. (1992). Integration of the big five and circumplex approaches to trait structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 146-163.
Johnson, J. A. (1994). Multimethod replication of the AB5C model of personality traits. In B. De Raad, W. K. B. Hofstee, & G. L. M. Van Heck, Personality psychology in Europe, Volume 5 (pp. 42-49). Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.
Woods, S. A., & Anderson, N. R. (2016). Toward a periodic table of personality: Mapping personality scales between the five-factor model and the circumplex model. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(4),
Topic: Learning, Training and Development Psychological Ethics and Organisational Politics Richard Kwiatkowski, Cranfield
Psychological Ethics
How could you get struck off? Are you an ethical psychologist? When was the last time that you conducted a self- audit? What role does social media play in your professional conduct? What happens if someone complains about you? These questions and many more will be addressed by Richard in an informative and interactive way, in an attempt to raise awareness around these issues based on the needs of the participants in the room and our profession. This will be a collaborative session and not a 'heavy' and dull exposition of ethical theory (Richard wouldn't go to that himself). Richard is the longest serving member of the BPS Ethics Committee, currently represents the DOP and is a former Chair
Organisational Politics
Richard Kwiatkowski has been researching Organizational Politics for more than 20 years, using insights gained from his work at the House of Commons (since 1997; ongoing) to work with a variety of organisations ranging from bankers to soldiers, and shippers to board aspirants . In this session we will consider how politics in organizations can be conceptualised, how it can be considered a skill to be applied ethically, how you can use organizational political insights within your organization, and how consultants can become more aware of politics in organisations. The session will be interactive.
Ref: 3890 Impact Paper Topic: Well-being and Work The beliefs and attitudes of serving Irish Defence Forces personnel towards a resilience briefing John Lalor, Self
Aim: This research investigates the beliefs and attitudes of Irish Defence Forces (DF) personnel towards resiliency briefings they receive. Using qualitative research methods, this study examines the phenomological experiences of DF members concerning their experience of managing stressors experienced on tour and how they adjust following their return from operational deployment (i.e., Perceived Organisational Support; POS) (Adler, 2013; Bliese, Adler, & Castro, 2011; Harvey et al., 2011; Keeling et al., 2017; Mental Health Advisory Team IV, 2006). In particular, the study considers the perceived impact of the briefings upon improving functioning during and, importantly, after deployment. Finally, this research inquires as to how the personnel experience the briefing in terms of affecting their willingness to seek help, when needed; an area often neglected by qualitative research (Coleman et al., 2017; Keeling et al., 2017; Melotte et al., 2017).
Context: Resilience training commonly includes education about the nature of traumatic stress, decompression, coping mechanisms for separation from family, education on seeking care, and in some nations, post-deployment mental health screening (Fertout et al., 2011; Greenberg et al., 2013). It often entails training at the pre-deployment stage, with follow-up training offered at the end of the deployment (Reivich et al., 2011). Several examples of such training are evident throughout the literature. Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF; Harms et al., 2013; Lester, McBride, & Cornum, 2013) is grounded in positive psychology theory. One of its pillars, the Master Resilience Trainer course (Reivich et al., 2011), is grounded largely in cognitive-behavioural theory and positive psychology (e.g., Beck, 1976; Ellis, 1962; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Another, Battlemind (Adler et al., 2009), is a pre- and post-deployment resiliency-building and debriefing program.
Of particular relevance here is the peer-delivered, psycho-education group program Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), pioneered with the Royal Marines and Royal Navy. Although somewhat different in terms of structure, content, duration and breadth to that found in the above models, this approach has shown modest results in challenging stigma of psychological problems, modifying attitudes about PTSD, stress, and help-seeking (Frappell-Cooke et al., 2010; Gould et al., 2007; Greenberg et al., 2010; Greenberg et al., 2008; Greenberg et al., 2006).
However, French et al. (2004b) reported that the main barriers to health screening and support were lack of trust, perceived low quality of healthcare, and perceived lack of concern within the institution about work environments and home life. Thus perception of the organisation as a trustworthy provider of help and care may impact upon perceptions of the quality of that support. Indeed, there appears to be a dearth of research on the reported experience of military resilience briefings and any association with wider organisational attitudes towards stress-related issues (Frappell-Cooke et al., 2010; Greenberg, Langston et al., 2011). In addition, questions on the utility and efficacy of resilience briefs have also been raised, following recent British-based research by Jones and colleagues (Jones, Whelan, Harden, Macfarlane, Burdett, & Greenberg, 2018). They suggested that there may be no benefits arising from the intervention.
Method: This study involved the use of qualitative research methods. Specifically, semi-structured interviews were conducted with enlisted soldiers within the DF (n=6) who had returned from overseas operational tours in 2018. Inclusion criteria included not currently engaging in mental healthcare services. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the text from transcripts derived from the interviews with personnel. The aim of IPA is to explore in detail how participants are making sense of their personal and social world (Smith & Osborn, 2008; Smith, 2011); which will illicit heuristic data regarding the fundamental meanings and insights held by participants (Giorgi, 2006).
Impact: The quantitative literature investigating the effectiveness of resilience briefings in military populations is sizeable (Fertout et al., 2011; Frappell Cooke et al., 2010; Greenberg et al., 2009; Jones, Whelan, Harden, Macfarlane, Burdett, & Greenberg, 2018; Joyce et al., 2018; Leppin et al., 2014b). Conversely, qualitative research investigating such briefings is substantially smaller by comparison (e.g., Greenberg et al., 2011a). A gap therefore exists in thorough qualitative exploration of personnel’s attitudes about and experiences of such briefings, rather than simply personnel's rather passive response to quantitative questions set by researchers.
Meanwhile, Perceived Organisational Support (POS), incorporating leadership behaviours, as reported by personnel concerning the wider organisation and leadership therein, is widely researched (Barnes et al., 2013; Britt et al., 2012; Kelley et al., 2013). Invariably, however, this research is quantitative in design. To the best of the lead author’s knowledge, qualitative military research into this area is limited.
This research question adds to the literature by investigating the combination of what personnel think of the organisation as a whole (encompassing the DF leadership), in their preparation of the personnel for both military deployment, and for recommencement of civilian life. Further, in contradistinction to the more common quantitative methodologies, qualitative investigation allows for counterproposals from personnel as to what they would change to improve the briefings. As a result, this research aims to go beyond the measurement of quantitative design, by incorporating a participant-led model of investigation. This will facilitate the development of counter-proposals from participants as to how they envisage a well-functioning briefing programme. Further, by incorporating the organisation and the DF leadership in particular, this research approaches the resilience briefing holistically. Designed and approved by the DF leadership, and rolled out within the wider organisational context, the response by participants to these resilience briefings will be taken into account within the wider context of the DF as an organisation, not merely as a hermetically sealed programme. This will enable us to combine the clinical/health psychology aspects of the briefings with the occupational psychology context of the organisation. Finally, this research will also lead to a practical, applied report being submitted to the DF leadership, with recommendations developed from the participant contributions, and evidence-based research.
Ref: 3835 Standard Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development How to Develop Growth Mindset Attitudes and Behaviours to Improve Organisational Performance Emma Lee1, Linda Morison2 1Matthew Syed Consulting, 2University of Surrey, School of Psychology The word ‘mindset’ captures the way a person views the world, the assumptions and beliefs they have developed over time which guide their behaviours. A person with a ‘growth mindset’ believes that it is possible to improve their abilities through effort, and therefore strives to learn. A person with a ‘fixed mindset’ believes that talent and ability are fixed and can’t really be changed, and therefore limits the amount of effort they invest in developing skills (Dweck, 1999, 2006). Higher levels of growth mindset are associated with improved academic performance (Sisk, Burgoyne, Sun, Butler, & Macnamara, 2018) and health behaviours (Orvidas, Burnette, & Russell, 2018). Rather than being binary, growth mindset is likely to fall on a continuum. Some believe that it may be a relatively stable trait, but there is evidence to suggest that it can be developed through targeted interventions (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007).
There is huge potential for the science behind growth mindset to be applied more widely in a work setting. Some initial research has linked growth mindset to positive organisational outcomes, such as higher levels of trust, collaboration, and employee commitment (Delaney, Dweck, Murphy, Chatman, & Kray, 2015; Harvard, 2014). There is also anecdotal evidence that suggests organisations demonstrate greater innovation and stronger financial performance if they have leaders who hold growth mindset beliefs (Syed, 2015). There is however limited research on how organisations can practically measure and develop growth mindset attitudes and behaviours in leaders and employees to improve organisational performance.
This paper builds on research related to growth mindset and applies it to a work setting. It provides a description of a reliable and valid measure of growth mindset attitudes and behaviours, covering both individual and organisational culture factors. It also provides practical methods for organisations to develop growth mindsets to improve performance and includes case studies on organisations that applied these methods and the associated results.
How to Measure Growth Mindset Attitudes and Behaviours
Discussion of growth mindset often focuses on individuals. In addition to examining individual differences in mindset, it is useful to consider the organisational cultures in which individuals work. Aspects of organisational culture may either support or hinder growth mindset behaviours in individuals (Syed, 2010, 2015).
A review of the research literature and workplace practices indicated that there wasn’t a comprehensive measure of growth mindset attitudes and behaviours available that was applicable to the work environment. So, a new instrument was created to measure the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that are manifested by growth mindset in the workplace. The objectives were to quantify different dimensions of growth mindset relevant to work, and to be able to provide feedback to individuals and organisations to help increase self-awareness and provide guidance on areas to improve. This could then be followed by additional interventions designed to develop growth mindset behaviours, such as workshops, online learning and ongoing feedback.
Extensive research was conducted to design a conceptual model and develop an initial set of questions. These questions were then trialled on a workplace sample (n=776). Following exploratory factor analysis and an examination of reliability, some modifications were made to the set of questions. These questions were then trialled on another workplace sample (n=433) and, following analysis, the instrument was finalised based on this sample. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal reliability and concurrent validity were then examined in a further sample (n=766) and the results indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid.
The final instrument consisted of two main sections, one that asks questions about individual level attitudes, beliefs and behaviours and the other that asks about organisational culture. The individual level section is made up of 68 items across nine subscales (“Growth”; “Attitude to Failure”; “Attitude to feedback”; “Humility”; “Perception of Potential”; “Curiosity”; “Attitude to Complexity”; “Agility” and “Collaboration”). The organisational level section is made up of 29 items across six subscales (“Supports Risk Taking”; “Ownership and Commitment”; “Trust”; “Fosters Innovation”; “Valuing Potential over Pedigree” and “Freedom”)
How to Develop Growth Mindset in Individuals and Organisations
This measure of growth mindset attitudes and behaviours has been used with a growing number of organisations as part of leadership development programmes. These programmes have focused on changing the mindsets of participants and nurturing positive growth mindset behaviours and practices. Programmes typically include a combination of some of the following: the growth mindset instrument; feedback to individuals to increase self-awareness; feedback to managers and leaders about team and organisational results; workshops to develop knowledge, skills and provide practical techniques; online learning; and regular feedback on progress. The paper will include case studies that describe the impact of these types of programmes.
NHS case study: A growth mindset programme was implemented with an NHS Trust department that is responsible for conducting a range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Demand for the services provided by the department had doubled within a five-year period, which led to a number of challenges. Staff were working seven days a week to deal with the increased demand, which was negatively affecting morale. In addition, work was being outsourced to private providers, which was increasing costs and affecting patient care. As a result, senior managers in the department wanted to better use their available resources to increase capacity, reduce pressure on staff and improve patient care. With these objectives in mind, they undertook a development programme based on growth mindset principles and were provided with tools and techniques that helped them to apply these principles in a practical way. After 18 months, the department reported a range of positive outcomes, including: a 44% increase in productivity as a result of improved organisation, communication and efficiency; a 3% increase in overall output whilst reducing from a seven-day working week to a five-day week; and an 11% increase in the utilisation of facilities and resources. Staff also reported improved morale.
Supply chain case study: Another programme was implemented with a large UK haulage company in their Pre Pack Solutions division, which is responsible for packing fruit for a number of UK supermarkets. The organisation wanted to increase efficiency, as well as reduce packaging and labelling errors that can lead to delays, cost tens of thousands of pounds, and damage customer relationships. As part of the programme, the senior management team completed the growth mindset instrument, received development feedback and participated in a workshop. The workshop provided information about growth mindset attitudes and behaviours, and provided a toolkit of practical techniques and templates to help them embed growth mindset practices in their teams. Following the programme, the division reported a number of improvements: a 77% reduction in errors due to improving processes and reducing manual data entry; a 23% reduction in training time due to implementing simpler processes; and a 19% improvement in efficiency related to time required to perform quality checks.
These case studies provide some initial evidence that developing growth mindset attitudes and behaviours, and embedding practices that reflect these attitudes, can lead to improved organisational performance and positive business outcomes.
In summary, the theory of growth mindset has been explored extensively in the domain of education, but far less in the domain of work. Initial research suggests that growth mindset can lead to positive outcomes for both employees and for organisations. There may be greater commitment and collaboration amongst employees, and stronger innovation and financial performance for organisations. This paper builds on previous research by providing a model and measurement of growth mindset that can be applied in a work context. It also discusses some practical approaches that can be applied in organisations to help develop growth mindset attitudes, behaviours and practices. Case studies provide further evidence that applying the science behind growth mindset to work can lead to better employee outcomes and can improve performance. Future research may focus on evaluating the effectiveness of different interventions using data and feedback from organisations and on further validation studies.
References
Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246-63.
Delaney, S., Dweck, C. S., Murphy, M., Chatman, J., & Kray, L. (2015). New study findings: Why fostering a growth mindset in organizations matters. Accessed from http://knowledge.senndelaney.com/docs/thought_papers/pdf 10th March 2018.
Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential. New York: Robinson.
Harvard Business Review (2014). How companies can profit from a "growth mindset". Harvard Business Review, 92, 28-29. Orvidas, K., Burnette, J. L., & Russell, V. M. (2018). Mindsets applied to fitness: Growth beliefs predict exercise efficacy, value and frequency. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 36, 156-61.
Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L., & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta- analyses. Psychological Science, 29, 549-71.
Syed, M. (2010). Bounce: The myth of talent and the power of practice. London: Fourth Estate.
Syed, M. (2015). Black box thinking: Marginal gains and the secret of high performance. London: John Murray
Ref: Invited Speaker Topic: Career Development Enhancing Career via Professional Doctorate Rachel Lewis, Affinity Health at Work/Birkbeck, University of London
We often see the answer to career advancement and enhancement in moving up the career ladder. Have you considered the role of professional development in enhancing your career? Rachel will talk through examples of how continuing professional development (such as chartership and professional doctorate) can provide new perspectives and insights on your career, cause you to work in a different, more challenging way, and open up new directions in your role that you wouldn’t have considered otherwise.
Collaborating Beyond OP: Bridging evidence and practice Topic: Well-being and Work Keeping business travellers healthy, happy & engaged: At home and away Rachel Lewis1, Dr Rodrigo Rodriguez-Fernandez2 1Affinity Health at Work/Birbeck University, 2International SOS
Introduction: Despite international business travel being seen as essential for growth (both individual and organisational); there is evidence that it can be deleterious to health. The majority of research to date has focused on the physical health risks, rather than on the psychological health risks. This is despite research finding that frequent travellers make three times as many claims for psychological treatment; and have lower psychological wellbeing, work life balance and productivity than their non-travelling colleagues (Icarus, 2006; Donald, 2005; Rundle et al, 2017). This is important given that psychological ill health has been shown unequivocally to have a direct and significant impact on organisational success.
Within the context of increasing international business travel, it is imperative that organisations understand how and why business travel may be psychologically damaging to their International Business Traveller (IBT) employees. This will allow employers and organisations both to support their IBT employees and to sustain the success of their organisation. To help achieve this, the current research aimed not just to find out what the psychological implications of international business travel are, but to start to unpick why and how business ravel affects IBTs, by uncovering the organisational, social and individual factors that both support and hinder psychological health.
Specifically this research aimed to: Enable stakeholders who have a duty of care to their travelling workforce to make evidence based adjustments and recommendations to their employees around business travel
Enable organisations to increase awareness in their employees about the psychological implications of business travel and therefore mitigate risks
Ultimately increase the safety, health, security and wellbeing of business travellers by understanding more about the psychological implications of business travel.
Method: Following the evidence based practice model prescribed by Briner et al (2009) a three phase approach was taken in order to gather evidence from four sources. Each of the phases are described below:
Stage One: Evidence Review
A systematic review of the academic literature was undertaken using two sets of search terms to find all papers published since 2005 that empirically explored the psychological implications of international business travel. The search resulted in 3152 articles. Duplicates were removed and all papers subjected to two screening processes by two researchers. Following this, and an additional hand search of practitioner literature, 21 papers remained. These were then narratively synthesised to enable the key themes to emerge.
Stage Two: Interviews with Key Stakeholders
Eight interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from eight organisations. All stakeholders either employed, or worked with, a large volume of International Business Travellers. Interviews gathered data on the psychological implications of business travel, with a particular focus on the factors (organisational, individual and social) affecting this relationship. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to a thematic analysis to develop the key themes.
Stage Three: Survey of International Business Travellers
A model was developed from the data collected in Stages One and Two setting out both the psychological outcomes of business travel, and factors affecting those outcomes. This was developed into a survey and distributed to IBTs via clients of International SOS, existing networks and social media. 195 responses were received and results were analysed to gain insights into the psychological implications of business travel. Multiple Regressions were carried out to establish which factors acted as barriers and facilitators to the different outcomes. ANOVAs, MANOVAs and simple t-tests were conducted to find effects and differences between demographic groups (see the appendix for an explanation of the method). The sample consisted of 51% female and 49% male international business travellers, with an average age of 41 from a wide range of sectors including professional, scientific, technical, manufacturing and financial among others. The majority of travellers were based in and travelled predominantly to Europe, followed by the ‘US, Latin America and the Caribbean’ and Australasia.
Stage Four: Synthesis and Development of Outputs
Data from all three stages was combined and a series of outputs developed including an executive summary, checklists and guidance reports for organisations and employers, for managers of IBTs and for IBTs themselves, a mental health action planning tool for IBTs and a planning and coping tool for IBTs.
Key conclusions from Literature review and Interviews (Stage One and Two) The literature review and interviews identified four categories of outcomes of international business travel:
Emotional outcomes: negative outcomes such as stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, risk taking behaviour; and positive outcomes such as empowerment, freedom, confidence and satisfaction
Family/social and work life outcomes: negative outcomes such as separation from family, family conflict and reduced contact with friends; and positive outcomes such as improvement of family relationships
Psychosocial/psychosomatic outcomes: negative outcomes such as sleep difficulties, increased alcohol consumption
Job and travel related attitudinal outcomes: positive outcomes such as career advancement, joy of travel, learning and development.
These first two stages also identified a range of factors that either hinder psychological health or support and protect psychological health while undertaking international business travel. These can be grouped into three types:
Individual factors: negative factors that hinder psychological wellbeing, such as having children, parental responsibilities, risk taking behaviour and existing psychological vulnerability; and factors that support or protect such as time management and planning skills, preventive coping, using travel time to rest, engagement with the role and other attitudinal factors, experience of business travel, and making ‘away’ more like ‘home’.
Social factors: negative factors such as expectations of socialising, alcohol consumption, reduced healthy behaviour, pressure to comply with cultural standards, technology increasing distance, and lack of spousal/family support; and positive factors such as networks, social interaction and support, spousal, manager and colleague support, and regular contact with manager.
Organisational/job factors: negative factors such as pressure and workload, lack of control and planning, frequency and duration of travel, travel hassles, technology-aided 24/7 working, risk and safety perceptions, lack of work/home boundary, and ‘male’ organisational culture; and positive factors such as provision of support, encouragement of bleisure or time off in lieu, access to technology, support for mental health and wellbeing; and an organisational culture of openness and mental health.
The findings from Stage One and Two were used to create a model of the psychological outcomes of international business travel, and factors affecting those outcomes. This was then used to create the Stage Three survey. The data gathered in Stage Three of the project corroborated and built on the findings from the previous stages.
Key conclusions from International Business Traveller survey (Stage Three)
A summary of the key findings from the Stage Three survey are detailed below:
In terms of emotional outcomes, 41% of travellers saw their mood decline when travelling and 45% saw their stress increase. Using the DASS inventory, approximately 25% displayed more than usual levels of depression and anxiety, with 31% showing emotional exhaustion. Mental ill health was particularly prevalent in those without children, in females (for emotional exhaustion, and in those who had a pre-existing mental health diagnosis. It was found that the vast majority (78%) worked longer hours when on business travel and experienced work family conflict (67%). Over ¾ said that they had needed to change family activities as a result of travel and that business travel made it difficult to fulfil existing social obligations. Interestingly there was no difference in reported experiences by gender, age or demographics.
There was evidence that business travellers changed their behaviour when they were away on business. This ranged from health promoting behaviours, with the majority of travellers drinking more alcohol, eating less balanced food, taking less exercise and getting a lower quality of sleep; to travellers engaging in a variety of risk taking behaviours. Around a third were more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as eating in unhygienic places, travelling to unsafe areas and travelling without protection, nearly 1 in 10 were more likely to start a new sexual relationship; and 2% were more likely to have unprotected sex and take recreational drugs than when at home.
The Stage Three survey also enabled the further exploration of the relationships between factors (such as psychological, psychosocial, organisational, behavioural and support and resource factors) and the psychological implications of business travel. Although too complex to describe in full within this submission, examples include that those travellers who are emotionally exhausted are more likely to suffer from mental health issues and negative family and social outcomes; and that those travellers who see business travel as an opportunity for freedom from home life, are more likely to engage in risk taking behaviours.
Overall, the results indicate not only that international business travel is associated with a range of negative and potentially damaging outcomes (together with some positive outcomes) but also that there are a number of clear factors to which this can be attributed. Many of these are factors that need to be addressed at the organisational level, for example, through policies and practices, culture, support services, job design, and practical arrangements. Some of the factors will need to be addressed by the IBT’s manager, for example, through monitoring and support they provide for IBT team members. And some of these factors are ones that IBTs can address for themselves, in many cases with support from their manager, colleagues, family and friends, for example through planning, preventive coping, healthy activities, seeking support and adopting a balanced perspective.
Discussion and Conclusion: Recommendations were drawn directly from the evidence gathered in all three stages of this research and informed the development of a toolkit of materials designed to enable organisations and employers; managers, and the IBTs themselves, together with their colleagues, friends and families, to colleagues, friends and families, to better support and protect the mental health of this population. Specific recommendations were developed for i) organisations and employers, ii) managers and iii) international business travellers and their support networks. The toolkit produced included a full executive summary, guidance documents and checklists for each of the three groups (as above), a planning toolkit for business travellers, and a managing mental health toolkit. The full report can be accessed at the following link: http://learn.internationalsosfoundation.org/Psychology_Study
Research Impact: The research report has been downloaded over 200 times; over 250 hard copies have been distributed, presentations have been made on this research at 4 different masterclasses covering over 90 organisations, and the research has been mentioned in over 30 TV, radio and press articles. The research is now continuing with development of a pre-travel psychological screening tool for travellers.
Ref: 3908 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) Creating fairer and more accessible assessment content Alex Livesey, SHL
Assessment providers are working to develop content that is increasingly accessible and fair. In this symposium, we present our perspectives on creating more accessible content for a global population and to show the potential of occupational psychologists to contribute to a more inclusive world of work. In our first paper, we explore how mobile-first assessment design can propel access to a broader applicant pool. Our second paper reflects on the current experience of participants with ASDs in recruitment and discusses the considerations that go into designing content and creating processes that increase accessibility to them. Our third paper investigates the process of creating culturally unbiased content, using our recent development of a bank of Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) as an example, and thus developing assessments which are truly global in nature.
Ref: 3894 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (1) Mobile-first assessment design: encouraging diversity whilst retaining scientific rigour Gerianne de Klerk - van Someren, Darrin Grelle SHL 1. Main psychological theories, models and research underpinning our session
In today’s rapidly changing and increasingly diverse and digital business environment, it is more important than ever for organizations to be able to identify and select best-fit talent efficiently and effectively. Best-fit talent will have the critical skills and capabilities to perform well today and in new, often undefined, roles in the future. To this end organizations consistently strive to reach as many applicants as possible in order to enable improved workforce diversity and to ensure they are not missing out on top-talent. Designing psychometric assessments for use on any device type, with a focus on mobiles, would result in increased accessibility and market penetration. On top of that, organizations would have a better chance of reaching disadvantaged and minority groups by using mobile delivered assessment, which would ensure equal access and opportunities for all.
Mobile-first assessments propelling access to a broader applicant pool and improved fairness
According to the World Advertising Research Center (WARC, 2019), using data from mobile trade body GSMA, almost three quarters (72.6 percent) of internet users will access the web solely via their smartphones by 2025. WARC estimates that around 2 billion people currently access the internet via only their smartphone, which equates to 51 percent of the global base of 3.9 mobile users.
Drawing it closer to home, smartphone usage in the United Kingdom has increased considerably in the past 8 years. In 2012 only 52% of people in the UK indicated they own or have access to a smartphone in their household, this increased to 87% by 2018 (Ofcom, 2018a). On top of that, smartphones have pulled away from laptops to become the most important device used to access the internet for close to half of those accessing the internet in the United Kingdom in 2018. (Ofcom 2018b).
The Pew Research Center American Trends Panel Survey (2019) found that 20% of Americans had no online options at home, outside of their smartphone and reliance on smartphones for online access was especially common among younger adults, non-whites and lower-income Americans. These statistics indicate that a large percentage of the population is, or is expected to be smartphone dependent, having no easy way to access pre-employment tests on a PC should they be asked to do so. Naturally, enabling content for mobile devices is a great way to appeal to candidates and reach individuals that might have difficulty accessing a computer for completing assessments. On top of that, it encourages diversity by enabling access for all in reaching groups who are considered minority groups or who have a lower chance of finding employment opportunities. By enabling fair and equivalent pre-employment testing opportunities on mobile devices, the chances improve to reach successful applicants that would fall into these categories and stimulate equal opportunities in the workforce.
Creating mobile-first measures of cognitive ability
Measures of cognitive ability have been strong and reliable predictors of job success for over 100 years, since their introduction by the US Army in WWI. These measures predict the ability to learn, apply new concepts and conceptualize solutions to complex problems. Schmidt et. al. in 2016 conclude, once again, that for hiring employees without previous experience in the job the most valid predictor of future performance and learning is general cognitive ability (Schmidt et. al., 2016). The traditional, heavily text-based, multiple-choice format tests of the past, however, no longer meet today’s business needs – or the expectations of candidates. The holy grail of mobile-delivered assessment has been the ability to deploy online measures of candidates’ cognitive ability, particularly for higher level professional and leader roles, which are not only reliable and fair but also short, job-relevant and engaging.
The challenges that come with creating device-equivalent cognitive assessments to measure critical thinking skills across all job levels, while also remaining face valid and relevant to candidates, have plagued assessment professionals for the past decade. Unfortunately, enabling tests of cognitive ability developed for PCs onto mobile devices has been unsuccessful. Candidates completing traditional tests of cognitive ability on mobile devices achieve lower scores than they do when completing the same test on a PC. This is due to the traditional assessment items having been designed with substantial amounts of text and elaborate infographics, which do not easily fit on mobile screens, in order to assess for more complex, higher-order thinking processes important for success in mid- to high-level jobs.
To meet the challenges outlined above, we sought to create a set of device-equivalent mobile-first cognitive tests that were not a game, yet also looked nothing like a traditional cognitive assessment. In order to do so, we developed a mobile-first responsive web design deployed within an AI framework. Responsive web design is a set of design principles for creating online content that is easy to view and interact with on any internet enabled device from the smallest smartphones to the largest desktop computers. Mobile first design is a specific approach that starts with generating content for the smallest supported device and expanding to larger devices without diminishing user experience. When developing our cognitive ability tests using mobile first responsive web design, certain design principles were followed to ensure a positive candidate experience regardless of device type and to ensure that candidate performance was not affected by which device type was chosen.
Building these assessments with mobile-first responsive web design, along with innovative and fresh item types allows the tests to present candidates with an engaging and fun, but appropriately challenging, experience that also provides candidates with the best opportunity to showcase their skills in serious, business-relevant ways. This is all achieved while ensuring that candidates could complete the test confidently, knowing that device choice was immaterial to their results and would not result in adverse impact on their scores. In order to empirically examine the effectiveness of our innovative new mobile-enabled cognitive assessment products, we demonstrate the following:
1. There are no mean performances differences affected by device choice
2. The assessments are shown to demonstrate measurement invariance
3. The new cognitive tests are correlated highly with known measures of cognitive ability, confirming the new tests were construct valid measures of cognitive ability
4. Completers are engaged and have a positive experience with the test(s)
By using mobile-first responsive web design, assessments can be deployed on any device type, propelling access to a broader applicant pool and encouraging diversity of the workforce.
References:
Ofcom. (April 25, 2018a). Do you personally use a smartphone? - by age [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 01, 2019, from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/300402/smartphone-usage-in- the-uk-by-age/
Ofcom. (April 23, 2018b). Which is the most important device you use to connect to the internet, at home or elsewhere? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 02, 2019, from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/387447/consumer-electronic-devices-by-internet-access-in-the- uk/
Pew Research Centre (2019). Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet. Retrieved August 04, 2019, from: https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
Schmidt, F. L., Oh, I. S., & Shaffer, J. A. (2016). The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 100 Years... Fox School of Business Research Paper.
WARC, World Advertising Research Centre (2019). Almost three quarters of internet users will be mobile-only by 2025. Retrieved August 04, 2019, from: https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/warc- datapoints/almost_three_quarters_of_internet_users_will_be_mobileonly_by_2025/124845
2. Link to the conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’
This paper, as a practitioner’s case-study, demonstrates that there is no need to sacrifice the science behind tests (‘the Practice’) to address changing needs in a candidate-centric market and reliance on mobile devices to access the internet. Focusing on the candidate and market needs, the ‘practice’ can result in a wider reach, improved diversity and accessibility to a broader applicant pool.
3. Link to topic of Psychological Assessment at Work
This paper is a case-study of how to design and apply psychometrically sounds, job-relevant and mobile-first psychological assessments at work that are more accessible and can aid in increased diversity in the workplace.
4. Most novel and innovative aspect of the ideas being presented By using mobile-first responsive web design, assessments can be deployed on any device type, propelling access to a broader applicant pool and with that improving fairness and workforce diversity.
We demonstrate that a candidate’s performance on the assessments would not be affected by device choice and result in adverse impact to their score.
The new, mobile-first cognitive tests are correlated highly with known measures of cognitive ability, confirming the new tests are construct valid measures of cognitive ability which is highly predictive of job performance.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
The mobile-first assessment that was designed is an innovative approach to using trusted, job- relevant and predictive constructs in measuring applicant’s potential whilst ensuring a considerably improved candidate experience and wider reach to the applicant pool encouraging workforce diversity. We trust that delegates would find our design principles and research findings enlightening and a welcome diversion to the heavily gamified, but not always appropriate approach to psychological assessments at work we see in the market currently.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session
Internet usage and mobile phone reliance statistics shows a need to focus on mobile-first assessments and opportunities.
Our research proves that it is not needed to sacrifice psychometric rigour for more candidate- friendly and device compatible measures of highly predictive assessment tools.
We have proven that scores are equivalent across device types due to our mobile-first designs, which is a novel finding most other assessments have so far struggled to obtain.
7. Materials, made available to conference attendees:
• Electronic Copies of Slides (PPT)
Ref: 3905 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Autism and Recruitment: Considerations for Assessment Providers Rachel Owens, Noma Khabo, Alex Livesey SHL What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a lifelong disability which predominantly affects how people communicate, understand and interact with other people in the world. The DSM-5 manual defines autism spectrum disorder as “persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction” and “restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests”, to the extent that these “limit and impair everyday functioning”. In the DSM-5, the collective term 'autism spectrum disorder' is now used to cover people with a variety of diagnoses including Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism. We will use therefore use this term within this paper. According to the National Autistic Society (NAS), there are approximately 700,000 adults and children with ASDs in the UK. Estimates of individuals with ASDs sits at about 1% of the population, and so given the working age population of England and Wales, according to the 2011 census there are approximately 360,000 adults with ASD who could be in employment. Yet the NAS report in “The Autism Employment Gap” that only 16% of adults with ASD are in fulltime paid employment, and 32% are in part time work. The story is much the same elsewhere: the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows individuals with ASD have the lowest workforce participation rates out of all disabled groups, with an estimated proportion of around only 40% (2015). A US study showed that less than 35% of young adults with ASD were in a job or postgraduate education (Shattuck et al., 2012). This raises the question of why aren’t more people with ASD in work, and what is getting in the way? Perhaps one factor is people’s confidence in actually disclosing their disability before a recruitment process starts.
Various studies have found that only 2-3% of candidates or employees disclose a disability (Nishii, Bruyère, & von Schrader, 2014; O’Connell & Rutigliano, 2014) which is well below the proportion of disabled people in the working age population, around 16% (Department of Work and Pensions, 2014). It has been observed that having a more apparent disability may increase likelihood of disclosure (Nishii et al., 2014). ASD, as a less apparent, or ‘invisible’, disability, is likely to be under- disclosed. Of course, when there is no disclosure or discussion about an individual’s requirements, a reasonable adjustment will not be made and candidates may fail to make it through the recruitment process. A second factor is awareness of ASD, in that it is unknown just how aware people working in recruitment are of ASD and the reasonable adjustments they may require. Finally, are traditional recruitment methods including psychometric assessments disadvantaging people with ASD even if they do disclose their disability? In which case, what can we do about this?
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
An assessment provider is a company that designs, builds and sells psychometric assessments used for recruiting and developing employees. Occupational Psychologists working for assessment providers aim to understand and measure the things that make people successful at work, using tools including cognitive ability assessments, and personality and competency assessments. Occupational psychologists working within assessment providers are therefore essential to helping remove some of the barriers people with ASD may face accessing work. Their role is two-fold: they are central to the design and implementation of assessments that reduce adverse impact and they can promote diversity awareness and best practice within recruitment.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The category we have chosen is Psychological Assessment at Work specifically in regards to diversity and inclusion. This paper will be reflecting on recruitment, psychometric assessments and ASD. The NAS states that many people with ASD have a variety of sometimes exceptional skills that enable them to thrive in roles ranging from sales assistant to computer programmer and journalist to statistician. However, they are often disadvantaged when it comes to getting and keeping a job because of difficulties with social communication and interaction, and other people's lack of understanding.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Unfortunately, many psychometric assessments used in employment settings were not designed with accessibility to individuals with ASDs in mind. In which case, the assessment provider must do the next best thing and provide reasonable adjustments. This might involve adapting existing assessments or finding alternative ways of assessing candidates in order to meet individual needs. Every person with ASD will be different and will have differing needs. However, generically, difficulties with social communication mean than people with ASD are more likely to be vulnerable to increased discrimination through many traditional recruitment processes, from face to face interviews through to multiple choice personality assessments.
Despite this, there is limited research to steer evidence-based practice for both designing and implementing psychological assessments for groups such as those with ASDs. Best practice seems to rely on anecdotal and legal cases, which we will reflect upon, however, as a science-based profession, occupational psychologists have a duty and an interest in researching the evidence behind these recommendations.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
This paper will reflect on where assessment providers stand in their responsibility to provide accessible tools for individuals with ASD, and pose a series of useful questions to guide further research. We hope to open up a discussion within our profession to find out what other professionals are doing. We also look forward to discovering opportunities for research collaboration.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
This paper will be of interest to a large portion of the public including anyone who has an ASD, who has a family member with an ASD, or supporting someone with an ASD, as well as anyone in the HR and recruitment industries. In the last few years more and more global companies, such as Microsoft and Ernst & Young, are embracing neurodiverse candidates and creating recruitment pathways especially for them. Individuals with ASDs in particular, are being recognised for behaviours which allow them to excel in particular specialised roles.
On a legal note, individuals with ASDs are also taking employers to court and winning. This paper will also be reflecting on recent legal cases as an opportunity to learn and develop better practices.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
We intend on making the electronic version of our slides available for conference attendees.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015.) Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2015. Canberra: Australia.
Department of Work and Pensions. (2014). Disability facts and figures. London: UK.
Nishii, L. H., Bruyère, M., & von Schrader, S. (2014). The Importance of Employer Practice on the Disability Disclosure Decision. In SIOP Conference. Honolulu.
O ’ Connell, M., & Rutigliano, P. (2014). Global Disability Inclusion. In SIOP Conference. Honolulu.
Shattuck, P. T., Narendorf, S. C., Cooper, B, Sterzing, P. R., Wagner, M., & Taylor, J. L. (2012). Postsecondary education and employment among youth with an autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics, 129(6).
Ref: 3909 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) A Culture-First Approach to Global Talent and Assessment Practice Samantha Lonigro, Fei Liu, Avril Peryer, Ellie Mullins SHL What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Early personality and behavioural measures were based on Western theories and samples (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975; Costa & McCrae, 1978). The development of these tools paid little consideration to cultural variance, and the cross-cultural validity of these measures was assumed. This was mainly because many personality and behavioural traits had been regarded as stable dispositions and biologically based, thus relatively consistent across cultures (Cheung, Cheung & Fan, 2013). However, an increasing number of authors started questioning the local relevance and potential cultural biases of these measures, giving rise to indigenous psychology measures in Asia and Latin America (Kim, Yang & Hwang, 2006).
The globalised context of the 21st century has created awareness around the vital role played by culture in the development of assessments for organisational recruitment and development (Cheung, van de Vijver, & Leong, 2011). Organisations face a practical need for reliable and fair measures for appraising prospects and employees. Moreover, some countries have legal requirements around the cultural validity and non-discriminatory nature of psychological measures. For example, the South African Employment Equity Act (Government Gazette, 1998) stipulated that “psychological testing and other similar assessments are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used - (a) has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable, (b) can be applied fairly to all employees; and (c) is not biased against any employee or group.” These elements together led many test publishers to investigate what a good localisation process should entail, resulting in a number of different approaches (Hambleton, Merenda, & Spielberger, 2005;). In 2001, in an attempt to collate these ideas under one systematic framework, a task force of experts in the translation and adaptation of psychological tests compiled a list of 22 best practice guidelines (International Test Commission, 2001, 2017). Based on the ITC guidelines, a group of psychologists, linguists and translation technology experts in our organisation, with varying cultural backgrounds, developed a “culture-first” approach to the localisation of psychometric assessments. This is guided by the complementary relationship between the linguistic principle of dynamic equivalence (Nida, 1995) and the principle of construct equivalence in cross-cultural psychology. Illustrated through a case study, this session will explain how the consideration of culture-specific elements of the source language as well as the system of norms, motives, values, and social customs of the culture can inform item development to achieve equivalence between language versions of the same assessment. We will also discuss how recent developments in translation AI and machine translation can be leveraged to further facilitate the development of assessments that are culturally relevant and equivalent.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
In the era of global recruitment, it has become increasingly important for organisations to equip themselves with tools that can help tap into the potential of a multicultural and multilingual talent pool. The appropriate tools not only guarantee equal opportunities across diverse candidate populations, but also enhance candidate experience, subsequently benefitting brand reputation. While the diverse system of values, social norms and motivations that characterise the international talent pool poses challenges for the occupational psychologist in talent assessment, it also creates opportunities for them to re-evaluate their approach to developing assessments.
This session will present the practical application of a “culture-first” approach to the development of a situational judgement item bank, which was developed in English and localised into six languages. This approach involved collaboration between occupational psychologists, linguists and culture experts to eliminate culture bias through a process of cultural adaptation and dynamic translation. This resulted in an item bank that can be used internationally without concern of bias or discrimination.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Our submission is appropriate for the diversity and inclusion topic related to that of Psychological Assessment at Work because we are proposing an approach for the development of multilingual assessment that ensures that candidates from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds can be assessed fairly. Our systematic “culture-first” approach produces items that are free from performance irrelevant factors that could affect assessment scores, such as culturally laden behavioural tendencies and second language fluency.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Despite a broad body of literature around themes such as the emic-etic approach to culture in personality and behaviour (Goodenough, 1970; Harris, 1976) and the great deal of papers produced by those who embrace the various indigenous psychology movements around the world (Allwood, 2006), we have found a gap between theory and practice in the development of global talent assessments.
Translation is often regarded as the mere transference of meaning from one language to another. As such, it is a step that is typically left until later stages of test development (i.e. localisation is only considered once the content is finalised in the source language). However, early consideration of cultural relevance and linguistic equivalence during assessment content development allows for an enhancement of comparability of scores across populations, and a reduction in issues at the translation phase, contributing to a more efficient test development process.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
This session will provide novel insights into facets of behaviour that can vary significantly across cultures; we will go beyond base level assumptions, generalisations and stereotypes and reveal worked examples of surprising cultural obstacles and how these can be overcome. Our experience in providing assessments in over 40 languages, coupled with working in a truly diverse and multicultural organisation, allows us to share a wealth of stimulating cultural observations with our audience, and to demonstrate that it is not only cultures that are distant from our own that require assessment adaptation.
Culture is of course inextricably bound to language and so we will also present a linguistic perspective, advising on how to avoid common translation pitfalls and providing insights into our research into using machine learning and innovative product design to expedite the localisation of assessment content.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session? Owing to the nature of our examples and insights into behavioural differences across cultures, our session will appeal to people working in culturally diverse teams, or anyone with experience of living and working in a country that is different to the one in which they were raised. This session will also be of interest to anyone in HR and recruitment functions, particularly those who are running international recruitment campaigns and facing the challenge of fairly assessing candidates from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
We will make electronic copies of our slides available. The session will also contain interactive elements and printed hand-outs will be provided for these parts.
References
Allwood, C.M., Berry, J.W., (2006). Origins and development of indigenous psychologies: An international analysis. International Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 243–268
Cheung, F. M. (2004). Use of Western- and indigenously-developed personality tests in
Asia. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53, 173-191.
Cheung, F. M., van de Vijver, F. J., & Leong, F. T. (2011). Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture. American Psychologist, 66(7), 593.
Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S., & Fan, W. (2013). From Chinese to Cross-Cultural Personality Inventory. Advances in culture and psychology, 3, 117.
Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1978). NEO PI-R, Inventário de Personalidade NEO Revisto.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Goodenough, Ward (1970), "Describing a Culture", Description and Comparison in Cultural Anthropology, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 104–119, ISBN 978-0-202-30861-6.
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Ref: 3960 Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (S) Applications of Occupational Health Psychology to UK Policing Laura Longstaff, Vicki Elsey Northumbria University This symposium will consist of four pieces of research carried out with several police forces throughout England and Wales, providing an overview of how Occupational Health Psychology can influence and be applied to UK Policing. The aim will be to reflect the conference theme of The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work, showcasing how the application of a scientific approach can increase understanding and improve the working lives of UK Police officers. The symposium will present research on the following topics: (1) Profile of English police officers’ perceptions of their line manager’s competencies on the UK Health and Safety Executive’s Stress Management Competency Framework and associated questionnaire, the Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool (SMCIT); (2) Police leavers attitudes to re-joining the police service; (3) A randomized controlled trial of two online mindfulness resources across five forces in England and Wales and (4) Aspirations and expectations of White and BME Female Police Officers’ Career Progression.
Ref: 3887 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (1) HSE Line Manager Stress Management Competency Framework in English Policing Jonathan Houdmont1, Liza Jachens2, Raymond Randall3, Jim Colwell4, Steve Gardner5 1University of Nottingham, 2Webster University, 3University of Sheffield, 4Devon and Cornwall Police, 5Devon and Cornwall Police Federation Background and Aims: The behavioural competencies of line managers that effectively manage subordinates’ stress have been identified (Yarker, Donaldson-Feilder, Lewis, & Flaxman, 2007) and translated into a Stress Management Competency Framework (Yarker, Lewis, & Donaldson-Feilder, 2008). The UK Health and Safety Executive has used this work to generate a self-report questionnaire - the Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool (SMCIT) (Health and Safety Executive, 2009) - that enables workers to indicate the extent to which their line manager typically demonstrates each competency.
In English policing common mental health problems are endemic, with rates of psychological distress indicative of minor psychiatric disorder as much as twice that found in the general UK national workforce (Houdmont, 2017). What is not yet known is the extent to which (i) line managers in UK policing typically display competencies known to protect and promote mental wellbeing in others and (ii) line managers’ competencies are linked to subordinates’ mental wellbeing and work attitudes. Low levels of the competencies and linkages with undesirable states would indicate that the selection and development of line managers could be fruitful avenues for intervention. This study offers a preliminary examination of the applicability of the Stress Management Competency Framework in English policing. Specifically, it aims to profile line manager competencies in accordance with the Framework and examine the strength of association between subordinates’ perception of their line manager’s competencies and their psychological distress, resilience, and work engagement.
Methods: Police officers in an English county force were invited to complete an online survey in January 2019. Participation was voluntary and anonymous with ethical approval granted by the lead author’s institution. Respondents rated their line manager on the four Stress Management Competency Framework areas using the 36-item version of the SMCIT (Toderi & Sarchielli, 2016). Each item is scored on a 5-point scale of strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5), with a sum score calculated for each competency area following reverse scoring of negatively framed items. The sum score for each area is converted into a percentage of the maximum possible score, with higher scores indicating higher competency displays. Scores of ≤75% indicate the line manager has a development need and would benefit from developing their competencies in order to be more effective at preventing and reducing stress in their team. Scores of 76-89% suggest the line manager is reasonable and shows good awareness of the behaviours needed to effectively prevent and reduce stress in others though may benefit from some further development. Scores of ≥90% indicate the line manager is effective in their demonstration of the competency (Health and Safety Executive, 2009).
Psychological distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Williams, 1988). We used the GHQ scoring method (0–0–1–1) with responses summed to a global score ranging from 0 to 12 and dichotomized into non-distressed (GHQ score 0–3) and distressed (GHQ score 4–12). Resilience - a person’s ability to deal with and bounce back from adversity - was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008). An overall mean score was generated after reverse scoring of negatively framed items and dichotomized using the median split to generate low and high resilience classifications. Work engagement was assessed using the Ultra- Short Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al., 2017). An overall mean score was calculated and dichotomized using the median split to generate low and high work engagement classifications.
Bivariate correlations were calculated to highlight patterns of relationships between variables. To examine the risk of psychological distress, low resilience, and low work engagement being associated with having a line manager identified as having a development need on each competency area we used binary logistic regression to generate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For each odds ratio the reference category was the presumed least hazardous arrangement, i.e., having a line manager identified as effective. Crude odds ratios were calculated in addition to a model that adjusted for potentially confounding socio- and occupational-demographic variables (age, gender, rank, role).
Results: Two hundred and sixty three officers completed the survey. The proportion of respondents reporting their line manager as having a development need on the four competency areas was high: Area 1: Respectful and Responsible: Managing Emotions and Having Integrity (26%), Area 2: Managing and Communicating Current and Future Work (52%), Area 3: Managing the Individual within the Team (58%), Area 4: Reasoning and Managing Difficult Situations (46%). Correlation analyses identified significant associations of small effect size (r = .10-.29) in the expected direction between the four line manager competency areas and the outcome variables, with higher competency levels associated with lower psychological distress, higher resilience, and higher work engagement.
In binary logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for socio- and occupational-demographic characteristics a report of having a line manager with a development need on the first of the Stress Management Competency Framework areas (Respectful and Responsible: Managing Emotions and Having Integrity) was associated with significantly increased odds of psychological distress (OR 3.96, 95% CI 1.84-8.52) and low resilience (OR 4.64, 95% CI 2.16-9.97). For Managing and Communicating Current and Future Work, a report of having a line manager with a development need was associated with significantly elevated odds of psychological distress (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.10-8.54) and low work engagement (OR 4.42, 95% CI 1.37-14.21). A report of a line manager with a development need for Managing the Individual within the Team was associated with significantly elevated odds of psychological distress (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.13-6.81), low resilience (OR 3.20, 95% CI 1.35-7.61), and low work engagement (OR 2.98, 95% CI 1.21-7.38). Finally, a report of a line manager with a development need on Reasoning and Managing Difficult Situations was associated with significantly elevated odds of low resilience (OR 2.84, 95% CI 1.00-8.07).
Discussion and Conclusions: This study demonstrated that a high proportion of police officers viewed their line manager as having a development need on the four Stress Management Competency Framework areas. These individuals had elevated odds of psychological distress, low resilience, and low work engagement. These results demonstrate the applicability of the Framework to English policing. Our findings provide useful benchmark data and indicate that in the Force in which the study was conducted there exists an imperative for training and development in relation to line managers’ stress management competencies, with the Stress Management Competency Framework offering a foundation for such activities.
The results of this study should be interpreted in light of its limitations. The cross-sectional design hampered the interpretation of causality. This preliminary study involved officers drawn from a restricted set of occupational roles within a single Force, potentially limiting generalizability. These concerns could be addressed through future research involving a large-scale nationally representative sample and longitudinal design. Given that our sample comprised officers in a range of roles and career stages it is probable that the competency levels and associations between line manager competencies and subordinates’ mental health and work attitudes observed are indicative of the wider national picture for policing in England. An imperative exists to establish the extent to which that is the case and training interventions based on the generic Stress Management Competency Framework while tailored to the policing context ought to be developed and evaluated.
References
Goldberg D, Williams P. User’s Guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor, UK: NFER- Nelson, 1988.
Health and Safety Executive. Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool. 2009. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mcit.htm (17 April 2019, date last accessed).
Houdmont, J. Stressors in police work and their consequences. In R. Burke (Ed.), Stress in policing: Sources, consequences, and interventions (pp.51-65). London: Routledge, 2017.
Schaufeli W, Shimazu A, Hakanen J, Salanova M, De Witte H. (2017). An Ultra-Short Measure for Work Engagement: The UWES-3 validation across five countries. Eur J Psychol Assess 2017. Advance online publication.
Smith B, Dalen J, Wiggins K, Tooley E, Christopher P, Bernard J. The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. Int J Behav Med 2008;15:194-200.
Toderi S, Sarchielli G. Psychometric properties of a 36-item version of the “stress management competency indicator tool”. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016;13:1086. Yarker J, Donaldson-Feilder E, Lewis R, Flaxman P. Management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work. Identifying and developing the management behaviours necessary to implement the HSE Management Standards. Report number RR553. 2007. http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr553.pdf (17 April 2019, date last accessed).
Yarker J, Lewis R, Donaldson-Feilder E. Management competencies for preventing and reducing stress at work: Identifying and developing the management behaviours necessary to implement the HSE Management Standards: Phase two. Report number RR633. 2008. http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr633.pdf (17 April 2019, date last accessed).
Ref: 3892 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (2) Bobby come back: Police leavers’ attitudes to re-joining the police service Natalie Wellington, Nicola Chandler, Fran Boag-Munroe Police Federation of England and Wales Introduction: In 2019 there were around 20,000 fewer police officers in England and Wales than a decade ago (Home Office, 2019a). However, there is now growing political impetus to increase the number of police officers (Home Office, 2019b), and many forces have begun recruitment drives to attract new officers to the police service (National Police Chiefs’ Council, 2019). Given the time taken to onboard and train new recruits, increased attention is also being paid to ways to support experienced officers who have left the police service to re-join, particularly in skills shortage areas such as detectives (e.g. College of Policing, 2019). In this paper we contribute to the evidence base concerning re-entry into the police service by investigating police leavers’ attitudes towards re- joining. We specifically focus on whether police leavers plan to continue working after they have left the police service and, if so, whether they would consider re-joining the police service in future. We also explore what would have made police leavers reconsider their decision to leave in the first place, including their job satisfaction, given that addressing these factors may increase the likelihood of police leavers actually wanting to re-join the police service in future.
Method: Data were collected from police leavers via an electronic survey launched in November 2017. A link to the survey was included in a monthly members’ newsletter from the Police Federation of England and Wales. The survey was open to any officer who was leaving the police service within the following three months. The survey included a range of questions about police leavers’ attitudes towards, and satisfaction with, the police service. Of specific relevance to the current analysis, respondents were asked about their intention regarding future employment, including re-joining the police service. Respondents who said that they would consider re-joining the police service were asked whether they would prefer to return as a police officer or member of police staff, as well as whether they would prefer to return to the same police force or a different police force. We also assessed respondents’ job satisfaction, using seven items addressing satisfaction with different facets of their job and measured on a 5-point Likert scale (Cronbach’s alpha = .84).
In the 18-month period between November 2017 and May 2019 1,022 valid survey responses were received, a response rate of approximately 10% of police officers who left the police service during this period. In keeping with the national picture, a large majority of respondents (81%) said that they were leaving the police because they had reached pension age and had chosen to retire. 15% said that they had resigned of their own accord. The remaining 5% had either been required to leave by their force or had taken “voluntary exit” (voluntary redundancy). Results:
Do police leavers plan to continue working after they have left the police service?
Overall, only 9% of respondents said they had no intention of looking for another job after leaving the police service. 28% said that they had already had a job offer and would be starting a new job soon after they left the police, however the remaining 63% said that they did not have a job offer but would be looking for another job either straight away (33%) or eventually (30%). As might be expected, there was a statistically significant association between respondents’ reason for leaving (retirement or resignation) and their plans after leaving the police service (X2(3) = 98.14, p <.001; Cramer’s V = .36). In particular, 63% of respondents who were resigning from the police service said that they already had a job to go to, compared to 21% of retirees. Moreover, 34% of retirees planned to take a break before looking for another job, compared to just 8% of resigners. Nonetheless, almost nine out of 10 (89%) police officers who were retiring from the police service said they planned to continue working after retirement. It is worth noting that the average age of retirees was 52.14 (SD = 2.68). Although this was significantly higher than the average age of resigners (mean = 41.00, SD = 8.54; t (792) = -27.17, p < .001), it is 13 years lower than the current state pension age of 65; suggesting that the average police retiree may still have more than a quarter of their working lives ahead of them.
Would police leavers consider returning to the police service in future?
Respondents who planned to continue working in some form after leaving the police service were subsequently asked whether they would ever consider re-joining the police. 35% of these respondents said that they would consider re-joining the police in future. The number of police officers who would consider re-joining the police is therefore much lower than the proportion of officers who intended to remain active within the labour market. Nonetheless it appears that around one in three police leavers who intended to continue working would be open to re-joining the police at some point.
There was a small, but statistically significant difference in job satisfaction between respondents who would consider re-joining the police (mean = 3.70, SD = 0.65) and those who would not consider re-joining (mean = 3.40, SD = 0.72; t (690) = -5.48, p < .001). As might be expected, this suggests that leavers who were more satisfied in their job were more likely to consider re-joining at a later stage. Interestingly however, there was no statistically significant association between respondents’ attitudes towards re-joining the police and whether they had resigned or had retired (Χ2(1) = 0.82, p = .36). 32% of resigners and 37% of retirees who planned to continue working said that they would consider re-joining the police in future. This is despite resigners reporting significantly lower job satisfaction (mean = 2.92, SD = 0.73) than retirees (mean = 3.62, SD = 0.64; t (680) = -10.27, p < .001). Resigners were however significantly more likely to want to return to a different police force to their current force, with 44% of resigners expressing this preference compared to 12% of retirees (Χ2(1) = 22.15, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .30). On the other hand, retirees were significantly more likely to say that they would prefer to return as a member of police staff, rather than a police officer (85% of retirees compared to 15% of resigners; Χ2(1) = 62.15, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .51).
What would have made police leavers reconsider their decision to leave?
We asked respondents which factors, out of a list of 13, would make them reconsider their decision to leave. An understanding of these factors is important for forces to determine how best to encourage former officers to re-join. Improvements to officers’ wellbeing and job demands appeared to be amongst the factors most likely to make respondents reconsider their decision to leave. 30% of respondents said that a better work-life balance would definitely make them reconsider their decision to leave, whilst around a quarter said that improvements in welfare (26%) and a lower workload (24%) would definitely make them reconsider their decision.
There were significantly more factors that would have made resigners reconsider their decision to leave in the first place, compared to retirees. Overall, an average of 3.84 (SD = 3.39) from the list of 13 factors would definitely have made resigners reconsider their decision to leave, compared to an average of 2.11 (SD = 2.88) for retirees (t (759) = 5.77, p < .001). The same pattern was also seen when we looked only at the responses of respondents who said that they would consider returning to the police (resigners: mean = 4.08, SD = 3.60; retirees: mean = 2.36, SD = 3.00; t (246) = 3.12, p = .002). As we discuss below, this also suggests that there may be more scope for forces to make changes that will encourage resigners not to leave, rather than to encourage retirees to postpone their retirement.
Discussion: Our findings suggest that there is a large pool of police leavers who intended to stay active in the labour market after leaving the police, even amongst those who have access to their full police pension. The number of police officers who would consider re-joining the police is much lower than the proportion who intended to remain active within the labour market. Yet if we extrapolate from our findings to the entire police population in England and Wales, on the basis of the current rate of police leavers (Home Office, 2019a) there would still be just over two and half thousand officers leaving the police each year who would be open to re-joining the service.
Interestingly, we also found no statistically significant difference in the proportions of resigners and retirees who would consider returning to the police service. This finding is perhaps surprising, as we found lower job satisfaction amongst resigners compared to retirees. Nonetheless it indicates that police forces may be able to target former officers who resigned from the police service just as effectively as those who retired from the police, allowing them to target a wider pool of potential re- joiner applicants. The survey results did also suggest however that a “one size fits all” approach to re-entry is unlikely to be effective in attracting both resigners and retirees, given that we saw different preferences regarding how they would choose to return. Schemes that focus on re-entry in officer roles may therefore be less appealing for retirees, but conversely schemes that re-recruit officers into police staff roles, for instance as police staff investigators, may be less likely to attract officers who have resigned before reaching pension age.
Finally, the survey also showed that there was a significantly greater number of factors that would have made resigners reconsider their decision to leave in the first place. Whilst we have focussed here on re-joining, a more cost-effective approach to ensure sufficient police workforce capacity in future is to focus on addressing these factors in order to reduce resignations in the first place.
References
College of Policing (2019). College of Policing Brief, March/April 2019, available at: https://www.college.police.uk/What-we- do/Standards/Documents/College_of_Policing_Brief_March_April_2019.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2019].
Home Office (2019a). Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2019. Statistical Bulletin 11/19. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file /817740/hosb1119-police-workforce.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2019]
Home Office (2019b). Prime Minster Launches Police Recruitment Drive, Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-launches-police-recruitment-drive [accessed 26 July 2019]
National Police Chiefs’ Council (2019). Annual Survey. Available at: https://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/PRRB/ALL%20APPENDICES%20A110219.pdf [Accessed 26 July 2019].
Ref: 3903 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (3) Mindfulness in policing: A randomized controlled trial of two online mindfulness resources Helen Fitzhugh1, George Michaelides2, Sara Connolly2, Kevin Daniels2 1College of Policing, 2University of East Anglia The randomized controlled trial
All police employees across five participating forces were invited to apply to take part. The forces were A, B, C, D and E. A total of 1337 participants were accepted onto the study, or approximately 7% of the workforce of the combined forces.
Trial participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Headspace users (446) / Mindfit Cop users (445) / Waiting list control (446). The waiting list participants were told that they would receive access to the online mindfulness training after six months had elapsed, but were asked to complete the trial surveys in order to provide comparison data.
The following data were collected for the study, with informed consent from each participant: - Three sets of online survey data (see ‘measures’ below) plus comments.
- Demographic and sickness absence data collected directly from the force HR teams.
- Usage data collected directly from the online mindfulness resource provider.
- Interview data collected via telephone calls with selected participants (29).
Measures
Data were collected for the study via surveys at the following time points:
Data (Source of survey questions) Baseline 10 weeks 24 weeks
Wellbeing (Shorter Warwick Edinburgh Mental ü ü ü Wellbeing Scale)
Resilience (Brief resilience scale) ü ü ü
Performance (Single item from WHO-HPQ survey) ü ü ü
Mindfulness (Short mindful attention awareness scale) ü ü
Presenteeism (Single item for this study) ü ü
Leaveism (Single item for this study) ü ü
Restricted duties (Single item for this study) ü ü
Job control (Items from Workplace Employment ü ü Relations Study)
Hypotheses
1) Online training in mindfulness will improve wellbeing, resilience and performance for police officers and staff (primary outcomes expected)
2) Online training in mindfulness will improve mindfulness skills, reduce sick leave, presenteeism and leaveism (secondary outcomes expected)
3) Bespoke training aimed at police officers (Mindfit Cop) will improve wellbeing, resilience and performance for police officers and staff more effectively than a generic mindfulness intervention (Headspace)
4) Mindfulness training is more likely to be effective for people with high levels of job control in terms of how they structure their day and do their tasks.
Analysis: We analysed the data collected from the three waves using a structural equation model. A total of 462 participants provided complete responses to the surveys for the three waves: at the baseline (pre-training), at 10 weeks after training and 24 weeks after training. Figure 1 below shows the hypothesised model. At 10 weeks we examined the effect of the group allocation (Headspace, Mindfit Cop, and control group), baseline job control, and their interaction as predictors of mindfulness. At 24 weeks we examined the effect of these same predictors on the four primary outcomes (life satisfaction, well-being, job performance and resilience) and the three secondary (absenteeism, presenteeism and leaveism). In addition, we used the 10-week measure of mindfulness awareness as a mediator of these relationships. As we are interested in the change or improvement instigated by the training intervention, we controlled for baseline mindful attention awareness, and baseline primary and secondary outcomes (not shown on the diagram).
Figure 1: Hypothesised model for mindfulness intervention
Qualitative data received via the survey open-text comments and telephone interviews was explored using framework analyses to identify emerging themes on barriers and enablers of uptake and use.
Finally, we offer a cost-effectiveness evaluation of the mindfulness interventions. This is a novel form of evaluating interventions which draws on principles and methods developed by Layard (2016) - where we compare the wellbeing benefits against the financial costs incurred and benchmark against an indicative cost effectiveness threshold of £2,500 per year of each unit of life satisfaction gained.
Results: We saw a significant improvement in all three primary outcomes (wellbeing, resilience and job performance) at 24 weeks, for both the Headspace and Mindfit Cop groups (in comparison to the control group). As well as the primary outcome variables, the regression analyses incorporated gender, role, job control and the pre-intervention scores for each relevant variable.
There were mixed results for the remaining hypotheses. For example, Headspace improved mindfulness scores at 10 weeks, but Mindfit Cop did not significantly improve mindfulness scores during the same period. Mindfulness was not surveyed again at 24 weeks so it was not possible to check whether this changed over the full test period.
On the matter of sickness behaviours, Headspace and Mindfit Cop both reduced presenteeism at 24 weeks but there was no evidence that either form of online training in mindfulness reduced sick leave or leaveism over the same time period. Finally, the generic mindfulness intervention (Headspace) was more effective than the bespoke training at 10 weeks (Mindfit Cop). At 24 weeks, Mindfit Cop and Headspace were both effective interventions across the primary outcomes, but Mindfit Cop did not appear to offer any additional benefits.
Implications for practice: This trial has produced strong evidence that online mindfulness training can be beneficial for the wellbeing of police employees and the Mindfit Cop course has been made available to police in England and Wales. In addition, the study allowed a comparative analysis of whether any benefits relates to whether the online training is generic or occupational specific. With any wellbeing intervention, implementation involves practical considerations like costs and how to communicate the opportunity to use the resource. These require careful thought in future campaigns to promote mindfulness in policing.
Ref: 3952 Part of Symposia Topic: Well-being and Work (4) Aspirations and expectations of White and BME Female Police Officers’ Career Progression Bridget Taylor1, Laura Longstaff1, Vicki Elsey1, Jo Nelson2 1Northumbria University, 2Metropolitan Police Background and Aims: Each police force in the United Kingdom have set targets to achieve a more diverse workforce, as many groups with protected characteristics are currently underrepresented. Protected characteristics include both sex and ethnicity and both females and BME groups are persistently underrepresented in the present policing workforce. For instance, currently only 30.2% of all police officers are female and of the total female police population only 5.5% are black and minority ethnic groups (Home Office, 2018). Representation in the police force is paramount to current and historic objectives due to a wide range of reasons. For instance, The Macpherson report was a pinnacle event in policing history which further motivated researchers and organisations to achieve a better representation in the police force. This too led to the development and more recent publication of the ‘policing by consent model’ (Home Office, 2012). This model of policing explains the main goal is that ‘the police reflect the public, as the public are the police’. This derives from primary peelian principles of the Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel from the late 1820’s and remains a valued principle even more so now within modern policing. Evidently, achieving representation remains a consistent struggle as the current police force is not representing the public it is serving and therefore cannot be perceived as policing by consent. Thus, research has, and is, being conducted to explore why the current workforce is not yet representative with the aim of developing initiatives to tackle this issue too. To achieve a representative workforce there is the need to further develop and understand the recruitment, progression and retention of individuals with protected characteristics, and all studies relevant to these areas are of value.
Another important consideration is the representation of those with protected characteristics at higher levels within the policing organisation. The theory of representative bureaucracy explains that, for a public organisation to best reflect the views and needs of diverse groups, active representation of different races, ethnicity and sex are essential at all levels within that organisation (Bradbury & Kellough, 2010). It is therefore important to have representation at all levels of a work force and not just in general. This is further supported through research exploring how even slight increases in representation, especially at higher levels, can be seen as advantageous for the police force, for victims and for society. Despite this, recent statistics show that underrepresentation is even more pronounced at senior and supervisory ranks for females and even more so for BME females (Hargreaves et al., 2016). This further demonstrates that creating a diverse workforce remains challenging even with there being evidential associated benefits. Therefore, further increasing diversity at all levels remains a major priority alongside a better understanding of how to achieve this.
An additional area of research of value is to explore existing barriers for achieving better representation that can be targeted to overcome such issues. Literature has documented potential issues including, workplace discrimination, bias, harassment (Haarr & Morash, 2013) and the incompatibility of family and working life (Turnball & Wass, 2012) as contributing causes for the lack of representation of females. From this, research has then looked more specifically at how these barriers may have affected career progression as to achieve representation at all levels, progression is a necessity. It has been deemed that such barriers can influence career progression in two major ways; expectations and aspirations. Research has then gone on to find that expectations and aspirations differ between groups, which is problematic as everyone in the workforce should ideally expect and desire career progression equally. Therefore, there is a need for research to clarify what these differences are to best understand the extent to which they exist and to also establish potential reasons for the differences to try mitigate any differences.
This is what led Boag-Munroe (2017) to complete a study with over 21,000 police officers in the United Kingdom (UK). This was to quantify and clarify female police officers career progression aspirations and expectations, in relation to their male counterparts, for the first time. Previous research had established that there were differences between male and female career progression attitudes but not to what extent these differences exist, especially in the context of the current UK policing structure. Therefore, gaining a clearer understanding of this lack representation, as well as any relevant explanations for it, is of great importance to both policing organisations and the general public. Boag-Munroe therefore used a questionnaire which established officer’s current rank, then their highest rank they firstly expected to reach during their career and then finally the highest rank they wanted to reach. The study also accounted for several covariates; respondents’ age, tenure, ethnicity, degree qualification, and carer responsibilities. This study provided an inductive view into female police officer career progression, with the main finding of interest being that female constables were both less likely to find achievable and desirable to progress to higher ranks, in comparison to their male counterparts. Boag-Munroe also found all of the covariates to significantly influence the outcome variables, but inferences were restricted due to the original research aims. Overall, this study offers some potential explanation for the findings by discussing existing barriers found in previous literature that could relate to the differences in desire and expectations found specific to females and certain ranks. However, career progression has yet to be explored for those with more than one protected characteristic, as has any related barriers of facilitators. Boag- Munroe’s study is a useful foundation for further research and provided the main basis for the rationale of this study.
Methods: A non-experimental, online survey design, was utilised.
Participants; 732 female police officers were included in the final analysis from one large UK force. Their mean age was 38.05 years (8.17), their average length of service was 25.51 months (37.31), and 41.7% had no degree and 58.3% had a degree qualification. The sample comprised of 72.8% Police Constables, 17.5% were Sergeants, 8.1% were members of the Inspecting ranks and 1.2% were members of the Chief Officer ranks. Additionally, 79.6% were white and 20.4% were BME. Participants were recruited through the Force intranet, on a voluntary basis, through an online link. The only exclusion criterion was that only police officers who were assigned the female gender at birth or who currently identify as female can take part as this study was only researching females.
Materials; Career expectations and aspirations were measured using an online questionnaire on Qualtrics heavily inspired by the Boag-Munroe (2017) study. This questionnaire also established demographic questions such as age and length of service, which would be also used as predictor variables. Career aspirations were established by selecting their current rank then the highest rank they would like to reach. Career expectations were established by selecting the highest rank they believed and expected to reach.
Results: Multinomial logistic regression was employed to determine if ethnicity, length of service, age and whether or not you have a degree predict career aspirations and expectations. Overall there was no significant difference between white and BME females in their expectations or aspirations of achieving any of the ranks. However, length of service, age and whether or not you have a degree did predict both aspirations and expectations for all of the ranks.
Discussion and Conclusions: The overarching aim of this research was to provide a clearer and further understanding of female career progression in the police force with a particular new focus on female BME’s. Whilst the overall sample size was significantly smaller than the Boag-Munroe study, the representation of BME participants of 20.4% was far greater than the previous research where representation was 5%. The findings determined that there were no differences between white and BME females’ career aspirations and expectations but length of service, age and whether or not you have a degree were significant predictors.
The finding that having a degree significantly predicted career progression aspirations is an insightful outcome. Since, every individual who wants to be a police officer, in England and Wales, will have to be educated up to degree level from 2020 onwards (College of Policing, 2018), it is encouraging that this requirement is also advantageous and beneficial to police officers’ views on career progression. Although, it is not understood as to why this is the case. It could be that a higher education is associated with increased confidence (Stake & Hoffman, 2001) or skills and ability, but this can only be assumed until specific research explores this. This would also be of value as then the degree courses, specific to policing, may be able to implement and integrate targeted training and education into the course, that will improve individual’s probability of career progression or at least their desire and expectations.
As is stands, this research has provided some supportive evidence to previous literature and what can influence attitudes towards career progression. However, it is clear that research within this area is sparse and there are many avenues remaining unexplored. It is therefore crucial to gain as much insight into underrepresented groups as possible if representation is going to increase or to help decide whether increasing representation should even remain as both a desirable and achievable goal. Additional qualitative research is also planned as the next step to investigate these issues further.
References
Boag-Munroe, F. (2017). Career Progression Expectations and Aspirations of Female Police
Officers in England and Wales. Policing: A Journal Of Policy And Practice.
Bradbury M. D., Kellough J. E. (2008). ‘Representative Bureaucracy: Exploring the Potential for Active Representation in Local Government.’ Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 18(4), 697–714.
College of Policing, (2018). Entry routes for police constables https://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Learning/Policing-Education-Qualifications- Framework/Documents/FAQs.pdf
Haarr, R., & Morash, M. (2013). The Effect of Rank on Police Women Coping With
Discrimination and Harassment. Police Quarterly, 16(4), 395-419.
Hargreaves, J., Cooper J., Woods E., McKee C. (2016) Police Workforce, England and Wales,
31 March 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales- 31-march-2016/
Home Office (2012). Definition of Policing by Consent. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policing-by-consent/definition-of-policing-by-consent (accessed 18 May 2017).
Home Office (2018). Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2018 . https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file /726401/hosb1118-police-workforce.pdf
Stake, J., & Hoffmann, F. (2001). Changes in Student Social Attitudes, Activism, and Personal
Confidence in Higher Education: The Role of Women’s Studies. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 411-436.
Turnbull P. J., Wass V. J. (2012). Time for justice: long working hours and the well-being of police inspectors. Report prepared for the Inspectors’ Central Committee. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
Ref: 3929 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) Validity: The Long and Short of It Rab MacIver, Katie Herridge, Lauren Jeffery-Smith, Jake Smith Saville Assessment
In this symposium we will discuss two of the key considerations for recruiters – using assessments which forecast overall performance and behaviours that are important for the role (validity) and keeping candidates engaged and involved in their selection process – a key factor of which is the time it takes to complete the process. The first paper will discuss recent research into what factors in a recruitment process are important to candidates and discuss how completion time and validity are both important. The second paper builds on this to discuss the difficulties with the creation of short and valid assessments, as well as solutions to address these difficulties. The third paper presents data on a hierarchical model of personality to investigate the validity of different levels for forecasting behaviour and potential. The final paper presents information on a new high-validity, short assessment.
Ref: 3935 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (1) Validity – Are Candidates Really Bothered? Katie Herridge, Rab MacIver Saville Assessment Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concepts of assessment completion time and validity, and their importance to candidates and recruiters.
By examining what is most important for candidates in a selection process and contrasting this with what is most important to recruiters, the paper reflects on the messages for us as Occupational Psychologists.
We will argue that whilst it is often assumed that Occupational Psychologists care about the validity of an assessment (both concurrent and predictive validity), and most recruiters recognise that validity matters, what is often not realised is that validity matters a great deal to candidates.
It is therefore important to ensure that assessments provided are valid and predict the behaviours that are related to job performance. Recruiters must also take into account the maximum amount of time a candidate is willing to spend on the assessment process.
We’ll demonstrate through recent research findings that candidates (1) want the assessment process to result in them being placed in the right job and (2) want to find a job to which they are well suited. As these two factors are a direct consequence of assessment validity, this gives weight to the argument that validity is also paramount to the candidate.
We’ll also show that the length of time an assessment takes to complete is important to candidates through statistics such as drop-out from longer assessment processes.
By discussing existing research, both survey and more academic, we will argue that Occupational Psychologists, recruiters and candidates want assessments which are highly valid and quick to complete.
Agenda: We will open by discussing the background to the current selection market reflecting on the competitive nature of today’s recruitment market. Organisations must work hard to attract and recruit the best talent ahead of their competitors. Many of today’s candidates are making applications to numerous organisations at any one time (Oleeo and Universum, 2019). This highlights the importance of keeping candidates engaged, whilst being mindful of time and the overall length of an assessment process. If an assessment process appears at outset to be too long, candidates may simply choose to apply to a competitor instead.
We’ll then move focus onto the current research surrounding the length of an assessment process and candidates’ ‘need for speed’. Respecting a candidate’s time has been shown to be the third- biggest contributor to a positive interview or recruiting experience, cited by 40% of job seekers surveyed (Recruiting Daily Market Research, 2019). Failing to respect the candidates’ time was shown to be the number-one cause of a negative experience (45%) and the second-most common reason a candidate drops out of an employer’s interview process (16%) (Recruiting Daily Market Research, 2019). Whilst clearly recruiters must be respectful of the job seeker’s time, this ‘need for speed’ must be balanced by ensuring that decision-makers receive enough information to make a reliable and informed decision. However, this raises the question of making assessments short at the expense of their validity. How do we deal with this trade-off?
Research demonstrating that validity is important to candidates will be discussed. It is important to candidates that the assessment process correctly identifies the individuals who are most likely to be effective in the role and will be placed in a job they want to stay in (MacIver et al., 2018). Candidates want assessments that fairly demonstrate their competence for the job, especially for professional and leadership roles. However, many recruiters appear to believe that candidates in general prefer short, novel, technology-enabled hiring tools (SHL, 2018).
In research by MacIver at al. (2018), establishing a candidates’ ‘need for speed’ was more subtle. When candidates chose which factor was most important to them in an online selection process from a list of twelve factors, having assessments which are quick to complete was placed tenth out of a list of twelve choices. However, the candidates were much more concerned about assessment time when the length of time they would find reasonable to spend on an assessment process was investigated.
We will present survey data on UK candidates (N=1029) to demonstrate that candidate drop-out typically increases as the assessment time lengthens. 80% of candidates are willing to spend 30 minutes on an assessment process. At 60 minutes recruiters can lose up to 50% of their applicants (MacIver at al., 2018). We argue that it can be easy to underestimate just how important it is to have a short and rigorously valid assessment tools for candidates and recruiters alike.
The risk of making the assessment process too short will also be addressed. If an assessment is too short, candidates can feel like they've not been given enough opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities or fit for the role. Likewise, there may be less inclination to trust results that are immediate as this may imply that the necessary time to review responses has not been taken and the candidate may think they have not been given fair consideration.
The paper will conclude with a summary of the main points discussed, implications for practice, and suggested areas for further research, before the audience will be invited to ask questions.
Key Messages and Insights
• Validity matters to Occupational Psychologists and recruiters. It also important to recognise just how important this is to candidates.
• Many recruiters consider speed and validity as an either/or. Both matter!
• Establishing candidates’ ‘need for speed’ can be trickier than simply reviewing what is most important to them in the recruitment process. This may not be evident until reasons for drop-out are reviewed.
• Assessments which are too short may compromise how a candidate feels about how thorough the overall process is.
• It is possible to create assessments which focus on both speed and validity, as will be further evidenced throughout the symposium.
Ethical Considerations: There are clear ethical considerations in addressing a candidates’ need for valid yet shorter assessments which we will discuss during this session.
During our symposium we will also explore how to create assessment experiences which are both short and valid yet continue to be demonstrably fair to different groups of candidates. Ethical considerations including fairness and perception of fairness are fundamental to good psychometric practice.
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session? Survey research, theories of candidate satisfaction, engagement, and predictive validity.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Using a research methods approach to investigate what is important to candidates when undertaking an assessment process and the impact that assessment time can have on overall candidate drop-out and engagement is valuable to the development of psychometric assessments in general.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Psychological assessment at work – is centred around occupational personality assessment.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Supporting the overall symposium theme of achieving short and valid assessment, rather than recruiters having to select one at the expense of the other.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Many delegates are likely to be users and/or developers of psychometric assessments and may also be considering the length of assessment time in relation to their psychometric offering. Attending this session would provide another perspective on this area of research and practice.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Assessment processes are an essential part of selection. Knowing the impact that length of time has on the assessment process is vitally important. It is important that the media know that this area is under research with a view to making a positive impact in the workplace (e.g. less drop out and getting the right people in the right job roles).
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)?
Electronic copies of the presentation would be available on request (via the author’s provided email address) after the session.
References
Full references will be provided.
Ref: 3936 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Taking Short Cuts Rab MacIver, Saville Assessment
Purpose: There has been a longstanding assumption in the literature as well as practice that longer tests are more effective, particularly when it comes to applications which involve decision making. This paper seeks to challenge the notion that longer questionnaires are always necessary for decision making and sets out what the potential impediments are to developing shorter questionnaires. This includes a look at the variance required to profile scores, the impact of scale length on reliability and validity, as well as a consideration of the correct level within a scale hierarchy to optimise validity and therefore ensure that decision making is effective. Agenda
Reliability and length: One of the assumptions of Classical Test Theory is that longer questionnaires will provide greater reliability. This is encapsulated in the Spearman Brown prophecy formula which can be used to provide an estimate to correct for scale length. In practice, there is an assumption that each item will provide equivalent shared variance and therefore contribute to an increase in the reliability. This is witnessed by a higher internal consistency reliability estimate. In reality, this assumption does not hold up as some items are better than others. Many conventionally developed assessments are composed of a mixture of good items and poor items. The chase to increase internal consistency tends to lead to questionnaires which are composed of a number of items which are redundant and could be removed. Short questionnaire scales have been shown to have strong reliability estimates in terms of alternate form and test re-test (Rammstedt et al., 2018, Saville et al, 2012).
Validity and length: More reliable assessments should lead to assessments of higher validity. However, we have seen that longer tests are not necessarily more reliable. Beyond this, is there evidence to suggest that longer tests are more valid? An important paper by Burisch (1984) compared the validity of different personality questionnaires and found that length was not an important indicator of validity. More recent work by the same author (Burisch, 1997) indicated that it was possible to select the most valid items from a personality scale. Shorter scales with as little as two items outperformed their much longer counterparts.
So, what is stopping us from developing shorter scales?: The first issue is that despite shorter scales being valid with a small number of items, some traits have a degree of breadth in the content that they measure and it may be difficult to cover the content with a small number of items. There is a solution to this. Measure in a scale hierarchy with narrow traits at the bottom, summing to create broader trait measures or factors at the top of your personality scale hierarchy. For example, a short measure of the Big Five has recently been developed by Soto and John (2017) which, as well as measuring the Big Five, measures three sub-facets using just 30 items.
A second issue for short scales is having sufficient variance to profile the scores. This issue was highlighted by MacIver (1997) who highlighted that five-point Likert formats and most-least formats which select from three or four response options typically only provide three points towards the overall scale. When you are profiling scores, for example, on a one to 10 scale you will typically need at least five and often many more items to allow you to profile. To counter this, it is possible to use other formats. For example, the Wave personality questionnaire uses an interactive ipsative and normative format based on a nine-point Likert scale and six alternative items options to be ranked. This delivers a much larger range of responses from one single interactive online questionnaire item.
Hierarchy and length: A final consideration for short scales to be used in decision-making is which level in the personality hierarchy is most valid. To address this requires research to show that if a higher order level such as the Big Five is chosen, this is optimal in terms of the prediction of overall and behavioural criteria (convergent and discriminant validity).
Key Messages and Insights
• Short scales can be developed with high levels of reliability and validity.
• Longer scales may suffer from questions which are less reliable and valid – driven by the mistaken need to have high internal consistency reliability estimates. • Alternative response formats other than short Likert or most/least formats are required for short scales to be profiled adequately.
• Broad scales can be measured if the questionnaire is built on a scale hierarchy of narrow facets and broader higher order measures.
• There is a need to establish which level in the scale hierarchy is optimal for decision making.
• Short scales often show near equivalent, equivalent or better than equivalent psychometric properties and there is no good rationale to suggest they should not be used for decision making when time is of the essence.
Ethical Considerations: When candidates are applying for many jobs, asking them to undertake long assessments unnecessarily is onerous. For the use of short assessments, to be capable of ethical use they need to demonstrate that they meet stringent psychometric criteria and have the necessary supporting materials.
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
The Big Five, Classical Test Theory, Generalisability Theory.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
The present paper makes an argument that if the main psychometric indicators of effectiveness back up the use of short assessments, then these should be put into practice when appropriate.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Psychological assessment at work – is centred around occupational personality assessment.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Supporting the overall symposium theme of achieving short and valid assessment, rather than recruiters having to select one at the expense of the other.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Challenging the assumptions that practitioners make about the use and effectiveness of shorter assessments.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
To understand that assessment can be quick and effective making applying for a job an easier process.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)?
Electronic copies of the presentation would be available on request (via the author’s provided email address) after the session.
References
Full references will be provided. Ref: 3932 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) Scales of Potential Lauren Jeffery-Smith, Saville Assessment
Introduction: The overriding theme of the symposium is achieving a valid forecasting of potential in a short assessment – not forcing recruiters to make a trade-off of these important factors. This paper will look at hierarchical models of workplace competencies in general to ascertain the most useful level of the model for recruiters to maximise validity, provide a practical level of detail and to identify distinct behaviours which are important for the role.
With a hierarchical personality model, an important empirical question which could inform how short a questionnaire could be is – which level is most valid? In the questionnaire studied, there are four available levels in the hierarchy with 108, 36, 12 and four scales, respectively.
Method
Instrument: Wave Professional Styles – online, dynamic rating (normative) and ranking (ipsative) format, 216 items, hierarchical model of 108 facets, 36 dimensions, 12 sections and four clusters
Criterion: Performance 360 rater questionnaire – online, effectiveness ratings, matched behavioural criteria plus overall performance criteria (including ‘Demonstrating Potential’).
Sample 1: Development sample of between 383 and 394 with matched predictor and criterion rating. Early normative-only version of the questionnaire.
Sample 2: Standardisation sample of between 495 and 632 individuals with matched predictor and criterion ratings. Combined normative and ipsative final version of the questionnaire.
Sample 3: Co-validation research sample of 369 individuals with matched predictor and criterion ratings. Combined normative and ipsative final version of the questionnaire. Part of a large multi cross-instrument cross-criterion co-validation study.
Research Questions:
1. If we create an overall algorithm based on the rank order of validity, which level of the hierarchy performs the best in forecasting potential?
2. Which level of the hierarchy provides the greatest level of convergent and discriminant validity – measuring specific behaviours?
3. Which is the most useful level of the model for the recruiter in practical terms – balancing the above considerations?
Creating Overall Algorithms to predict ‘Demonstrating Potential’
Overall algorithms were created at the four scale levels of the Wave Professional Styles personality questionnaire. Different algorithms to predict potential were developed for each scale level based on the correlational data in each single study (and then cross-validated into the other samples). This cross-validation methodology provides the acid test for prediction as it does not rely on capitalising on the findings in one study. Within each sample, scales at each level of the model hierarchy were correlated with ‘Demonstrating Potential’. These correlations were then used to rank the scales from most to least in strength of forecasting ‘Demonstrating Potential’. Weightings were calculated and applied based on ranking at each level (with the same total weighting of 5886 applied in each case). This gave 12 different equations for predicting potential – based on three samples and four levels in the model hierarchy. For comparison, an Overall Potential score was also calculated by combining the scales with one unit weighting each.
Results: The 12 equations (and overall unit weighted equation) were correlated with ratings of ‘Demonstrating Potential’. The sample specific equations are highlighted on the diagonal (blue and green cells) and the surrounding cells display the cross-validation of the equations into different samples. The final row of the table is the scales added up equally to give one overall score.
All raw correlations statistically significant at the p<.05 level (one-tailed). rc validities have been corrected for attenuation based on the reliability of the criteria (based on 263 pairs of criterion ratings). No further corrections were applied (e.g. restriction of range, predictor unreliability).
As one might expect, the equations perform better in the sample that they are based on (on the diagonal), but there are also good correlations for the cross-validated equations in other samples.
The correlations in the Development sample are generally lower overall. This may well be because it was based on a normative-only version of the questionnaire, before the increased validity which was brought by combining with the ipsative task. In general, the cluster level has the lowest correlation with ‘Demonstrating Potential’ (based on weighting four broad competencies), while the sections, dimensions and facets perform similarly (although in most cases, the more specific 108 facet level displays the strongest correlation).
As well as forecasting overall potential, it is important that individual competencies correlate with the behaviours they are designed to forecast – convergent validity. When correlating the competency algorithms at each level of the hierarchy with ratings on matched behaviours, the 12- section level had the highest average correlations in all three samples.
The other side of convergent validity is discriminant validity – are the correlations with non-matched behaviours consistently lower than with matched behaviours? Across all levels of the model in all samples, the average non-matched correlations are lower than the matched. The non-matched correlations tended to be lower for the more granular levels of the hierarchy, but when looking at the difference between the matched and non-matched averages, the 12-section level again performed best.
Conclusions
• Equations based on specific samples cross-validate to other samples to effectively forecast ‘Demonstrating Potential’.
• There is good forecasting at all levels of the hierarchy.
• Facet level tends to give a slightly stronger forecast of potential, but it is more time-consuming for job analysis to rank 108 facets.
• Section level performs well while balancing ease of use – low investment to rank 12 sections for a job role or multiple job roles.
• Section level maximises convergent validity (matched competencies) – gives a good combination of convergent validity and predicting potential, along with individual competencies with good discriminant validity e.g. to stream people into different jobs, getting the best forecasting of specific behaviours which are important for the role.
References
Full references will be provided.
Ethical Considerations
The criterion validity, both convergent and discriminant, provide important markers of whether individual candidates will be placed in jobs that suit them, therefore an understanding of which level in the hierarchy is most valid is critical to acting in the candidate’s best interest.
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Kurz & Bartram (2002), Saville, MacIver & Kurz (2012)
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Using a scientific, data-driven approach to demonstrate the validity of different levels of detail within a hierarchical model, to support the practical application of psychometric assessments.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen? Psychological assessment at work – is centred around occupational personality assessment
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Supporting the overall symposium theme of achieving a short and valid assessment – rather than recruiters having to select one at the expense of the other.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
Important considerations for assessment developers and recruiters and discussed and addressed.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
The overall symposium o understand that assessment can be quick and effective making applying for a job an easier process.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
Electronics copies of slides will be available
Ref: 3934 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (4) Short and Valid! Jake Smith, Saville Assessment
Introduction: The research objective of this paper is to address how we can create an assessment that has a shorter completion time but still demonstrates the necessary technical robustness demanded by recruiters and candidates. How can we develop a behavioural assessment that is both short and valid?
A longstanding aim of behavioural psychometric assessment is to provide reliable, valid and fair measures of personality. The survey evidence research data discussed in the first paper of this symposium supports that an assessment’s validity remains of high importance not only to recruiters, but also to candidates. The research data also informs us that the time taken to assess an individual is a key consideration; shorter assessments are viewed more favourably.
However, shorter behavioural assessments typically encounter several issues in terms of the quality of measurement provided. Obtaining enough variance in scores can be difficult where scales are based on shorter assessments containing fewer items. It also becomes challenging to reach acceptable levels of reliability and validity where fewer responses are obtained from candidates.
Design
Methodology
Instrument: Match 6.5 – online, dynamic rating (normative) and ranking (ipsative) format, 36 items, 12 sections and one configurable fit score. The instrument was developed based on the Wave Performance Culture Framework and selected the three most valid items to represent each of the 12 section scales.
Sample 1: Individual contributors (N=11,869) used to demonstrate variance and score distributions. Sub-samples used to explore gender, age and ethnicity group fairness. Sample 2: Test-retest reliability (N=214)
Sample 3: Alternate form reliability (N=504)
Sample 4: Co-validation research sample of individuals with matched predictor and criterion ratings (N=308). (Criterion: Performance 360 rater questionnaire – online, effectiveness ratings, matched behavioural criteria plus overall performance criteria, including ‘Demonstrating Potential’)
Results
Variance and Score Distribution
Competency potential scales offer clear variance in score measurement despite being created from a small number of items. Means, standard deviations and score distributions of the 12 scales will be presented.
Reliability
Test-retest reliability was calculated using a sample of N=214 and a six-month interval between completions. Full reliability figures will be presented with figures ranging from.67 through to .84, with a mean average figure of .76.
Alternate form reliability was measured using a sample of N=504. Two different forms of the assessment were used; an invited access format and a supervised access format. Alternate form reliabilities for the sections ranged from .77 to .89, with a mean average reliability of .83.
Validity
Validity analysis first focused on forecasting performance based on criteria consisting of work performance ratings across competencies matched to the section scales of Match 6.5:
Correlation with Matched Competency (N=308)
Match 6.5 Section r rc Evaluating Problems .12 .25 Investigating Issues .16 .35 Creating Innovation .26 .58 Building Relationships .26 .45 Communicating Information .26 .49 Providing Leadership .20 .36 Showing Resilience .18 .33 Adjusting to Change .20 .43 Giving Support .24 .45 Processing Details .26 .46 Structuring Tasks .25 .59 Driving Success .26 .48 Mean .22 .43 Median .25 .45 Min .12 .25 Max .26 .59 r is the unadjusted validity coefficient. rc validities have been adjusted for attenuation based on the reliability of the criteria (based on 263 pairs of criterion ratings). No further corrections were applied (e.g., restriction of range, predictor unreliability).
The mean average validity of the sections was .43 (adjusted for criterion reliability). This figure acts as the convergent validity figure for Match 6.5 (being the mean of the matched predictor-criteria correlations).
The discriminant validity of Match 6.5 is demonstrated through comparing the unadjusted convergent validity figure (.22), with the mean average of non-matched predictor-criteria correlations (.04).
An overall score was created for Match 6.5 by weighting and combining the section level scales. This was used to forecast overall performance based on ratings of ‘Demonstrating Potential’, where a correlation of .37 was observed (adjusted for criterion unreliability).
Forecasting Validity ‘Power’
To calculate a figure to measure the validity ‘Power’ of each assessment, the validity figure for ‘Demonstrating Potential’ was divided by the length of the assessment in minutes. The validity ‘Power’ figure for Match 6.5 based on performance ratings on the competency ‘Demonstrating Potential’, was .87. We will show comparisons of the forecasting validity ‘Power’ between Match 6.5 and other commonly used behavioural measures.
Group Differences
No moderate or large effect sizes were observed based on gender (N=11,869), age (sample of N=11,351 split into groups of ‘Under 40’ years old and ‘40 and Over’), or ethnicity (sample of N=8,766 split into groups of ‘White’, ‘Black’ and ‘Asian’).
Discussion: The results provide strong evidence for the validity of Match 6.5 and indicate that it can successfully forecast work performance across specific, matched competencies, as well as at an overall level of ‘Demonstrating Potential’.
The validity of assessment, combined with its short completion time, produces a high validity ‘Power’ figure when compared with other personality assessments.
Conclusions
• If time is no object then longer tools from the Wave suite have higher validities. However, survey research indicates time is precious, so an assessment such as Match 6.5 has a place in providing validity at speed.
• It is possible to create behavioural assessments that are both short and highly valid.
• This may be particularly useful where recruiters are looking to use or combine multiple assessments in a screening process and keep overall assessment time to a minimum.
• Shorter assessments are more likely to keep candidates engaged in a recruitment process, while still placing them in roles they are likely to perform well in.
Ethical Considerations
Group difference analysis indicates Match 6.5 to be a fair behavioural assessment, with no moderate or large differences between groups found based on gender, age or ethnicity. References
Full references will be provided.
What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Survey research on what is most important to organisations and candidates involved in a recruitment process. Research focused on the importance of validity in psychometric assessment and how it can be maximised.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Developing valid psychometric assessments is critical in ensuring that the right people are hired into the right roles. This paper details a personality assessment that has been developed using a thorough, scientific approach in order to achieve validity in forecasting workplace performance.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The personality assessment developed and discussed in this paper is intended for use in organisational screening/recruitment.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
Match 6.5 does not compromise on providing strong validity and technical rigour, despite its short length. This offers significant practical benefits to recruiters while meeting the needs of candidates.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
The paper offers insights into how personality assessments can be developed to overcome the problems test developers typically encounter when creating shorter assessments.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
That occupational psychologists and psychometric test publishers are aware and focused on meeting candidate and recruiter expectations in relation to recruitment.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
Electronics copies of slides will be available.
Ref: 3904 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Towards a more granular analysis of Emotional Intelligence and the Dark Triad Jolyon Maddocks, Steph Noble PSI Introduction: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is generally considered to fall under the umbrella of positive psychology (Salovey, Mayer, & Caruso, 2002) and there is indeed substantial evidence for its positive impact (Austin, Saklofske, & Egan, 2005; Day, Therrien, & Carroll, 2005; Furnham & Petrides, 2003). However, there is also evidence for negative associations with EI (Davis & Nichols, 2016). The so- called ‘dark-side’ of EI may be directed towards oneself, such as internalising of symptoms and depression-proneness (Ciarrochi, Dean, & Anderson, 2002; Davis & Humphrey, 2012), or towards others, with traits such as narcissism, hubris, and Machiavellianism (Austin, Farrelly, Black & Moore, 2007; Judge, Piccolo, & Kosalka, 2009).
A recent meta-analysis on EI and the Dark Triad found a negative relationship between EI and Machiavellianism and Psychopathy, and a non-significant relationship with Narcissism (Miao, Humphrey, Qian, & Pollack, 2019). This suggests that, overall, individuals higher in EI are less likely to demonstrate these counterproductive behaviours.
However, the authors identified limitations to their study and recommended that: “future studies may investigate whether there is ‘too much of a good thing’ effect of EI” and “the possibilities of curvilinear relationships.” It is notable that none of the instruments used in this and other meta- analytic studies of EI and dark-side behaviours included instruments that measure facets of EI as curvilinear constructs. Several commentators have argued the benefits of exploring non-linear aspects of personality and behaviour (Benson & Campbell, 2007; Harms, Spain, Hannah, Hogan, & Foster, 2011; Hogan & Hogan, 2001; Le et al., 2011) yet this has not been applied to the measurement of EI.
Given the close commonality between personality and trait EI (Petrides, Pita, & Kokkinaki, 2007), it may be inferred that measuring EI as a curvilinear construct would reveal further insight into the relationship between EI and the Dark Triad than would be obtained through optimal (more is always better) EI scales alone.
Hypothesis 1 : Sub-optimal scales will demonstrate correlations with the Dark Triad that are not observed within their equivalent optimal scales.
A second limitation to this and other meta-studies is that they typically treat EI as a single construct, even though most trait EI measures are multifaceted. Several commentators call for greater specificity in examining the relative importance of EI dimensions. For instance, Brasseur, Grégoire, Bourdu and Mikolajczak (2013) postulate that in some cases intrapersonal EI may carry more weight than interpersonal EI (e.g. for managing job stress), but the opposite may be true in other cases (e.g. for building relationships). Ybarra, Kross, & Sanchez-Burks (2014) comment there is no reason to assume that someone who is strong in one area of EI, such as being aware of their own feelings, will be capable in another area of EI, such as being aware of the feelings of others. Furthermore, given the evidence for both positive and negative associations between EI and dark-side behaviours (Davis et al., 2016) it may be inferred that some facets of EI may correlate positively and others negatively with the three elements of the Dark Triad.
Hypothesis 2: Specific blends of both positive and negative facets of EI will correlate with the three elements of the Dark Triad.
To provide a basis for comparison, a-priori hypotheses were produced as to which facets of EI relate to the three elements of the Dark Triad (Table 1). Four experts (business psychologists with extensive experience of the EIP3) independently rated whether they expect there to be either a ‘Partial association’ or a ‘Strong association’. Where three or more raters agreed, these are highlighted as hypothesised relationships.
Table 1: Hypothesised relationship between EIP3 and the Dark Triad
Scales in italics are Optimal scales. Their associated sub-optimal scales are indicated by*
+ / -: Partial association + + / - -: Strong association
As shown in Table 1, 16 of the 26 EIP3 scales are predicted to have a partial or strong association with the Dark Triad in both a positive and negative direction. Between 6-7 EIP3 scales are expected to correlate with each of the Dark Triad facets, 2-3 of which are strongly related. If these expectations are confirmed in the analysis this would support the second hypothesis that specific blends of both positive and negative facets of EI will correlate with the three elements of the Dark Triad.
Of the curvilinear scales, six of the sub-optimal scales and only one of the optimal scales are predicted to correlate with the Dark Triad. This would concur with the first hypothesis that sub- optimal scales will demonstrate correlations with the Dark Triad that are not observed within their equivalent optimal scales.
Study methodology: Data collection for this study is currently in progress and will be completed in August 2019, well in advance of the conference in January 2020.
Participants: We will collect a sample of over 200 UK working adults with experience of supervisory and managerial roles who will complete the EIP3 and SD3. Participation is voluntary. The Emotional Intelligence Profile v3 (EIP3) (Maddocks & Hughes, 2017): EIP3 is a self-report measure of trait EI. It consists of 16 scales, five of which are curvilinear scales comprising of three sub-scales (one optimal and two sub-optimal), making a total of 26 EIP3 scales. For example, the optimal level for the control of emotions (Free and in Charge) may fall between Under Controlled (reactive and uninhibited) and Over Controlled (repressed and inhibited).
The Short Dark Triad (SD3) (Jones & Paulhus, 2014): The SD3 is a brief 27-item measure of the Dark Triad personality traits. The three traits are Machiavellianism (a manipulative attitude), Narcissism (excessive self-love), and Psychopathy (lack of empathy).
Planned analysis: To analyse the relationship between the EIP3 and SD3 scales, we will conduct Pearson correlations between each EIP3 and SD3 scale. We will then compare this to the expected relationships from expert consensus to determine the extent to which hypothesis 1 and 2 are supported.
Drawing upon the first hypothesis, it is anticipated that some sub-optimal scales of EI will show closer correlations with the Dark Triad than their optimal scale counterparts. For example, Aggressive may show a closer relationship with Narcissism than does Assertive. Such findings would indicate that there may be ‘too much of a good thing’ with regards to some aspects of EI and that there may be a benefit in measuring EI as a curvilinear construct. The results from this study will therefore provide new insight into the presence of curvilinear relationships between EI and the Dark Triad.
One potential implication of these findings is that curvilinear measures of EI may add value to linear measures of EI as predictors of performance. For example, dark-side personality traits have been shown to provide incremental validity over bright side traits of the Five Factor Model (FFM) in predicting leadership performance (Harms, et al., 2011).
If the results concur with the second hypothesis this would suggest that aggregating EI to a single score for the purposes of meta-analysis is a blunt instrument. EI is multifaceted, where some facets may correlate positively and others negatively with the Dark Triad, such as High Self Regard and low Regard for Others (Narcissism), which if combined may negate each other. The results may therefore shed more light on the specific blends of EI facets (potentially both positive and negative) that relate to the Dark Triad. This more granular analysis will be valuable for informing selection and development interventions within organisations.
A copy of the presentation slides will be made available to all delegates attending the session.
References
Austin, E. J., Farrelly, D., Black, C., & Moore, H. (2007). Emotional intelligence, Machiavellianism and emotional manipulation: does EI have a dark side? Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 43, No. 1, 179-189.
Austin, E. J., Saklofske, D. H., & Egan, V. (2005). Personality, well-being and health correlates of trait emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 547–558.
Benson, M.J. & Campbell, J.P. (2007). To Be, or Not to Be, Linear: An expanded representation of personality and its relationship to leadership performance. International Journal of Selection and Assessment. Volume 15 Number 2 June. Brasseur, S., Grégoire, J., Bourdu, R., & Mikolajczak, M. (2013). The Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC): Development and validation of a self-reported measure that fits dimensions of emotional competence theory. PLoS ONE, 8, Article e6265.
Ciarrochi,J., Dean,F.P., & Anderson,S. (2002).Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between stress and mental health. Pers.Individ.Dif. 32,197–209.doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00012-5
Davis, S. K., & Humphrey, N. (2012). Emotional intelligence as a moderator of stressor–mental health relations in adolescence: Evidence for specificity. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(1), 100– 105.
Davis, S. K., & Nichols, R. (2016). Does Emotional intelligence have a ‘‘dark” side? A review of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1–10.
Day, A. L., Therrien, D. L., & Carroll, S. A. (2005). Predicting psychological health: assessing the incremental validity of emotional intelligence beyond personality, Type A behaviour and daily hassles. European Journal of Personality, 19, 519–536.
Furnham, A., & Petrides, K. V. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence and happiness. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 815–823.
Harms, P.D., Spain, S.M., Hannah, S.T., Hogan, R., & Foster, J. (2011). You underestimate the power of the dark side: Subclinical traits, the Big Five, and job performance. Symposium conducted at the 26th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL.
Hogan, R. & Hogan, J. (2001) Assessing Leadership: A view from the dark side. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9, 40–51.
Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Introducing the short dark triad (SD3) a brief measure of dark personality traits. Assessment, 21, 28–41.
Judge, T. A., Piccolo, R. F., & Kosalka, T. (2009). The bright and dark sides of leader traits: a review and theoretical extension of the leader trait paradigm. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 20 No. 6, 855- 875.
Le, H., Oh, I. S., Robbins, S. B., Ilies, R., Holland, E., & Westrick, P. (2011). Too much of a good thing: Curvilinear relationships between personality traits and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 113–133.
Miao, C., Humphrey, R.H., Qian, S., & Pollack, J.M. (2019). The relationship between emotional intelligence and the dark triad personality traits: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Research in Personality 78: 189–197.
Maddocks, J. & Hughes, D. (2017). EIP3 Technical Manual. Cheltenham: JCA Global.
Petrides, K. V., Pita, R. & Kokkinaki, F. (2007). The location of trait emotional intelligence in personality factor space, British Journal of Psychology, Vol. 98 No. 2, 273-289.
Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., & Caruso, D. (2002). The positive psychology of emotional intelligence. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology. New York: University Press.
Ybarra, O., Kross, E., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2014). The “big idea” that is yet to be: Toward a more motivated, contextual, and dynamic model of emotional intelligence. Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(2), 93–107. Ref: 3959 Symposia Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development (S) Too late to make a difference: How can Occupational Psychology contribute to going green? Jan Maskell, Training and Development Solutions
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session attendees will be able to:
· Acknowledge the different issues connected with framing the issue of climate change
· Identify the leadership styles most appropriate for addressing the rapid transition needed to tackle climate change
· State the impact of role modelling on behaviour change
· Choose behaviours to minimise eco-anxiety
In June 2019, the UK government became the first to declare a climate emergency. As so much of climate change is attributed to human activity, it should therefore be a central field of inquiry in the social, behavioural and organisational sciences generally. It requires a response that is far-reaching, involving workplaces as well as governments and individuals.
The purpose of this session is to highlight different areas of practice to which Occupational Psychology can contribute in relation to tackling climate change. It will outline a number of different areas of current and future practice along with the theoretical perspectives contributing to that work.
The key areas of practice that will be considered include:
· Framing the issue
· Leadership for rapid change
· Role models for change
· Managing eco-anxiety
Each session will include exercises and discussion and the opportunity for questions. These will be followed by a review of the presentations and consider how these messages can be taken beyond the DOP and BPS.
Ref: 3943 Part of Symposia Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development (1) Framing the issue – communicating for change Jan Maskell, Training and Development Solutions
When you communicate you usually have a good idea of what you want to say and the change you want to make. But how do you know it is going to work? Framing comprises a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies, organize, perceive, and communicate about reality. Frames in thought consist of the mental representations, interpretations, and simplifications of reality. Frames in communication consist of the communication of frames between different actors and involves the social construction of a social phenomenon. The effects of framing can be seen in journalism, where the ‘frame’ surrounding the issue can change the our perception without having to alter the actual facts as the message is based on the same set of information.
We do not look at an event and then apply a frame to it, we constantly project into the world around us the interpretive frames that allow us to make sense of it. Tversky and Kahneman have shown that framing can affect the outcome of choice problems (i.e. the choices one makes), so much so that some of the classic axioms of rational choice are not true. The context or framing of problems adopted by decision-makers results in part from extrinsic manipulation of the decision-options offered, as well as from forces intrinsic to decision-makers, e.g., their norms, habits, and unique temperament.
Framing is so effective because it is an heuristic, or mental shortcut that may not always yield desired results; and is seen as a 'rule of thumb'. Human beings can be described as ‘cognitive misers’, meaning they prefer to do as little thinking as possible. Frames provide people a quick and easy way to process information. Hence, people will use mental filters (a series of which is called a schema) to make sense of incoming messages. This gives the sender and framer of the information enormous power to use these schemas to influence how the receivers will interpret the message.
This session will consider the frames that are used to communicate climate change, and the subsequent behavioural changes that are needed to address this challenging issue - and will be considered through exercises and discussion
References
Chong, D. & Druckman, J. N. (2007) ‘Framing Theory’ Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 10
Druckman, J.N. (2001) ‘The Implications of Framing Effects for Citizen Competence’ Political Behavior. 23 (3): 225–56. doi:10.1023/A:1015006907312
Goffman, E. (1974) ‘Frame Analysis: An essay on the organization of experience’ Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Iyengar, S. (1991) ‘Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues’ Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1984) ‘Choices, values, and frames’ American Psychologist. 39 (4): 341– 50. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.39.4.34
Lakoff G (2011) ‘Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives’ Chelsea Green Publishing
Martino, De., Kumaran, D., Seymour, B., & Dolan, R. J. (2006) ‘Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision- Making in the Human Brain’ Science. 313 (5787): 684–87.
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1981). "The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice". Science. 211 (4481): 453–58
Weaver, David H. (2007) ‘Thoughts on Agenda Setting, Framing, and Priming’ Journal of Communication. 57: 142. Ref: 3948 Part of Symposia Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development (2) Leadership for rapid change Jan Maskell1, Louise Thompson2 1Training and Development Solutions, 2University of Nottingham In response to the emerging challenges of the past decade, not least of which is climate change, we have already begun to see growing numbers of top executives talking about, taking action on and defining their success in terms of things that have conventionally been the realm of political leaders and NGO activists – business growth that is smart, inclusive and responsible.
Ideas about what defines effective business leadership constantly evolve in response to political events, economic policies, changing business strategies and cultural and societal norms. What pioneers do today often become mainstream tomorrow. So, what can we conclude about the future of business leadership by looking at what has already begun to emerge in current and recent practice?
The climate is changing faster than we are — how do we speed up? Rapid economic transition, including strategic change and leadership behaviour change to sustainable methods, is necessary to live within planetary ecological boundaries and to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees within the very short term.
When faced with adversity, or just extreme challenges, humanity is capable of doing remarkable things, and has repeatedly done so. People collaborate, innovate and, crucially, find the money to pay for whatever is needed, often in impossibly short time frames. This happened before and during World War II.
In a time when the huge challenge is to meet everyone’s needs as we make the rapid transition to live within the bounds of the biosphere, there is no shortage of good work that needs doing. An awakening to the ‘green collar economy’ has institutions as diverse as the International Labour Organisation and multiple industry associations predicting tens of millions of new jobs in low-carbon sectors.
At the same time, both public and private employers are finding that many workers realise greater satisfaction by opting to work shorter weeks, helping to spread the benefits of employment more broadly in opposition to the human consequences of poor-quality, repetitive work. Now the circular and green economies seem to offer ways to get off the consumer treadmill of endless material accumulation (for those who could even afford it or were prepared to go into debt), as well as opportunities for more meaningful work. By changing ingrained working patterns, the conditions for rapid transition can be created.
For example, recent survey of American workers shows two thirds wanting to work a shorter week compared to the conventional five days. But less than one fifth of workplaces offer the opportunity. Yet a progressively shortening work week was once the norm in industrialised societies, and evidence suggests that longer hours are less productive while shorter weeks bring a wide range of benefits. And, in some places, the option of at least a four-day week is now taken for granted. Responding to a recession in the early 1990s, the public sector in the Netherlands began offering a four-day week to staff to save money. Since then it has spread and become common employment practice, with the option offered to workers in all sectors of the economy. To act on this new perspective requires a particular set of leadership practices. Beyond the familiar leadership role of leading change and innovation across the business, comes the new leadership role of leading change beyond business boundaries. They now see their role is to proactively lead change in consumer and supplier behaviour, industry norms and government policy, for the mutual benefit of their organisations and wider society. Some are leading collaboratively with industry competitors, NGOs and government where challenges need to be tackled and only collective, systemic solutions will do. This session will present the new leadership practices that are needed for this rapid transition and enable time for discussion.
References
Dobbs, R., Oppenheim, J., Thompson, F., Brinkman, M., & Zornes, M. (2011) Resource Revolution: Meeting the world’s energy, materials, food and water needs. McKinsey& Co. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/resource-revolution
Gitsham, M. & Wackrill, J. (2012) ‘Leadership in a rapidly changing world: How business leaders are reframing success’ Ashridge and IBLF https://www.unprme.org/resource-docs/LeadershipinaRapidlyChangingWorld.pdf
Laszlo, C. (2008) ‘Sustainable Value: how the world’s leading companies are doing well by doing good’ London, Routledge
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011) ‘Creating Shared Value’ Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62- 77.
Simms, A. & Newell, P. (2017) ‘How did we do that? The possibility of a rapid transition’ https://www.rapidtransition.org/resources/how-did-we-do-that-the-possibility-of-rapid-transition/
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2010) ‘Vision 2050: The new agenda for usiness’
Ref: 3950 Part of Symposia Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development (3) Role models for change – the impact of lifestyle choices Jan Maskell, Training and Development Solutions
Leaders and managers have an obligation to lead by example. What they do and say will be seen as what is valued in an organisation. For many employees this behaviour will be what they see as the norm. As well as leading by example, leaders must be aware of the social norms that exist and that they can influence. Leaders and managers can lead the way through the examples they set in terms of their behaviour and also through making sustainability core to their strategy.
In most organisational sustainability interventions, exemplifying desired changes is important for two main reasons. First, because the actions of leaders and managers send implicit messages about behaviours it condones. If the organisation’s leaders are not displaying the behaviours it is encouraging in others, this will act against people’s desire for reciprocity and fairness while inviting charges of hypocrisy. Second, organisational policy should not give mixed messages about whether certain types of behaviour are encouraged or not. Just as individuals seek consistency, the behaviour of the organisation’s leaders and representatives needs to be consistent with core strategy.
Making sustainable behaviour the social default involves understanding and influencing the social norms. Social norms are the implicit social rules that govern behaviour within an organisation. Norms are not directly established; instead, they develop over time as people go about their daily work, sense people’s reactions to their behaviours, and observe what other people are doing. Social norms differ depending on the group of people, organisation, or culture. What is considered fully normal, even admirable, in one group may be met with disapproval in another, For example, offices where casual dress is normal contrasts with offices where everyone must wear a suit. According to Cialdini (2004), people are constantly looking for social proof to guide their own behaviour. That is, they look for clues to what other people are doing in order to understand the appropriate behaviour in a given situation. Social proof of what is acceptable is a particularly powerful guide to behaviour when the situation is ambiguous or new. One of the big challenges in creating a sustainable organisational culture is that so many unsustainable actions are considered perfectly normal, and even something to strive for.
Social norms create opportunities for change; for one thing, they are dynamic and constantly shifting – just consider single use plastic . The goal for those of us who want to bring about a more sustainable society is to make sustainable behaviours normal, acceptable, and something people aspire to. We can do this by giving people evidence, and social proof, that sustainable behaviour is not only acceptable but is desirable.
References
Carver, C.S. & Scheier, M.F. (2001). Optimism, pessimism and self-regulation. In E.C. Chang (Ed), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research and practice, pp.31–51. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cialdini, R. (2007) ‘Basic social influence is underestimated’ Psychological inquiry, 16(4), 158–161.
Moser, S.C. (2007) ‘More bad news: the risk of neglecting emotional responses to climate change information’ In S.C. Moser & L. Dilling (Eds.), Creating a climate for change: Communicating climate change and facilitating social change, pp.64-80. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Rasmussen, H.N., Wrosch, C., Scheier, M.F. & Carver, C.S. (2006) ‘Self-regulation processes and health: The importance of optimism and goal adjustment’ Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1721–1747.
Ref: 3956 Part of Symposia Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development (4) Eco Warrier or Eco Worrier? – managing eco-anxiety Jan Maskell, Training and Development Solutions
Eco-anxiety is on the increase as concerns about the environment grow. Studies show that eco- anxiety is a real phenomenon being felt around the world.
The American Psychological Society (APA) described this as a ‘chronic fear of environmental doom’ which generates emotions ranging from mild fear to shock and anger. These feelings are growing as scientist and activists groups sound the alarm over the scale of the climate crisis.
YouGov data revealed that three quarters of Britons believe climate change is at least partly responsible for the 2019 summer’s sweltering heat. One third of Brits (32%) believe climate change to be fully responsible for the heatwaves, while a further 45% think it is partly responsible. YouGov polling has also found that a record 27% of UK adults now believe the challenge of environment sustainability is one of the top three greatest issues facing the country. A survey of 65,00 Australian women in early 2019 found that 9 out of 10 were ‘extremely concerned’ about climate change with a third aged under 30 saying that they were reconsidering having children because of the crisis.
The APA says that individuals should not focus on feelings of helplessness, but look to support networks that help boost mental health and resilience to eco-anxiety. One of the best solutions to feeling anxious can be taking action in your community to actually reduce environmental damage, such as raising awareness about renewable energy sources, or reducing a personal carbon footprint. Having conversations with family and friends spreads knowledge and enables change from the ground up.
Taking a proactive approach can help to provide those who are concerned about climate change with some level of psychological ‘relief’ and a sense of accomplishment.
Strategies for tacking eco-anxiety include
- Setting challenging but achievable goals to increase personal hopefulness, engagement and opportunity for achievement
- Develop social networks as support and cohesion
- Appreciate what you have to increase positive emotions
- Focus on what can be done and what can be influenced rather than what cannot be done
- Join a group of like-minded people
- Share more – time, resources and knowledge
This session will consider how these strategies can be applied through exercises and discussion.
References
American Psychological Association (2017) ‘Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications and Guidance’ https://www.apa.org/images/mental-health-climate_tcm7-215704.pdf
Garland, E. L., Farb, N. A., R. Goldin, P., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2015) ‘Mindfulness broadens awareness and builds eudaemonic meaning: A process model of mindful positive emotion regulation’ Psychological Inquiry, 26(4), 293–314.
HSE (2019) ‘Tackling work related stress using the Management Standards approach’ https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wbk01.htm
Iacoviello, B. M., & Charney, D. S. (2014). Psychosocial facets of resilience: Implications for preventing post trauma psychopathology, treating trauma survivors, and enhancing community resilience. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5, 1–10. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.23970
Terpstra, T. (2011). Emotions, trust, and perceived risk: Affective and cognitive routes to flood preparedness behavior. Risk Analysis, 31(10), 1658–1675. doi:10.1111/ j.1539-6924.2011.01616.x
YouGov (2019) ‘The Times VI Trackers 190717’ https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/7091t7u0ss/YG%20Trackers%2 0-%20Top%20Issues_W.pdf
YouGov (2019) ‘Most Brits blame climate change for recent heatwave’ https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/articles-reports/2019/07/31/most-brits-blame-climate-change- recent-heatwave
Ref: 3901 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Understanding the Quality of Working Life and Well-being in Turkish Working Environments Zeynep Mercan, Darren Van Laar, Zarah Vernham, Yuksel Ekinci University of Portsmouth Introduction: Occupational psychologists seek to assess Quality of Working Life (QoWL) because on average, people spend one-third of their life at work and this number is higher for those who live in less developed countries (Dial, & Storkey, 2017). Hence, an individual’s work-life significantly affects their quality of life. Easton and Van Laar (2018) conceptualised QoWL as satisfaction with work (e.g. work hours, expectations, environment) and non-work (e.g. immediate social network, home-life) factors that impinge on a person’s wider quality of life. Different researchers who studied QoWL in different countries have concluded that the perceived QoWL differs from one culture to another. For example, QoWL conducted in Turkey (Afsar & Burcu, 2014; Ari Kovanci, 2015) found that some factors such as stress did not correlate with the results obtained from studies conducted within Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Developed (WEIRD) countries (Duyan et al., 2013). Turkey is a country with 99% of the population identifying themselves as Muslim (Religious Affairs Administration of Turkey, 2014). Religion is known to buffer stress and anxiety at work (Magan, Siddiqi, & Shafiq, 2016); thus, more religious cultures may perceive and cope with stress differently to non-religious cultures. However, the majority of QoWL research has been conducted in WEIRD countries and therefore the surveys developed in WEIRD nations may not be applicable to other countries that have different cultures and religiosity.
Aim & Research Questions: The aim of the study is to examine Quality of Working Life in Turkish public sector organisations. The research questions for the study are;
1. Is there a relationship between religious culture and QoWL?
2. Is there any relationship between resilience and QoWL?
3. Does perceived religiosity affect QoWL?
Methodology: The data was collected through an online and paper-based survey. The target sample was Turkish public and private sector employees who were over the age of 18 years old. To access the target sample, organisational approval was obtained from city councils and production companies, and some of the data was collected by snowballing within small-scale organisations using personal and professional connections. To date, 184 participants have been recruited (61 female, 113 male; Mage = 38.43 years, SD= 9.74; age range = 19 to 69 years). Participants completed a 32-question Work-Related Quality of Work survey to measure QoWL, 10-question version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale to measure resilience, 17-question version of the Islamic Work Ethic scale to measure the effect of Islamic culture on work, and several additional QoWL wellbeing outcomes. All items were rated on Likert scales from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Results: The data collection is still underway and will be described and further analysed using Structural Equation modelling, which will be presented in January 2020. However, for the purpose of this paper, we will provide some preliminary descriptive statistics based on the sample of 184 participants we have so far. The means of the three scales were 76.96 (SD = 16.13) for the Work- Related Quality of Work survey, 36.97 (SD = 6.77) for the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and 66.22 (SD = 9.34) for the Islamic Work Ethic scale. To date, no differences have been found between males and females in terms of the scores obtained on each of the three scales. As expected, religiosity was positively related with the Islamic Work Ethic scale (p = .001), but was not significantly related to either of the other two scales. QoWL was positively correlated with resilience, so those with a higher resilience perceived themselves to have a better QoWL (p < .001).
Discussion: The presentation will discuss the full set of results from approximately 500 participants. The theoretical (e.g. QoWL and Spillover theory) and practical implications (e.g. for Human Resource practice) of the research will also be discussed. However, initial results suggest that certain factors, such as resilience and culture are important aspects of people’s lives that positively reinforce the individual’s QoWL and wellbeing.
Ethical Considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Science Faculty Ethics Committee at the University of Portsmouth. This research involved paper and online surveys. Data was only collected from non-vulnerable adults with their full consent. Individual participants have full anonymity. Raw data is being protected according to the principles established in the Data Protection Act 1998.
References
Afsar, S. T., & Burcu, E. (2014). The Adaptation and Validation of Quality of Work Life Scale to Turkish Culture. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9(4), 897-910.
Kovanci, A. Y. (2015). The Quality of the Working Life in Turkey in the Membership Process to European Union (No. 2704465). International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
Dial, M., & Storkey, C. (2017). Futureproof: How to Get Your Business Ready for the Next Disruption. Pearson UK.
Duyan, E. C., Aytaç, S., Akyıldız, N., & Van Laar, D.L (2013). Measuring work related quality of life and affective well-being in Turkey. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 105-116.
Easton, S., & Van Laar, D.L. (2012). User manual of the work-related quality of life scale (WRQoL). UK: Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth.
Magan, A., Siddiqi, N., & Shafiq, M. (2016). Religiosity, well-being and mental health among Hindu and Muslim adults. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 11(2), 325–333.
Religious Affairs Administration, (2014), Türkiye'de dini hayat araştırması, available at: https://serdargunes.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/tc3bcrkiye-de-dini-hayat-arastirmasi-2014.pdf (accessed 28 August 2018).
Van Laar, D.L., Edwards, J. A., & Easton, S. (2007). The Work-Related Quality of Life scale for healthcare workers. Journal of advanced nursing, 60(3), 325-333.
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session? Quality of Life/ Quality of Working Life/ Spillover Theory/ Resilience/ Wellbeing/ Religious Work Ethic/ Cross-Cultural Differences/ WEIRD and non-WEIRD cultures/ Quantitative Methodology/ Structural Equation Modelling
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
This paper relates to the theme as it provides a more nuanced explanation of QoWL and the effect of culture effect on overall job experience. This understanding will be helpful for Occupational Psychologists as the increased immigration and cross-cultural interactions are making the workplaces more diverse.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The paper is submitted under “Well-being and Work” as wellbeing is one of the major aspects affecting the QoWL in workers. According to the QoWL theory, the concept of wellbeing refers to the physical and psychological factors affecting the individuals’ health in a workplace; therefore, the research investigates issues such as sick days, physical disability, perceived health, perceived happiness and life satisfaction.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
The effect of Religiosity on the workplace has always existed, but there is a gap in the literature in the explanation of the direct effect of Islamic religiosity on people living in a Muslim majority Secular country. Our preliminary results show that religiosity is not only reinforcement to wellbeing, but also a stressor that in some cases negatively affects the workers’ overall job satisfaction.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
This paper will provide a discussion for delegates to consider the cross-cultural adaptation of psychometric measures. It will provoke a critical discussion around how to improve a WEIRD measure’s reliability in the context of non-WEIRD countries.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Understanding the QoWL of a Muslim majority may help with the general understanding of the global work forces; thus, the HR press will be interested in this paper.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take?
Electronic copies of PowerPoint slides and list of references will be available on request.
Ref: 3914 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Reducing adverse impact of SJTs: Exploring the role of item design Mary Mescal, Laura Cross PSI Background: This paper builds on a 2017 DOP research paper entitled “How do we Make SJTs Fairer?“, which adopted a methodology to define and identify properties of Situational Judgement Test (SJT) items and explore their relationship with differences observed in subgroup performance. SJTs are a popular assessment tool across a range of industries and job roles. One of the benefits often put forward for the use of SJTs in assessment is that of fairness, with SJTs often presented as demonstrating lower subgroup differences than more traditional assessments such as ability tests. However, the literature on SJT performance indicates that there is significant variability in reported subgroup differences on the assessments. For example, Black-White differences have been estimated to be as high as almost one standard deviation (Chan & Schmitt, 1997), and as low as near zero (Olson-Buchanan, Drasgow, Moberg, Mead, Keenan & Donovan, 1998). This observed variability is perhaps unsurprising, as SJTs are frequently defined as a measurement method (Lievens, Peeters & Schollaert, 2008), which can measure a variety of constructs (Roth, Bobko & Buster, 2013), and can be designed in a wide range of ways. Therefore, the SJT method does not necessarily result in lower adverse impact. Given the above, it is important for SJT designers to understand the cause of observed subgroup differences, to ensure that they can design tests that minimise these and ensure the assessments are fair to all candidates.
Some attention has been given to the understanding of what types of SJT content/assessments may lead to higher subgroup differences, with a particular focus on differences between white and black participants. For example, Arthur et al. (2014) found the response formats used can impact performance of certain groups, and Whetzel et al (2008) found a significant correlation between the cognitive loading of SJTs and the difference in performance between Black and White candidates. Roth et al. (2013) adopted the approach of using the Taxonomy of Constructs (Huffcutt et al., 2001) to identify the constructs that SJT items were measuring. Based on this item-level construct identification, they found that cognitively-saturated items resulted in higher Black-White differences than items based on Interpersonal skills.
The 2017 DOP research paper utilised Roth et al.’s (2013) approach, and the findings were aligned, with the majority of the items with the highest subgroup differences between white and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates identified as being cognitively saturated.
The research also involved the development of a core set of SJT Features which outlined various features which may be present in any single SJT item. This features list was developed through a repertory grid technique of comparing and contrasting pairs of SJT items. From this process, 95 statements regarding about SJT items were collected and then grouped into 43 unique features. These 43 features could be broadly grouped in three groups: Item Structure (eg length; clear best/worst action etc.); Scenario Background (eg demographic/gender mentioned; high stakes situation etc); and the Type of Actions Required (eg managing performance; displaying interpersonal sensitivity etc). From the 2017 research, it was noted that there was significant variation in structure of items, context of the background to the situations and the types of actions which were prevalent in response to situations. Some initial findings indicated that scenarios which involved confrontation with others or time critical decisions occurred more often than expected in items with the highest group differences between White and BAME candidates.
In the previous study it was identified that the research needed to be extended further in order to more clearly identify what features impact performance on SJTs. Therefore, the emphasis of this study is to help further contribute to an understanding of SJT item properties and how they may impact observed test performance.
Research Objective: The objective of our research is to build on the literature and understanding of the relationship between SJT item design and the performance of candidates across different groups. Methodology
Assessments: This research will examine the item properties of five SJT assessments. The SJTs target broad job roles: Administrative Assistant, Managerial, Customer Service, Call Centre, and Graduate. The Managerial SJT consists of 24 scenarios, with the other four SJTs consisting of 20 scenarios each. All the SJTs are text-based and most typically used in the early stages of recruitment processes to screen out candidates. All five assessments follow a similar design, with respondents asked to rate the effectiveness of four actions which could be taken in a situation. These responses are then scored based on how well they align to a consensus scoring model derived from Subject Matter Expert responses.
Identification of Features: A review has been conducted of each of the SJT items and they have been coded according to their underlying constructs and features. This process involved two psychologists separately coding each of the SJT items to establish a matrix indicating which features and constructs were most prevalent in each item.
Items were coded using two methodologies drawn from previous research in the area of adverse impact in SJTs:
• SJT Core Features: This set of SJT core features includes a set of 43 features clustered across three domains: scenario structure (e.g. no clear best /worst action), actions required (e.g. prioritisation task, Interaction with others), and scenario background (e.g. high stakes situation, demographic/gender mentioned).
• Taxonomy of Constructs: developed by Huffcutt et al. (2001), provides a framework to help identify the principal constructs measured by an SJT, including mental capability, knowledge and skills, personality tendencies, applied social skills, interests and preferences, organisational fit and physical attributes.
The result of this is a comprehensive list of constructs measured and features for each SJT item.
Group Differences: Following this item review, we will conduct an adverse impact analysis to explore group differences in item-level SJT performance, with a particular focus on White candidate and BAME candidate performance. This will allow us to explore the differential impact of item features and constructs on differences in subgroup performance. More granular comparisons between BAME subgroups will be carried out if sufficient data is available.
The data for the study will come from compiled candidate SJT performance data from the five assessments across a 10-year period.
Discussion: At the conference we will present our findings, specifically our results investigating the impact of constructs and features of the SJT items on subgroup differences, with a particular focus on the performance of White and BAME candidates. We will also discuss whether the findings differ depending on the job role and sample being examined (eg whether findings consistent across Management and Graduate SJT data).
The aim of this session is to share our findings from this research and to outline how these findings may help influence and improve future SJT design processes.
Questions
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session? The research underpinning this submission is covered in detail in the Background section. 2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’? The paper outlines how we, as practitioners, can approach SJT design and some factors which may need to be considered in order to reduce likelihood of adverse impact for minority groups.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen? SJTs are a common form of assessment in selection processes across a wide range of job roles and industries and are therefore appropriate for inclusion under Psychological Assessment at Work.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented? The research helps to progress our thinking of SJT design and may help to bring a deeper understanding of how certain SJT features may impact performance for certain groups.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful? This paper may be particularly useful for practitioners who are involved in test design and application. As test designers, we are consistently looking for ways to refine and improve our design processes and this research may help to inform this process.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session? The paper may be relevant to the public and media from a diversity point of view as addressing some issues around adverse impact in recruitment processes can help to improve diversity and inclusion in organisations.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? There will be no materials made available on the day, however, we are happy to share electronic copies of our presentation post-conference.
References
Arthur, W., Glaze, R.M., Jarrett, S.M., White, C.D., Schurig, I., & Taylor J.E. (2014). Comparative evaluation of three situational judgement test response formats in terms of construct-related validity, subgroup differences, and susceptibility to response distortion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99 (3), 535-45.
Chan, D. & Schmitt, N. (1997). Video-Based Versus Paper-and-Pencil Method of Assessment in Situational Judgement Tests: Subgroup Differences in Test Performance and Face Validity Perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 1, 143-159.
Lievens, F., Peeters H., & Schollaert, E. (2008). Situational judgment tests: a review of recent research Personnel Review Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 426-441
Huffcutt, A.I., Conway, J.M., Roth, P.L., & Stone, N.J. (2001). Identification and Meta-Analytic Assessment of Psychological Constructs Measured in Employment Interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 897-913.
Mescal M. & Riley P. (2017). How do we make SJTs Fairer? Division of Occupational Psychology BPS Conference
Olson-Buchanan, J. B., Drasgow, F., Moberg, P. J., Mead, A. D., Keenan, P. A., & Donovan, M. A. (1998). Interactive video assessment of conflict resolution skills. Personnel Psychology, 51(1), 1-24.
Roth, P.L, Bobko, P., & Buster, M.A. (2013). Situational judgment tests: The influence and importance of applicant status and targeted constructs on estimates of Black–White subgroup differences. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86, 394-409. Whetzel, D.L., McDaniel, M.A. & Nguyen, N.T. (2008). Subgroup Differences in Situational Judgment Test Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Human Performance, 21, 3, 291-309.
Ref: 3852 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work “ ‘Don’t touch my hair!’ said the angry Black woman.” Norma Molla, Colleen Addicott University of Hertfordshire This study aims to explore the varying experiences of microaggressions of Black women who are working within the British political sector. Sue et al. (2007) defined the term racial microaggressions as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group” (p.273).
Using mixed methods, this study focuses on the impact such experiences have on the well-being of these individuals, and whether factors such as relatedness, competence and autonomy have a mediating effect between microaggressions at work and wellbeing at work. It involves semi structured interviews and online questionnaires [Racial Microaggressions Scale (Torres-Harding, Andrade, Diaz, Crist, 2012); WHO-5 (WHO, 1998); and Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (Deci, Ryan, Gagné, Leone, Usunov, & Kornazheva, 2001].
Common (and context specific) themes from interviews provide greater clarity on the experiences of black women in politics. Questionnaires are used to explore the following hypotheses:
1. Black women in politics face a higher level of microaggressions than other women
2. Higher levels of microaggressions are associated with poorer well being
3. The relationship between microaggressions and well being is mediated by the meeting of basic psychological needs.
Understanding the impact of microaggressions will provide evidence to inform behaviour change initiatives in the workplace. Specific examples and themes from the interview will provide valuable stories that can add to the narrative and build awareness of the relatively new (& debated) concept of microaggressions.
Ref: 4082 Standard Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Working in a World of Uncertainty: The role of Responsible Distribution Terri Morrissey, This Is
We first became interested in uncertainty as a consequence of many years of working as consultants, practitioners and teachers in change management and organisation culture and leadership. The more we worked in this area the more we realised that change programmes rarely worked out as planned. Circumstances changed and the unexpected happened. We learned to appreciate the wisdom demonstrated years before of Oscar Wilde who had pronounced that to expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. As our society, and organisations, has become more complex the level of uncertainty has risen and many people have been affected. Increasingly people find that they must learn to deal with evolving situations which do not fit with their previous experience and where the outcome is uncertain. The pace of change has dramatically increased with a 24/7 always on culture and a demand for almost immediate response and an expectation of instantaneous feedback. In our work we have found that people in organisations respond in many different ways, loosely categorised into the following types:
• Those who seek immediate answers and solutions; uncertainty makes them anxious and they will seek ways of avoiding it; looking sometimes for the “right” answer or black and white solutions • Others become “stuck”. They tend to reduce risk to a minimum and may find it difficult to make a decision • Yet others adopt a more flexible approach; appear to enjoy uncertainty and the excitement that it brings. They appear more comfortable with risk and see situations as opportunities to experiment
Dealing with uncertainty has become a major organisational and personal challenge. Our work suggests that dealing with it effectively requires a combination of intuition, logic and ‘self’ and ‘other’ awareness. It requires critical thinking, along with the courage to take risks and try things out; accepting responsibility for ourselves rather than blaming others; to be aware of the consequences of our decisions and actions; to be prepared to fail as well as succeed and having the ability to collaborate with others who may be different from ourselves and hold opposing views. If we can raise organisations and people’s ability to deal with uncertainty, we believe that we will be better equipped to generate new and more valuable solutions to complex issues. In this presentation we propose to bring together research, knowledge from a variety of sources along with our own personal experiences and practice of change. We will outline a conceptual model for dealing with uncertainty and some of the personal competencies that are required. We will focus on one aspect of this model “Responsible Disruption” and describe how this can work in practice in dealing with uncertainty and bringing about change. We conclude the presentation with some propositions about how this approach could work in practice. Our Presentation Style will be discursive, drawing on the audience also for examples from their experience. It will attempt to cover the scientific basis by drawing on evidence from research; it will look at the implications for practice based on previous practice and experience; it is original in that it will present a new approach. Our methodology is a combination of evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. References Grattan, L. & Scott, A. (2017) The 100 Year Life. Bloomsbury Hughes, B. (2018) Psychology in Crisis. MacMillan International Kahane, A. (2018) Collaborating with the Enemy. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Kahneman, D. (2012) Thinking: Fast and Slow. Penguin Peterson, J.B. (2018) 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. Penguin Random House UK Risk Type Compass (2019) www.psychological-consultancy.com/products/risk-type-compass Strycharczyk, D. & Clough, P. (2015) Developing Mental Toughness: Coaching Strategies to Improve Performance, Resilience and Well-Being, 2ndedn. London: Kogan Page Tarry, A. (2018) Coaching with Careers and AI in Mind. Routledge
Ref: 3855 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Supporting employees with low self-confidence: A Delphi study to develop executive coach guidelines Michelle Murtagh1, Joanna Yarker2, Rachel Lewis2 1Clavey Consulting, 2Birkbeck, University of London Employee self-confidence has been associated with enhanced: resilience and problem-solving skills (Ertekin Pinar, Yildirim and Sayin, 2018); job satisfaction (Prem et al., 2018) and leadership capability (Moen and Allgood, 2009). Indeed, employees who exhibit high levels of self-confidence are perceived to be more competent, which in turn, both enhances their ability to attain social status and elevates their position of power within groups (Anderson, Brion, Moore and Kennedy, 2012).In contrast, underconfident employees are perceived to lack competence, and hence, career advancement opportunities are significantly reduced (Martin and Phillips, 2017). Associated with a hesitancy to act, low self-confidence has also been connected to stress and low quality of life (Clark et al., 2011). Despite almost 10,000 scholarly papers linking self-confidence to workplace outcomes, a recent systematic review, identified that less than 10 (< 0.1%) of these explored self-confidence interventions within the workplace (Murtagh, Lewis and Yarker, 2019). While this review identified some initial support for the beneficial outcomes of work-place self-confidence interventions, the findings were limited by authors regularly using the terms self-confidence, self-efficacy and self- esteem interchangeably within their narratives. This is in spite of the fact that a large body of academics advocate that self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy are different constructs with their own unique characteristics that support their conceptual distinctness (Bandura, 1977).
The fundamental difference between these three concepts is acutely apparent when evaluated from the starting point of an academic definition and theoretical foundation. In contrast to both self- efficacy (with its theoretical roots and definition grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997)) and self-esteem, (first theorised and defined by James (1890)), the concept of self-confidence lacks both a robust theoretical foundation and an accepted definition.
More recently, Martin and Phillips (2017) stated that “self-confidence measures the belief that you can and will take action at work, with the hope that it will be related to a behavioural action-taking”. They stressed that in order for self-confidence to have any meaningful impact, it must be paired with behaviour. They concluded that an “agentic” form of self-confidence, is relevant to workplace domains, because it is intrinsically linked to action taking, as well as the goal attainment.
Within the coaching process, goals are a dominant focus (Ives and Cox 2012), and the behavioural change produced in a client is due, in part, to action (Garcia-Naveria, 2013). Hence, the parallel between the goal and action-orientated nature of the coaching process, with the goal-orientated, action-taking agentic form of workplace self-confidence is evident.
In fact, the International Coaching Federation (2009) reported that the top motivation for clients seeking coaching services was self-confidence. Of aligned interest is the fact that within the first systematic review conducted in the area of executive coaching, Athanasopoulou and Dopson (2018) concluded that the coachee’s self-confidence impacted the substantiated outcomes identified.
Concluding that executive coaching is still a developing field, Athanasopoulou and Dopson (2018) challenged prospective researchers to develop independent working groups of multi-disciplinary audiences such as “coaches, academics, sponsoring organisations and other stakeholders” to develop “best practice guidelines” and enhance the professional legitimacy of the area.
Keen to respond to this challenge, and cognisant of the International Coaching Federation’s (2009) conclusion that “80% of people who receive coaching, report increased self-confidence”, the research team decided to combine the areas of executive coaching and self-confidence to develop a practical intervention for use with the working population.
Aims:
This study set out to accomplish three aims:
• to achieve consensus among experts as to how the two fields of executive coaching and self- confidence could be purposefully brought together;
• to create a relevant, focused and valid framework of guidance and content for use by executive coaching practitioners supporting employees with low self-confidence; and
• to develop a foundational evidence base which could be used as a helpful precursor to more sophisticated analytical and predictive future research.
Method: Particularly suited for areas where controversy, debate or a lack of clarity exist (Hasson et al., 2000), the Delphi study method is often used as the “tool for expert problem solving”, of a “complex problem” (Okoli and Pawlowski, 2004). Through an iterative process, subjective opinions of area specialists (Skulmoski, Hartman and Krahn, 2007) are analysed and fed back to participants for further reflection, modification, and possible disagreement (West, 2010).
Based on the central premise that collective opinion is more valid than personal opinion alone (Hasson, Keeney and McKenna, 2000), the Delphi study technique is typically used by researchers to attain: core elements of a method or programme (Beehler et al., 2013); and practical guidelines (Whiting and Cole, 2016). Hence, it was chosen as the research methodology for this study.
As the reliability and validity of the Delphi study is improved if the initial group of experts produces the items, a four round process was selected (Iqbal and Pipon-Yong, (2009). Hence, a: generative qualitative approach was used in Stage 1; to broaden and build on the ideas generated, a combined qualitative and quantitative approach was used at Stage 2; to narrow and refine the combined output from Stage 1 and 2, a quantitative approach only was used at Stage 3; and to identify the most important factors for inclusion in the executive coaching guidelines, a qualitative approach only was used at Stage 4.
The 38 ‘expert’ panel members, were either: an executive coach to employed adult (aged over 16) clients; an employee who had developed enhanced self-confidence as a consequence of an executive coaching experience; and/or researchers who were active in related academic fields.
Results: 24 (80%) of the 30 component factors and 272 related items of the proposed framework attained 100% consensual agreement from all 38 expert-panel participants. The highest expert-rated items were the Characteristics of Executive Coach Practitioner (n=7; med=5; IQR=0); and Triad Relationship (n=12; med=5; IQR≤ 1). An additional 57 items were contested. Of these, the removal of 23 items (Triad Session (n=1); Behavioural Components of Enhanced Self Confidence (n=1); and Low Self-Confidence (n=21)) was agreed by all 38 expert-panel members.
Of the 34 remaining contested items, 32 related to 5 factors associated with low self-confidence. The lowest expert-rated items were associated with the Purpose of Low Self-Confidence (n=2; med=2; IQR=1) and Behavioural Components (n=1; med=2.5; IQR=1). The factors relating to the Emotional Components and Bodily Sensations of low self-confidence were also impacted.
In direct contrast, the same expert-panel contested only two additional items (both relating to the Emotional Components of enhanced self-confidence).
Discussion: All three research aims were achieved. This study presents the first Delphi methodology ever applied in either research area, which was used to consensually integrate the areas of executive coaching and self-confidence to create a relevant, focused and valid framework of guidance. Not only do these guidelines and protocol provide a systematic exploration of the interrelationship between self-confidence enhancement and executive coaching in the workplace, but they also provide a solid evidence base from which related and practical contextual interventions can subsequently be developed, tested, examined and refined.
The overall strength of this study is established through a combination of the credibility, reliability, validity and relevance of the consensually rated topics, factors and items identified for use within the guidelines and protocol. In turn, this implies that these guidelines can be offered for immediate application by an experienced executive coaching practitioner, for use with a diverse range of employees, in a variety of workplace settings, at a global level.
Of further interest is the implication that, unlike enhanced self-confidence, findings indicate the purpose, associated triggers or experience of low self-confidence cannot be generalised. This conclusion suggests that an executive coach supporting an employee with low self-confidence should first seek to gain a shared understanding of the construct of low self-confidence within their client’s own internal world, rather than just presume to understand. In addition, the results also suggest there may be a role for the executive coach to support their client into reframing low self- confidence as a protective mechanism which may be of benefit, rather than hinderance, to an individual.
Due to the exploratory nature of this study, neither the existence of a relationship between executive coaching and self-confidence, nor the mechanisms of action, were established. Hence, further empirical research opportunities exist to explore the existence of as well as the nature of such a relationship, and the mediators and moderators of any observed changes.
References
Anderson, C., Brion, S., Moore, D., and Kennedy, J. (2012). A status-enhancement account of overconfidence. IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc, 2012.
Athanasopoulou, A. and Dopson, S. (2018). A systematic review of executive coaching outcomes: Is it the journey or the destination that matters most? The Leadership Quarterly: 29, pp.70-88.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Macmillan. Beehler, G., Funderburk, J., Possemato, K., and Vair, C. (2013). Developing a measure of provider adherence to improve the implementation of behavioral health services in primary care: A Delphi study. Implementation Science, 8(1).
Clark, M., Warren, B., Hagen, P., Johnson, B., Jenkins, S., Werneburg, B., and Olsen, K. (2011). Stress level, health behaviours, and quality of life in employees joining a wellness center. American Journal of Health Promotion, 26(1), pp.21-25.
Ertekin Pinar, S., Yildirim,G., and Sayin, N. (2018). Investigating the psychological resilience, self- confidence and problem-solving skills of midwife candidates. Nurse Education Today, 64, pp.144- 149.
García-Naveira Vaamonde, A. (2013). Aplicación profesional del coaching en el deporte: un estudio de caso único. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 13(2), pp.101-112.
Hasson, F., Keeney, S., and McKenna, H. (2000). Research guidelines for the Delphi survey technique. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(4), pp.1008-1015.
ICF. (2014). The 2009 ICF Global Coaching Client study. Retrieved from http:// http://thehealthyexec.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ICF-Global-Coaching-Client-Study- complete.pdf
Iqbal, S., and Pipon-Young, L. (2009). The Delphi method. The Psychologist, 22(7), pp.598- 600.
Ives, Y., and Cox, E. (2012). Goal-focused coaching: Theory and practice. Routledge.
Martin, A. E., and Phillips, K. W. (2017). What “blindness” to gender differences helps women see and do: Implications for confidence, agency, and action in male-dominated environments. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 142, pp.28-44.
Moen, F., and Allgood, E. (2009). Coaching and the Effect on Self-efficacy. Organization Development Journal, 27(4).
Murtagh, M., Yarker, J., and Lewis, R. (2019). Self-confidence training and interventions in the workplace: A systematic review.
Okoli, C., and Pawlowski, S. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: an example, design considerations and applications, Information and Management, 42, pp.15-29.
Skulmoski, G.J., Hartman, F.T. and Krahn, J., (2007). The Delphi method for graduate research. Journal of Information Technology Education Research, 6(1), pp.1-21.
Whiting, D., and Cole, E. (2016). Developing a trauma care syllabus for intensive care nurses in the United Kingdom: A Delphi study. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 36, pp.49-57.
Ref: 4102 Poster Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Investigating Mental Health First Aid in the workplace: Key findings from the MENTOR study Melanie Jay Narayanasamy, Carol Coole, Fiona Nouri, Louise Thomson, Avril Drummond University of Nottingham Introduction: Mental health problems reportedly cost the UK economy between £70 billion and £100 billion per year (OECD, 2014) and account for 15.8 million working days being lost annually (ONS, 2017). With poor mental health across the workforce costing UK employers between £33 billion and £42 billion per year (Stevenson and Farmer, 2017), they are increasingly keen to implement interventions which address mental health problems in the workplace. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an international training programme designed to give individuals the skills to recognise and respond to the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and initiate appropriate responses, such as listening or guiding the person to further information or services (an action known as signposting) (MHFA England). As an intervention, the MHFA programme is often used to train groups of individuals in a variety of community settings (MHFA England, 2019) and is increasingly being used by UK employers to train their workforce to deal with mental health problems in the workplace (Rice-Oxley, 2019). Previous studies have described MHFA as an effective public health intervention, and it has been found to improve knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards mental health problems (Hadlaczky et al 2014). However, there has been little research investigating how MHFA has been implemented and used across different workplaces. As such, it remains unclear as to what the active ingredients are which enable the programme to be successfully implemented in the workplace. As the MHFA programme continues to gain popularity, including in workplace settings, it is important to identify and highlight such elements of the intervention in the context of organisations, to illuminate the barriers of and facilitators to successful implementation.
Methodology: The MENtal health first aid in The wORkplace (MENTOR) research study aimed to investigate the implementation, use and utility of MHFA across different UK workplaces and identify the key barriers and facilitators to successful implementation. Using purposive sampling, an online survey questionnaire was sent to organisations where at least one member of the staff had been trained in MHFA skills. The survey intended to gain an overview of how MHFA had been implemented across different workplaces. A sampling frame was then used to narrow down organisations which had taken part in the survey to focus on a smaller sample. Individuals from these smaller sample of organisations were then recruited through purposive sampling to take part in semi-structured interviews. We aimed to recruit key workplace representatives from a range of positions, such as managerial roles, health and safety roles, and with varied experience of the MHFA programme, from trained members to those who were unfamiliar with the programme. The interviews enabled richer insights into the implementation of MHFA in the workplace. Data was collected over a period of 5 months. Quantitative survey data was subjected to descriptive statistical analysis, whilst interview data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach (Braun and Clarke, 2006).
Results and discussion: The survey was completed by 139 individuals across 81 different workplaces. A total of 27 participants were interviewed. The survey and interview data revealed that the participants were largely positive about the MHFA programme within their workplace. They perceived the active ingredients of successful workplace MHFA to include clearly communicated rationales for implementing the programme; designated individuals to oversee the use of the programme (named MHFA coordinators); and the development of networks to provide a MHFA community within the workplace. Success of the programme was perceived to be limited when there was a lack of clarity regarding the workplace role of the trained person, including failure to establish boundaries; inconsistencies around making the workforce aware of the programme and availability of trained members; and a lack of strategies to monitor the programme and measure its impact. Conclusion: The MHFA programme was perceived positively by the majority of participants. However we identified areas which warrant further attention to ensure the successful implementation and operationalisation of MHFA in the workplace. As the programme continues to gain popularity, future research should focus on identifying strategies for monitoring and measuring impact in order to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of MHFA training in the workplace.
References:
1. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101
2. Hadlaczky, G., Hökby, S., Mkrtchian, A., Carli, V., & Wasserman, D. (2014) Mental Health First Aid is an effective public health intervention for improving knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. A meta-analysis. International Review of Psychiatry, 26(4), 467–75
3. MHFA England, Two Day Overview. Retrieved from https://mhfaengland.org/organisations/workplace/2-day/
4. MHFA England (2019) MHFA England Impact Report 2018-19. Retrieved from: https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/impact-report-2019.pdf
5. Narayanasamy, M.J., Geraghty, J., Coole, C., Nouri, F., Thomson, L., Callaghan, P., & Drummond, A. (2018) MENtal health first aid in The wORkplace (MENTOR): A feasibility study. Retrieved from https://www.iosh.com/resources-and-research/resources/mental-health-first-aid-in- the-workplace/
6. Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2017), Sickness absence in the labour market: 2016, ONS
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8. Rice-Oxley (2019) UK training record number of mental health first aiders. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/02/uk-training-record-number-of-mental-health- first-aiders
9. Stevenson, D., & Farmer, P. (2017) Thriving at work: The Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thriving-at- work-a-review-of-mental-health-and-employers
Ref: 3910 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Exploring the connection between Emotional Intelligence and work engagement Stephanie Noble1, Dan Hughes2 1JCA Global, 2PSI Services LLC Introduction: Employee engagement is an ongoing area of interest for organisations. Considering the wide research base surrounding this area, there is an apparent lack of consistency in the definition of engagement and how to measure the concept (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). However, there is a strong evidence base to suggest that engaged employees are more connected to their work (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004), more resilient in the face of job demands, and have a positive effect on organisational performance (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019).
Current research on employee engagement appears to be moving away from the traditional theoretical frameworks concerned with job factors (work environment, tasks characteristics etc.) and organisational factors (job rewards, management style, etc.), and more towards individual factors (physical energies, self-awareness etc.). This approach conceptualises employee engagement at an individual-level that includes perceptions, emotions, and behaviours (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019).
In line with this approach, links have been found between personality as an individual factor and work engagement. Handa and Gulati (2014) identified that the Big Five personality traits of Extraversion and Conscientiousness held a positive relationship with employee engagement. Inceoglu and Warr (2012) found that Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability accounted for the most variance in job engagement, as well as certain sub-factors of Extraversion.
Existing research has also suggested that an employee’s work engagement is linked closely to their emotional resources (Akhtar, Boustani, Tsivrikos & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015). These resources are said to foster positive attitudes and improved performance, which are key in cultivating employee engagement. Individuals with high Emotional Intelligence (EI) tend to possess more emotional resources, due to their higher levels of self-awareness and increased ability to be aware of and connect with others (Akhtar et al., 2015). This in turn enables people with higher levels of EI to hold higher levels of engagement (Ravichandran, Arasu & Kumar, 2011). In line with this, there is clear, consistent evidence that EI is positively related to work engagement (Vyas, 2015; Meisler, 2014; Miao, Humphrey & Qian, 2017), and research also suggests that trait EI predicts work engagement beyond the realms of personality (Akhtar et al., 2015).
However, research on EI and work engagement has typically focused on EI at a global level, rather than at the facet level. As trait EI is typically viewed as a compound construct consisting of multiple facets (e.g. Maddocks, 2018; Petrides et al., 2016), it is valuable to explore whether there are differential relationships between certain facets of EI and work engagement. Therefore, the aim of this research study was to explore how the facets of a measure of trait EI relate to work engagement, as well as identifying which facets added incremental validity over and above the Big Five in predicting work engagement.
Methodology
Sample: The sample used in this research study consisted of 231 participants from the UK (48% Male; 52% Female). The participants were drawn from an online research panel and all volunteered to participate.
Measures: We used three self-report measures for this study to collect data on Emotional Intelligence, work engagement and the Big Five personality factors.
The Emotional Intelligence Profile 3 (EIP3; Maddocks & Hughes 2017) was used as a measure of trait EI. It comprises 158-self-report items, and consists of 16 scales, five of which are composite scales derived from three sub-scales (one optimal and two sub-optimal), forming an additional 15 sub- scales. An example of a composite scale is Conflict Handling, which is made of the subscales Passive, Assertive and Aggressive. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & Bakker; 2004) is a 17-item scale designed to measure employee work engagement. The items sit within three scales; Vigour, Dedication, and Absorption, and are summed to produce a single overall score of engagement.
The TDA-100 (Goldberg, 1992) was used as a measure of personality for this study. It is a 100-item self-report measure of the Big Five Factor Markers. Individuals rated themselves on 50 bipolar marker traits on a nine-point scale (Extremely Inaccurate to Extremely Accurate).
An a priori conceptual mapping between the 16 EIP3 scales and the three UWES scales was conducted by three psychologists. The consensus indicated that three EIP3 scales (Emotional Resilience, Personal Power, and Goal Directedness) were expected to have the closest conceptual relevance to the UWES scales (Vigour, Dedication, and Absorption). It was also anticipated other EIP3 scales would correlate with the UWES scales to some degree.
Analysis: A bivariate correlation analysis was conducted between the EIP3 and UWES to evaluate the relationship between these measures. We then conducted a series of hierarchical multiple regressions to determine the incremental validity of the EIP3 over the Big Five. In Model 1, all the Big Five personality traits were included to measure the variance they could predict in the overall work engagement score. In Model 2, all of the EIP3 scales in addition to the Big Five traits were included. This demonstrated the variance in work engagement accounted for by EIP3 over and above the Big Five personality traits.
Results: The correlations between the EIP3 and the UWES are shown in Table 1. We found that 24 of 31 (77%) EIP3 scales/subscales correlated significantly with the UWES. Correlations ranged from -.25 (Pessimistic) to .47 (Goal Directedness). The highest correlations observed (greater than .4) were for Goal Directedness, Realistically Optimistic, and Interdependent. A further six scales correlated above .35, including: Emotional Resilience, Personal Power, Flexibility, Balanced Outlook, Assertive, and Interdependence. Goal Directedness had the strongest correlation with the UWES and was also considered to be the scale that would have the closest conceptual relevance to work engagement.
The Incremental validity of EIP3 above Big 5 personality traits in predicting work engagement is shown in Table 2.
Table 1: Correlations between facets of EI and work engagement
Significant F statistics and F change statistics are shown in bold. ** p<0.01, * p<0.05. Effect size interpretation: Small = 0.02, Medium = 0.15, Large = 0.35 (Cohen, 1988).
In the first step of the hierarchical multiple regression, work engagement was predicted significantly by Model 1 (Big Five personality factors only), with these traits accounting for 24% of the variance. Conscientiousness (t=4.369, p<0.01) and Extraversion (t=4.156, p>0.01) emerged as significant predictors, in line with research conducted by Handa and Gulati (2014).
In Model 2 (EIP3 and Big Five), we found that EIP3 explained a significant additional variance (19%) in predicting work engagement. This gain in variance is approaching a large effect (0.33) in practical terms. When the EIP3 was combined with the Big Five the amount of variance accounted for was found to be 43%. Adjusting for the large number of predictors in the model, the variance accounted for after adjustment was still 35%. Conscientiousness remained a significant predictor (β=.312, t=3.595, p<0.01) and was joined by the EIP3 Goal Directedness scale (β=.226, t=2.337, p<0.05).
Discussion: Our findings suggest that many aspects of EI are positively associated with work engagement. Over three quarters of the facets of EI measured by the EIP3 correlated with work engagement. People who tend to be focused on achieving long-term goals (Goal Directedness), optimistic about the future (Realistically Optimistic), and comfortable both collaborating and working alone according to circumstances (Interdependent) are more likely to be engaged at work.
Overall, the size of the correlations in this study suggest a moderate relationship between EI and work engagement. This is consistent with the view that higher levels of EI should enable people to develop their emotional resources, which in turn can build greater engagement in their work and organisation (Akhtar et al., 2015).
Supporting the findings of Akhtar et al. (2015), this study also found evidence that trait EI offers significant extra value as a predictor of work engagement over and above the Big Five personality traits. In future, it would be valuable to explore the link between EI and work engagement further, by investigating whether interventions designed to improve EI also lead to comparative increases in individuals’ level of work engagement. References
Akhtar, R., Boustani, L., Tsivrikos, D., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015). The engageable personality: Personality and trait EI as predictors of work engagement. Personality and Individual differences, 73, 44-49.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences. USA; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goldberg, L.R. (1992). The Development of Markers for the Big-Five Factor Structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26-42.
Handa, M. & Gulati, A. (2014). Employee Engagement: Does Individual Personality Matter. Journal of Management Research, 14(1), 57-67.
Inceoglu, I., & Warr, P. (2011). Personality and job engagement. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 10(4), 177-181.
Maddocks, J. & Hughes, D. (2017). EIP3 Technical Manual. Cheltenham: JCA Global.
Maddocks, J. (2018). Emotional Intelligence at Work: How to make change stick. Cheltenham: Spa House publishing.
Meisler, G. (2014). Exploring emotional intelligence, political skill, and job satisfaction. Employee Relations, 36(3), 280-293
Miao, C., Humphrey, R.H. & Qian, S. (2017). A meta-analysis of emotional intelligence and work attitudes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 90, 177-202.
Petrides, K.V., Mikolajczak, M., Mavroveli, S., Sanchez-Ruiz. M., Furnham, A. Pérez-González, J. (2016). Developments in Trait Emotional Intelligence Research, Emotion Review, 8(4), 335-341.
Ravichandran, K., Arasu, R., & Kumar, S.A. (2011). The impact of emotional intelligence on employee engagement behaviour: An empirical study. International Journal of Business and Management, 6, 157-169.
Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker, A.B. (2004). Utrecht Work Engagement Scale Preliminary Manual. Web download, https://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Test%20Manuals/Test_manual_UWES_Engli sh.pdf, 01.12.18.
Sun, L., & Bunchapattanasakda, C. (2019). Employee Engagement: A Literature Review. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 9(1).
Vyas, E. (2015). The Relationship between Healthcare Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence, Leader Performance Outcomes, and Employee Work Engagement during Transformational Change. Six Seconds.
Ref: Keynote Session Topic: Plenary Session Culture change toward openness and reproducibility Professor Brian Nosek, Centre for Open Science
Improving openness, rigor, and reproducibility in research is less a technical challenge and more a social challenge. Current practice is sustained by dysfunctional incentives that prioritizes publication over accuracy and privacy over transparency. The consequence is unnecessary inefficiency in research progress. Successful culture change requires coordinated policy, incentive, and normative changes across stakeholders to improve research credibility and accelerate progress. Some stakeholder groups and disciplines are making more progress than others. We can change the system, but if we do not act collectively we will fail. Let’s not fail.
Ref: 3882 Symposia Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications (S) Psychology’s Role in Performance Management Transformation: Data and Theory Driven Case Studies Ryan O'Leary, PDRI
The pressures of today’s work environment, combined with shortcomings of existing performance management (PM) approaches, are forcing organizations to develop more effective practices. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for psychologists to play a critical role in defining how performance is managed in organizations. This symposium brings together four papers that will present data and theory-driven analyses and cases studies to demonstrate how research and theory can be used to transform PM practices and drive important organizational outcomes. The two-hour session will being with a 10 minute introduction to the topic. This will be followed by four 20 minute presentations and 30 minutes of facilitated questions and answers. Copies of slides will be provided. The session will have applicability to scientists and practitioners, providing a unique look at the practice of modern-day occupational psychology and attendees will learn about the application of theory and research to practice.
Ref: 3878 Part of Symposia Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications (1) The Role of Agility in Competitive Success: Implications for Performance Management Elaine Pulakos, Tracy Kantrowitz PDRI Exponential, disruptive change fueled by technology is creating surprise competitors and new-in- kind products and services that leave 50% of the Fortune 500 at risk of extinction within a decade (Mochari, 2016). For example, technology-enabled companies like Uber are threatening the automobile industry with products that meet a growing shift from owning cars to mobility services. Even the most successful companies are not immune to competitive threat – Microsoft and Dell initially got surprised by mobile.
To compete today, companies need to innovate, solve ambiguous problems, and respond quickly to complex, changing situations. This requires work to be connected more seamlessly, with fluid teams and cross-functional skills. The command and control structures we’ve used for decades that parse work into functional hierarchies do fit today’s work well. To win the competitive race, work needs to be structured differently and performance needs to be managed differently than in the past. These changes have given rise to searching for the new Holy Grail – organizational agility. “Agility” is the business buzz-word of the day and companies are rushing to embed processes modeled after agile software development, like iterative and incremental, continuous feedback, and minimum viable features (Denning, 2018). In the rush, we may be putting the cart before the horse, however, by implementing “agile” processes that have not been proven to lead to competitive success. A recent HBR article warned that agile teams are not fit for all contexts (Rigby, Sutherland, & Noble, 2018), consistent with cautions that what works well in one situation is often an abysmal failure in others.
Part of the challenge is that we don’t have an agreed, evidence-based definition of agility, so we cannot describe what it looks like, what leads to it, or what outcomes it creates, although many are banking on business success. Given our belief in the importance of agility for achieving high performance today, we need more robust research to understand if and how it relates to performance. We describe a research effort here, involving over 300 organizations globally, that was undertaken to address this.
Method: Based on past research and analyzing the characteristics of competitively successful companies, we developed and tested a model of organizational performance that included eight factors:
• Agility. Leveraging the definition of organizational agility proposed by Worley, Williams, and Lawler (2014), we defined agility as proactively charting a competitive path by investing in new strategies and jettisoning existing strategies that no longer add value.
• Resilience. Beyond agility, many authors have argued that resilience is vitally important for organizational survival today (e.g., Sull, 2009). Resilience here was defined as reacting calmly in adversity, maintaining optimism, and bouncing back quickly from jolts.
• Strategy. Competitively successful organizations have a compelling strategy and mission that is clearly communicated by leadership. This enables the workforce to collectively focus on what is most important and prioritize their work effectively.
• Climate. Climate has been shown to be a key driver of performance (Schneider, Ehrhart, & Macey, 2013). Climate factors thought to be most important today include authenticity, trust, and allowing experimentation and failure.
• Although seemingly paradoxical, stability has been hypothesized as essential for agility and resilience (McKinsey & Company, 2017). The idea is that stability provides a secure foundation that helps people stay focused on performance during disruptive change and better withstand jolts. Stability is a psychological state created by leaders who react calmly to adversity, instill confidence about the organization’s ability to succeed, and provide sufficient resources for quality work and investments.
• Engagement and competitive success go hand-in-hand (Schneider, Yost, Kropp, Kind, & Lam, 2017). High engagement helps employees tolerate change and shift as needed to help the organization succeed. Engaged employees put high energy into their work and show passion for organization.
• Rightsized Teamwork. Efforts to connect work more seamlessly today have led to the use of networked teams in over 90% of organizations with their associated collaboration and teaming requirements. However, recent research suggests that insufficient definitions of teamwork and collaboration expectations are creating unnecessary complexity, distraction, and negative performance consequences (Cross, Rebele, & Grant, 2016). To connect work efficiently and effectively, we need clarity about how much and what types of teamwork and collaboration are needed to maximize performance, based on the specific work requirements.
• Empowered Performance. Research shows that organizational success is higher when performance is actively managed in real-time. This means adjusting goals as situations change and providing feedback that enables people to course correct quickly as needed (Mueller-Hanson & Pulakos, 2017). These behaviors help workforces adjust to change and bounce back more quickly following jolts.
• Competitive Success. We defined competitive success using multiple measures of organizational profitability, which provided an external, objective measure of organizational success. Profitability metrics were available in the public domain for many of our participating companies, yielding complete data on 114 companies in all.
Results: We developed survey items measuring the eight factors. Respondents from 300 companies, many of which operate globally, rated the extent to which each item described their organization. Factor analysis supported retaining six of the eight factors but showed that the agility and resilience items should be combined into a single scale. Internal consistency reliabilities of all scales were above .80. Inter-rater agreement, computed within a subset companies, was consistently high (average rwg > .75), indicating common perceptions about the extent to which the factors exist within a given organization. Based on prior research, we hypothesized that:
• Strategy, stability, and climate would have direct effects on engagement and work through engagement to impact agility/resilience.
• Engagement, rightsized teamwork, and empowered performance would have significant direct effects on agility/resilience which would, in turn, have a significant direct impact on profitability.
Our results (Figure 1) showed only agility/resilience to have a significant direct effect on profitability; all other factors worked through agility/resilience to impact profitability. Engagement, rightsized teamwork, and empowered performance had significant direct effects on agility/resilience. Strategy, stability, and climate had significant direct effects on engagement, as expected, but also had direct effects on agility/resilience, with stability showing the strongest impact of these three.
Figure 1. A Model of Competitive Success
Figure 2 shows the impact of agility/resilience on profitability. The top third of companies with High agility/resilience showed 150% to 500% higher profitability than the lowest third with Low agility/resilience across multiple profitability measures.
Figure 2. The Impact of Agility/Resilience on Profitability
Discussion: Our results show that agility and resilience have strong impacts on profitability and that a number of factors play strong roles in creating the conditions for agility and resilience to exist. Our research points to three priority imperatives with especially high impacts that have implications for both performance management design and leader development.
Imperative 1: Rightsize Teamwork … Instead of Driving Teamwork. Rightsizing teamwork requires intentional effort to define the amount and type of teamwork and collaboration that are needed for a given effort, based on the work requirements. For example, some collaboration requires no more than a simple handoff of information or resources. Other work involves integrating pieces together to make a larger whole, which requires a different level and type of collaboration than a handoff. As work becomes more ill-defined or requires creating something new, teamwork and collaboration requirements tend to increase. The point is that leaders and team members together need to think through what type of teamwork and collaboration are needed and with whom to accomplish work most easily and efficiently rather than assuming “more is better.”
Imperative 2: Driving Stability … Instead of Driving Change. Today’s leadership competencies almost invariably include “Driving Change,” but our research shows that driving stability becomes critically important in the face of disruptive change. Thus, rather than push and drive even more change, the implication of our research is that leaders need to focus on embedding stability to off-set the volatility and disruption that exponential change brings.
Imperative 3: Empowering Performance… Instead of Managing Performance. People perform best when they can track their progress and make adjustments along the way to achieve their goals. A simple example is getting feedback from clients during a project rather than waiting until the end. Performance tracking helps detect issues that can be difficult to uncover in complex, interconnected work. Tracking metrics are helpful because the data tell the story, which helps surface issues and reduce disagreements, unproductive debate, and finger-pointing. Good tracking measures prompt real time conversations to further diagnose performance issues and may even point to needed course corrections.
Leaders need to be trained on new behaviors that support the above three imperatives and we must start integrating performance management processes like feedback and goal-setting more directly into daily work, as these processes done in real time are important for organizational success.
References
Cross, R., Rebele, R., & Grant, A. (2016). Collaborative Overload. Harvard Business Review. Retried from https://hbr.org/2016/01/collaborative-overload
Denning, S. (2018). Why agile is eating the world. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2018/01/02/why-agile-is-eating-the-world %E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B/#43cb31a14a5b
Gartner (2004). Driving employee performance and retention through engagement: A quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of employee engagement strategies. Washington DC: Author.
McKinsey & Co (2017). How to create an agile organization. Retrieved from https:// www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/how-to-create-an-agile- organization
Mochari, I. (2016). Why half of the S&P 500 companies will be replaced in the next decade. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/ilan-mochari/innosight-sp-500-new-companies.html
Rigby, D. K., Sutherland, J., & Noble, A. (2018). Agile at scale. Harvard Business Review, May-June Issue, pp. 88–96. Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. H. (2013). Organizational Climate and Culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 361-388.
Schneider, B., Yost, A. B., Kropp, A., Kind, C. & Lam, H. (2017). Workforce engagement: What it is, what drives it, and why it matters for organizational performance? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39, 462-480.
Sull, D. (2009). The upside of turbulence: seizing opportunity in an uncertain world. New York: Harper Collins.
Worley, C.G., Williams, T., & Lawler, E.E. (2014). The Agility Factor. San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ref: 3879 Part of Symposia Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications (2) Performance Management at AbbVie: Building a High-performing Culture Sergey Gorbatov, AbbVie
In late 2011, Abbott Laboratories, a company with a diverse portfolio of healthcare products, decided to separate into two companies. The new company, AbbVie, would focus on research-based biopharmaceuticals. At the time, more than 50% of the pharmaceutical division’s sales were dependent on one drug that faced losing exclusivity of its patents. Some felt there was too little in the pharmaceutical division’s R&D to compensate for the resulting shortfall, which led to the decision to divest. To survive, AbbVie had to emerge as an agile, entrepreneurial biopharmaceutical company that could deliver a consistent stream of innovative medicines.
From a human resources perspective, AbbVie faced three challenges. The first was the need to stand up all new policies, programs and systems quickly. While daunting, this entailed finite and defined activities. The second issue was more complex. Teams had to be decided, roles allocated, and jobs defined for 20,000 employees in a company that didn’t exist. Setting clear expectations, achieving role clarity, and driving high performance were critical for AbbVie’s success, which made performance management a strategic priority. The third, and most complex challenge was creating a new cultural that would drive working differently, like a startup - collaborative, decisive, agile, courageous, and innovative.
Starting with Strategy: The need to stand up new systems and processes brought opportunity to build a new culture by hardwiring performance expectations and behaviors into every HR practice and process. We made the intentional decision to root our design in data and science, consistent with our orientation as a research company. We sought to answer two questions: (1) “What culture do we need to drive our strategy?” and (2) “How must we lead to bring this about?”
We answered the first question by engaging in wide-ranging consultation, internally and externally, to identify five basic tenets of culture that are expected of all employees, branded as The Ways We Work. To answer the second question—how we must lead—interviews and surveys were used to measure the gap between current and desired leadership behaviors, using questions such as “How long is it ok for an employee to be in a role and be rated as a below average performer? The findings from this research provided a roadmap of imperatives to guide the Performance Management Process (PMP) design:
• An increased focus on performance.
• Behaviors should significantly influence compensation and career progress. • Accountability for managers to develop their team members.
• Enhanced transparency.
• Less tolerance for below average performance in our most critical roles.
• Greater differentiation.
These collective beliefs became Our Talent Philosophy, and we restlessly communicated this across the organization.
PMP Design: We felt PMP provided the best opportunity to drive behaviors aligned to our aspirational culture, and we relied on scientific evidence to design our system features.
Consistent with goal-setting research, we targeted three to five goals per employee that could be changed dynamically as situations change. A straightforward and flexible approach replaced a more complex legacy process of weighted goals and sub-goals. We also encouraged employees to set a learning objective in each performance cycle. This entailed identifying an important skill to develop that would afford each person a developmental opportunity. As our guidance was to set only three to five goals, reserving one for purely for personal development sent an important signal. Development was no longer one of many goals; it was one of a few. Despite being voluntary, by 2018, 85% of employees set a learning objective in addition to their business goals.
To drive high performance, agility, and innovation, Time-to-Talk discussions replaced formal, documented mid-year reviews. Based on research showing that feedback on progress boosts performance (Amabile & Kramer, 2011), we created an expectation for leaders to have a minimum of two feedback conversations with their employees during second and third quarter.
Our principle of transparency drove our design decision to clarify, for all employees, where they stand and how they perform, which resulted in the decision to retain ratings. We were influenced by research that shows employees perceive they receive more feedback with traditional PMPs compared to newer no rating approaches (Gartner, 2018). Our rating process includes calibration, and managers are held accountable for discussing annual evaluations with employees following calibration. In addition to using ratings for individual evaluation, they were also aggregated by culture factor to provide insights into areas in need of additional attention.
It is noteworthy that ratings are viewed with general positive regard at AbbVie and do not appear to be disengaging to employees. In 2018, engagement was 84%, an increase of 3% compared to the prior survey, which exceeds the benchmarks of best-in-class companies by 14 points (Culture IQ Benchmarking Report, 2018). We concluded that ratings can work well when they are fit to the context, aligned with the culture, and used fairly and transparently.
Implementation: We made significant investments in developing leader capabilities so that leaders could serve as the conduit of high performance. We invested substantially in communicating about the PMP and what employees should expect from it.
An important integration exists between PMP and the compensation system. Consistent with our differentiation tenant, those who make the greatest contribution should receive greater rewards. However, we found that differentiation was not consistently understood, which required patience around this aspect. We used an approach to drive differentiation that was more "carrot” than “stick." We nudged leaders to make the right choices aligned with our Talent Philosophy and Culture - but allowed individual managers to make final decisions. For example, rating all employees similarly would trigger a flag for raters to consider. We have made progress in achieving differentiation based on recent evaluation data but needed multiple cycles to achieve this slowly and over time.
Another implementation strategy we employed was to create an identity and brand for the PMP. It was called Raise the Bar, signaling our ultimate goal. We ask every employee to Raise the Bar, emphasizing the importance of feedback through dialogue and the importance of addressing issues early to set team members up for success.
Evaluation: In AbbVie’s first five years, the employee base grew from 25,000 to approximately 30,000 and revenues grew from $18.8 billion to $28.2 billion (AbbVie Annual Reports, 2013, 2017). AbbVie is a high performing organization; the key question is “how much of this success, at least in part, was enabled by Raise the Bar?” We believe the answer is a great deal, based on extensive data we have collected over time. Examples include:
• Our employees’ focus is aligned with the business, with 89% of employees reporting that their work aligns with AbbVie’s goals and objectives.
• We know managers set specific goals for their employees; 82% of employees confirm this.
• Time-to-Talk and year end performance conversations are working, with 81% of employees confirming that their manager is providing feedback.
• We have made both behaviors and performance count; 78% of employees agree that their manager deals with both behavior and performance issues.
• The development support employees receive is impactful, with 77% of employees confirming that their manager’s coaching and development has a positive impact (AbbVie Employee Survey, 2018).
Our experience has shown that the outcomes you get are a consequence of what you hardwire in. Our Talent Philosophy has been a constant. Our PMP implementation has been purposeful and consistent over time in its teachings, expectations, and desired outcomes. We believe this consistency yields better outcomes than continual tinkering to capture new trends.
Although we have made progress in driving effective goals, feedback, and development, the most important question is: Are these behaviors resulting in outcomes the business needs? Here we also have evidence of success.
• Performance focused development is delivering successors at an accelerated rate, increasing from 1:1.4 in 2014 to 1:3.5 in 2018;
• In 2018, retention of our best performers and leaders was 97%, exceeding industry benchmarks (Mercer, 2018).
• Our culture index is at 78%, a 4% increase in 2018 compared to the prior survey in 2016 and an 18% increase since its inception in 2013. We consider one specific question of that index as the acid test of our overall effort on culture: “Is the culture I experience at AbbVie consistent with the culture that the company wants to create?” And 76% of employees believe it is (AbbVie Employee Survey Data, 2013, 2016, 2018).
Future Directions: Our evaluation results suggest that we have strategically leveraged PMP to jump start and embed critical cultural change. Our future efforts with PMP will continue to focus on leader upskilling and enablement, specifically on efficiently leveraging the process and focusing on leadership behaviors. Without capable leaders, any good system can be rendered useless. We thus focus on managing the constants at steady-state (i.e. the ratings, the process, the tools and technology) but enhancing the quality and effectiveness of utilization (i.e. manager effectiveness, unbiased assessment, performance-enhancing feedback, etc.).
References
Amabile, T., & Kramer, S. (2011). The progress principle. Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, MA.
Gartner. (2018). The real impact of removing performance ratings on employee performance. Retrieved 20 October 2018 from https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/corporate-hr- removing-performance-ratings-is-unlikely-to-improve-performance/
CultureIQ’s U.S. Best Companies Benchmark; proprietary data.
Data from 2013 and 2017 AbbVie Annual 10-K Reports, respectively. AbbVie. (n.d.). Annual Report & Proxy. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://investors.abbvie.com/annual-report-proxy
2018 AbbVie Employee Survey data. The percentages in this paragraph refer to percent of employees answering “Agree” or “Strongly agree”.
Mercer | Comptryx; Life Sciences Edition, Metric: % Top Performer Terminated, September 2018 update, proprietary data.
2013, 2016 and 2018 AbbVie Employee Survey data. The percentages in this paragraph refer to percent of “Agree” or “Strongly agree.”
Ref: 3880 Part of Symposia Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications (3) Implementing the PID Scheme in HM Courts & Tribunals Service Antonia Dietmann, Phillip Moore, Emma Milton HM Courts and Tribunal Services Paper Aims: This practitioner-focused paper describes a case study of developing and deploying a new performance management (PM) process within the context of significant organisational change. It will offer an insight into how to engage stakeholders in this complex process, design considerations, and evaluation evidence.
Context: HMCTS is responsible for the administration of the criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales and non-devolved tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Currently there are about 16,000 staff, operating from around 350 locations. The need for a new PM process was brought about by our ambitious, £1.2bn, transformation programme to modernise and upgrade the courts and tribunals system, which started in 2016. This will change how we deliver our services and therefore the nature of employees’ work. We wanted employees to start focusing on the role they could play in this new organisation, and our PM system to reflect our new ways of working. We felt that a new PM process was essential, one that would align with and reinforce the broader organisational changes we were making and new culture we were creating. We were also responding to strong evidence that the current system wasn’t working. We delivered the Personal Impact & Development (PID) scheme as our new performance management (PM) process.
Timelines: We designed the PID scheme between December 2016 and June 2017 and implemented an organisation-wide trial from June 2017 to March 2018; organisation-wide roll-out then followed. Fifteen months was extremely fast to implement such a significant change in a large government agency. We had to consult with multiple stakeholders, including Departmental Trades Union Side (DTUS), conduct a large pilot study, and communicate information to 16,000 people.
Gathering Evidence: We identified one other government agency that had implemented PM system change. Their experience gave us food for thought, but we wanted to push the innovation further. Reviewing feedback about our process, people felt there were too many forms, the ratings used were too limiting, there wasn’t enough of a developmental focus, and the process could be quite punitive. A moderation process, used to agree the final ratings at the end of the year, was particularly contentious. People felt the guided distribution for the ratings was, in fact, a forced distribution and final ratings were dependent on how effectively line managers advocated for their team members. The system was perceived as focused on ‘catching’ the lowest performers and punitive rather than positively-oriented and based on the assumption that employees intend to do their best at work.
Our 2016 employee survey showed just over 60% of respondents were positive that they receive regular feedback on their performance, that this feedback helps them improve their performance, and that their performance is evaluated fairly. Evidence suggested these views were becoming worse over time. A large block of people neither agreed nor disagreed with the statements (approximately 20%) and the remainder disagreed. Improving the system would hopefully shift the views of the people who were undecided.
Our Reward & Recognition (R&R) payments at the end of the year were tied to achieving the highest (‘outstanding’) rating. The data on the equity of the R&R distribution was particularly important in our evidence gathering. We found that the payments were not evenly distributed across different groups of employees, particularly those defined by diversity characteristics. Monetary performance incentives were not motivating greater effort, because people didn’t believe that they were fairly allocated. The link to a financial payment also meant that people were not open about their development needs.
Overview of PID: The PID scheme includes a line manager – staff member conversation every eight weeks. It covers performance, strengths, aspirations, and potential. This moves us away from a past- focused, manager-driven performance management system to a joint manager-colleague approach in which employees are supported to achieve their goals and reach their potential. To help achieve this we replaced objective setting with high-level outcomes, or goals. People were concerned the new system wouldn’t allow us to identify, support, and manage people who were under performing. However, we wanted to challenge a negative assumption inherent in the old system – that people are not motivated to do a good job. In reality, only 3% of the workforce was identified as underperforming. Why should we design a system targeted to only 3%? Why not assume that the vast majority of people – over 95% in our case – are motivated to do their job well?
The role of the line manager is to facilitate an effective PID chat by ensuring it is two-way, there is the right amount of time for the conversation, and both parties listen to each other. The line manager needs to recognise when great work has been done and give constructive feedback when appropriate. These elements were present in the old PM process, but had been crowded out by process and a focus on box ratings. The line manager’s role in the PID scheme is to offer support through asking coaching-style questions that enable the employee to identify solutions. There is no focus now on collecting evidence to justify a rating and sometimes defending a position. Finally, the line manager is expected to consider the use of R&R, either as cash or voucher payments, throughout the year instead of connecting monetary rewards with end-of-year ratings. The staff member’s role is to bring information about their progress towards their work tasks, aspirations, and development goals. They are expected to take forward actions from the previous PID chat and be able to talk about their strengths and how they are able to use them at work. Alternatively, if they are not able to use a particular strength, they should be prepared to discuss what sort of tasks or responsibilities could enable them to do so. Finally, they should bring ideas about development opportunities that they might need to explore with their line manager and agree on appropriate actions.
Old PM Process PID Scheme
6 – 8 objectives No objectives
Quarterly conversations + mid- and end-of Chats every 8 weeks year
Forms and process driven. Lots of guidance Forms and process light. Limited guidance and instructions. and instructions – video and hints and tips.
Focus on helping people use their strengths Focus on driving up (poor) performance and developing them
3 ratings (poor performance, achieved, and No ratings exceeded performance)
Business unit PID Reviews to discuss themes in development needs, people’s Business unit calibration/ moderation to aspirations, and opportunities to better use agree ratings. Competitive with distribution strengths. A supportive group where the of ratings forcing decisions. Team Leader helps the Line Manager run effective PID chats.
Task-focused conversations about delivery Coaching-style conversations about of objectives. strengths and development needs.
End of year financial reward linked to rating In year financial rewards for all staff Table 1: Overview of PM Changes
Outcomes: Feedback about the PID scheme has been positive. People like the development focus and line managers generally enjoy the flexibility they have. It takes fewer resources to operate. The DTUS have given positive feedback and noted a reduction in complaints they have received about performance management. The 2018 employee survey showed the percentage of positive views to questions about receiving regular feedback, feedback improving performance, and performance being evaluated fairly remained stubbornly around the 60% level (as seen in 2016). These results could reflect the newness of the system and people needing to develop new skills be effective in using it. 2019 data will be available in November 2019.
The questions specifically about PID in the 2018 employee survey showed nearly three quarters of respondents said they had regular PID chats with their line manager. Of those who said yes, 67% agreed that the PID scheme had made them feel more supported by their line manager and 69% agreed that their line manager has the skills needed to have a meaningful chat. This gives encouraging results and we will explore ways to close the gaps, particularly investigating why some people aren’t having regular PID chats.
The Government Internal Audit Agency conducted an audit of the PID scheme in October 2018. They found we had clear roles and responsibilities in relation to the scheme; particularly praising the intranet pages and resources. They praised our effective management of the risk that line managers don’t have the right skills (including coaching) to implement the principles of the scheme. We do this by offering support, direction to relevant e-learning, and support from HR Business Partners. They didn’t find any evidence of inconsistency in application across HMCTS for staff of all grades and performance levels. Finally, they found clear evidence that outcomes of the PID scheme link to application of both the reward and recognition policy and the managing poor performance policy. However, there they found inconsistencies in the way PID chats and development plans were documented, particularly when line managers change. This resulted in their second recommendation for guidance around the storage of PID documentation and particularly the process for a change of line manager so that relevant information is shared. Overall, we are proud of our achievement in introducing the PID scheme and are heartened by early evidence, including feedback and the internal audit.
Lessons Learned: One of our key lessons learned concerned the extent of behavioural and cultural change that was required. This was manifested in shifting from end-of-year monetary rewards to in- year rewards. Local reward and recognition budgets were being spent too early in the year, leaving limited money for people later in the year. We also found there isn’t a strong culture of saying thank you and acknowledging good performance in the moment. Instead, there is often a time delay. We have to keep reinforcing the importance of giving monetary rewards and/or thank yous as close to the time of the performance as possible. Separately, we have been promoting our ‘values thank you cards’. A final example of this cultural shift was the informality of the PID scheme, e.g. it’s called a ‘PID chat’ and there are limited forms. We noticed the word ‘chat’ was too informal in our hierarchical organisation and ‘PID conversation’ emerged. People also asked for more training, guidance, and process. We held firm to our principle of keeping things simple and low-touch. Also, as we developed other HR initiatives that reinforced our messages, it became easier for people to understand where we are headed overall and see how the reforms all work together.
Ref: 3881 Part of Symposia Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications (4) Psychology’s Role in the Implementation of Technology-supported Performance Management Ryan O'Leary, Elizabeth Lentz PDRI The pressures of today’s work environment, combined with shortcomings of existing performance management (PM) approaches, are forcing organizations to develop more effective practices. There has been a movement towards processes that are data-driven, flexible, continuous, engaging, future-focused, and development-oriented and which allow for more informed decision making by organizations, managers, and employees. To drive this transformation, organizations are increasingly relying on technology, people analytics, and data science solutions. In this presentation, we review the evolution of PM technology, examine its potential to add value and lead to behavioral change, review possible limitations and barriers to implementation to ensure the hype is not outpacing reality, and provide practical guidance for organizations looking to implement these new technologies. We argue that advances in technology can support the activities needed to truly drive performance, but that it does not create change in and of itself. We must also examine how we can most effectively leverage technology to improve specific performance driving behaviors that the research has shown lead to more impactful PM approaches rather than simply automating processes that have not worked well in the past. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists to play a critical role in defining how performance is managed in organizations.
Technology Applications and Their Impact: As PM has evolved to focus more on real-time, day-to- day performance management, providers of technology platforms and applications have followed. There are numerous platforms and tools available that provide a full range of features with built-in performance management workflows. These technology advances have made the PM process more efficient and user-friendly, but have done little to transform the bureaucratic, check-the-box process of the past.
New tools and applications are emerging that focus on key performance driving behaviors and enabling behavior change. They rely on artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to harvest empirical data for HR decision-making using a wide range of algorithms and machine learning tools that can rapidly ingest large volumes of varied and changing data, identify patterns, and optimize and predict trends. The idea is to go beyond simple compliance and documentation and to improve critical behaviors that research has shown lead to more effective, satisfying, and impactful performance management processes, including: (1) setting and adjusting expectations and goals in real-time, (2) monitoring performance and providing information and feedback to adjust behavior and achieve better outcomes, and (3) coaching and developing employees. The key to effective PM is making it a flexible and embedded part of daily work.
Set Expectations and Goals. Goal setting often fails to live up to its potential and can undermine performance because of how the process is implemented (Mueller-Hanson & Pulakos, 2018). Most of the technology-supported advances in goal setting have focused on documenting goals for an individual and aligning them to the organizational strategy. These systems have been designed to make the process easier, and allow for documentation, tracking, and transparency. Technology has also embraced more flexible time horizons, building in options to adjust goals throughout the year.
These solutions appear promising for supporting more flexible goal setting approaches, but the impact may be limited. Managers and employees still report difficulty with effectively setting goals (Wigert & Harter, 2017). While technology may evolve to allow for agile goals that can be adjusted and automatically updated with little intervention, it’s unclear whether technology will truly impact goal setting in the ways that are needed to guide and drive performance. As work changes at an increasingly rapid pace, goals need to be as dynamic as the work itself and are perhaps better set without a burdensome technology system.
Monitor Performance and Provide Feedback. Perhaps the largest impact that technology can have on PM is its potential to genuinely improve the quality, quantity, and timeliness of feedback received. Research has continually affirmed the criticality of feedback in driving individual and organizational performance (Levy, et al., 2015). However, a consistent finding across decades of research is that “feedback” is profoundly broken (Colquitt, 2017). Simply using automation to drive more frequent conversations may do little to address fundamental feedback issues. Improvements in data-collection technology and predictive analytics are changing the extent to which performance can be monitored and evaluated automatically. They expand the sources of data that can be collected and increase the speed with which information can be analyzed and acted upon. Leveraging technology to provide robust and relevant performance information on a continuous basis has high potential to make PM a more objective, data-driven activity and to embed ongoing feedback into daily work in ways that humans will never be able to do on their own. These advances have allowed for continual performance monitoring and real-time course correction that guides individuals and teams to perform more effectively. The ability to track performance in real- time allows for near constant feedback loops and “nudge” individuals and teams in the right ways to preempt issues (Schrage, et al., 2019). The data provided by technology can be leveraged to improve performance conversations, making them more evidence-based and less debatable (Ewenstein, et al., 2016).
While there is a lot of potential for technology to help make feedback more effective, a number of prevailing questions remain. Technology is opening the door to what Buckingham and Goodall (2019) have called “radical candor and unvarnished and pervasive transparency.” The question becomes will rigorous, frequent, and extremely candid feedback of this type actually have a positive impact on performance or will it stifle it? For feedback to be effective, it must be honest, specific, strengths-oriented, delivered in real-time and from a credible source, provide useful insights, and perceived as fair (Gregory & Levy, 2015). While it seems as though technology can help feedback address most if not all of these, the impact is still unknown and questions need to be answered.
Develop Employees. Research suggests that one of the strongest drivers of employee engagement and performance is career growth and development (Aon, 2018). Like the other performance driving behaviors, much of the responsibility for coaching and development tends to fall on the shoulders of managers. Many organizations are exploring technology-enabled solutions for improving coaching and enhancing employee development. As Schrage, et al., (2019) note, “Digital economics makes this option simpler, cheaper, and more scalable [than it had been in the past].” We will review emergent technologies in this area (e.g., digital tools that curate bite-size, real-time, self-service and learning activities and use Amazon-like algorithms to make recommendation, tools that provide intelligently sourced and personalized weekly email-based coaching) and their impact.
Heads of learning and development are finding that changes in technology and access to information are changing the ways employees learn and consume information and these changes are cross- generational. However, research suggests that while engaging learning experiences may increase employees’ satisfaction, they do not necessarily drive learning application. According to Gartner [formerly CEB (2016)], while 78% of learners may be satisfied with these products and learning experiences, only 37% or learning is actually applied to the job. They found that for training to work effectively, it must deliver “effortless learning experiences” by making content easy for employees to access, consume, and apply. Research also suggests that guiding learners through the learning experience is more effective for learning application – it’s not just about making learning self- service. Further, for lasting behavior change, new habits need to be developed, applied, and embedded in day-to-day work.
The Future of Technology-enabled Performance Management: While technology-enabled solutions show promise for driving key performance behaviors and critical behavior change, these approaches raise a number of important questions and considerations .We will provide an overview of key questions and implementation considerations such as: the ability to develop more comprehensive performance profiles; better differentiation of performance; the duality of reducing bias and subjectivity while not propagating existing biases; enabling team-level insights; ensuing legal definability; data privacy and sovereignty; the need to build a supporting culture; and the need to ensure perforce management remains a human activity.
Conclusion: It is imperative that we as a profession examine how we can most effectively leverage technology to improve specific performance driving behaviors that the research has shown lead to more impactful PM processes. Tools that simply automate activities that have never worked well in the past will not improve individual, team, and organizational performance. That, tied to the cost of solution development and implementation, amounts to the proverbial definition on “insanity” – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
We are in a stage of experimentation, where organizations are evaluating and implementing new technologies and applications. In recent history, there have been a number of breakthroughs in talent management driven by technology and innovation. But as a field, psychology has not kept pace. Rotolo et al. (2018) have defined these as “frontier issues” – areas with significant energy but where the field is not significantly embedded. Technology-enabled PM is quickly becoming a frontier issue. It is imperative that results-oriented research be conducted (rooted in the core principles of psychology) to differentiate the hype from demonstrated individual and organizational impact.
References
Aon. (2018). 2018 trends in global employee engagement. Retrieved from https://insights.humancapital.aon.com/talent-rewards-and-performance/engagement- 2018?utm_source=Ceros
Buckingham, M., & Goodall, A. (2019). The feedback fallacy. Harvard Business Review, March-April 2019, 92-101.
CEB. (2016). Meeting the demands of today’s digital learner. Learning Quarterly, 3rd quarter.
Colquitt, A. L. (2017). Next generation performance management: The triumph of science over myth and superstation. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Ewenstein, B., Hancock, B., & Komm, A. (2016, May). Ahead of the curve: The future of performance management. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/
Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2015). Using feedback in organizational consulting. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Levy, P. E., Silverman, S. B., & Cavanaugh, C. M. (2015). The performance management fix is in: How practice can build on research. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 8(1), 80-85.
Mueller-Hanson, R. A., & Pulakos, E. D. (2018). Transforming performance management to drive performance: An evidence-based roadmap. New York: Routledge.
Rotolo, C. T., Church, A. H., Adler, S., Smither, J. W., Colquitt, A. L., Shull, A. C., … Foster, G. (2018). Putting an end to bad talent management: A call to action for the field of industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 11(2), 176–219.
Schrage, S., Kiron, D., Hancock, B., & Breschi, R. (2019). Performance management’s digital shift. Boston, MA: MIT Sloan Management Review.
Wigert, B., & Harter, J. (2017). Re-engineering performance management. Washington, DC: Gallup, Inc. Ref: 3938 Discussion Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Is behavioural assessment “robot-proof”? The role of humans vs machines in assessment centres. Tom Parker1, Ross McGarrigle2 1PSI Services, 2PSI Services LLC This session will take the form of a roundtable discussion on the topic of the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning within the behavioural assessment process, specifically relating to its use to facilitate and score assessment and development centres. The presenters will speak on the potential need for change within the behavioural assessment space, discussing bias within current assessment and the need for increased rigour. The current piece will also focus on the present and future of assessment centres, looking at whether there are any parts of the behavioural assessment process that are likely to be resistant to the rise of artificial intelligence within the wider assessment space. Attendees will be invited to discuss these topics and more, reflecting on their own work currently, the value of humans in assessment and where they see the need and potential for change.
• What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session? Note - references can be included if desired but must be within the maximum word limit. o The below relates to a presentation to be delivered prior to a roundtable discussion session on the topic. The presentation is primarily concerned with exploring the role of artificial intelligence within the assessment centre process, both in research and current and future practice. o The presentation and discussions will be based around the following topics: o The ideas behind why assessment centres might need to change and why they have changed in the past. This will include discussions around assessor bias and sex/race interactions between assessors and participants (e.g. Schmitt & Hill, 1977, Yeates et al., 2013, Bartels & Doverspike, 1997), research from Dewberry (2019) that supports a task-based approach to assessment centre scoring and developments in BPS guidelines, including increased focus on fairness and rigour. o The future of assessment centres, including automated marking & the role of artificial intelligence. This will involve discussing building machine learning models using data from human assessors. o Discussion of our knowledge of tools available in the market that showcase technology that could be used for automated transcription of role plays and group discussions, as well as some of the initial challenges and hurdles with these technologies. o The idea of “robot proof” skills, those abilities and tasks that cannot be easily or immediately replicated by machines or Artificial Intelligence (AI), including whether behavioural assessment is one of these skills. o Following the presentation, the group will break up to discuss a group of questions provided by the presenters, more details are included below: § In what areas/for what tasks do you think human assessors add particular value in assessment centres? § Where do you think technology can add most value to the assessment centre process? § What might an assessment centre of the future look like?
• How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’? o The topic to be discussed is directly relevant to how Occupational Psychologists can continue to be a beneficial part of the Assessment Centre process, which areas they excel at and cannot easily be replaced, as well as discussing how to make their roles easier and better utilise their unique skillsets by removing unnecessary tasks from their workload. The session will aim to explore what more we need to know from a research perspective in order to inform this discussion further and to impact assessment centre practice.
• Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen? o Topic - Psychological Assessment at Work o A discussion regarding the future role of the assessor within assessment centres directly relates to the topic of Psychological Assessment at Work. Assessment Centres were one of the original methods of assessing individuals within a work context, and discussing their future, particularly in relation to developing the technology on which they can be delivered to allow a much larger scale, is especially
• What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented? o The role of technology in behavioural assessment is a rapidly evolving area, both in terms of science and practice. The sessions aims to bring together interested practitioners to discuss what the future might hold in this exciting space, and what we as practitioners consider to be the opportunities and limitations presented by new technological advances. Specifically, the work on automated transcription for role plays and group discussions within assessment centres is an example of this novel approach.
• Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful? o Conference delegates will find it beneficial to discuss their approach to using technology within the assessment centres they run, as well as to find out how other practitioners run their assessment centres. They will have opportunity to discuss practical ways in which they could currently incorporate technology into their assessment centres, as well as to explore the research base and see the direction the industry is heading in terms of technical innovation.
• What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session? o The public/media may find the discussion of new and future technology’s involvement in a medium that has been purely human driven until the past few years interesting.
• What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides) o Electronic copies of slides from presentation at the start of the session.
• How will the time for questioning and discussion be utilised? o World Café style - 7 minutes per discussion, 5 minutes of feedback to full group. One person leads each group, facilitating discussion for 7 minutes, then all participants move to next table to discuss the next topic while the group leader stays with their materials/topic. At the end of the discussion sessions, group leaders present their three discussions for 5 minutes at the end of the session.
• What form will the discussion take – e.g., town hall meeting, panel discussion, debate, roundtable (describe the process in detail)? o Roundtable, World Café style as outlined above
• What topics are to be debated and what do you see as the major questions to be raised and points to be argued? o Primarily discussing the role of the assessor within Assessment Centres. Discussing this through the exploration of how different levels of assessor involvement would manifest themselves. o Three main discussions groups § In what areas/for what tasks do you think human assessors add particular value in assessment centres? § Where do you think technology can add most value to the assessment centre process? § What might an assessment centre of the future look like?
• How and by whom will the discussion be facilitated? o The presenters will help to organise the groups and present questions for discussion. Group leaders working with the presenters will lead and facilitate the discussion before presenting the ideas discussed to the wider group in the World Café style. o Info on presenter: § Presenter 1 – Principal Consultant § Presenter 1 is an experienced consultant with over 10 years of experience in assessment and development. He has delivered and managed many complex projects to design and deliver bespoke, end to end, assessment solutions for clients, including job analysis, assessment design as well as monitoring and evaluation. He has designed and delivered, individual and group, assessment processes to identify where individual development should be targeted and then provided coaching support to help individuals process their feedback and identify a plan of action for their own development. He has experience working on projects for recruitment, promotion, restructure and redundancy and recognises the challenges that comes from these different contexts. § Presenter 2 - Research Consultant § Presenter 2 has a strong interest in the intersection of psychology and technology in order to meet clients’ talent management needs. He currently works on the development of virtual assessment tools which are used to deliver virtual assessment and development centres at an international level. One of his main interests is in the use of behavioural simulations to accurately predict workplace performance which he undertakes alongside his work on personality tools. He is also a keen proponent of positive candidate experience within the assessment space and has presented at conferences on the topic. He is interested in the use of the full range of technology within the assessment space and helping to ensure assessments are available to a wider range of individuals using mobile delivered design.
• Who will be the main discussants and what is their experience and general perspective on the topic? o Assessment centre practitioners and assessors o HR professionals o Centre managers o AI/Technology specialists o People who have been involved with the design and delivery of assessment centres or are interested in doing so. Discussants don't necessarily need to have a lot of experience in the topic in order to attend the session.
References
• Bartels, L. K., & Doverspike, D. (1997). Assessing the assessor: The relationship of assessor personality to leniency in assessment center ratings. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12(5), 179. • Dewberry, C. (2019). A Rumble in the HR Jungle: Emerging Evidence that Assessment Centres Don’t Measure Competencies. DOP Conference, 2019. • Schmitt, N., & Hill, T. E. (1977). Sex and race composition of assessment center groups as a determinant of peer and assessor ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(3), 261. • Yeates, P., O'Neill, P., Mann, K., & W Eva, K. (2013). ‘You're certainly relatively competent’: assessor bias due to recent experiences. Medical education, 47(9), 910-922.
Ref: Keynote Session Topic: Plenary Session Future Thought and Behavior Change Professor Gabriele Oettingen, New York University
“Think positive!” quotes are found everywhere, but contrary to popular belief merely thinking positively about the future leads to low effort and little success. So, how can we avoid the perils of positive thinking? By juxtaposing our dreams with personal obstacles, we pursue desired futures that can be realized and we let go from those that cannot. I will talk about this self- regulation strategy, called mental contrasting, its non-conscious mechanisms, and how people can use it autonomously as a cost- and time-effective tool to fulfil their wishes and resolve their concerns. Combining mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) has proven to be particularly effective in changing thought, feeling, and behavior. MCII or – Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan (WOOP) – can be used as a multifaceted self-regulatory tool to improve one’s everyday-life and long-term well-being.
Ref: Workshop Topic: Career Development
WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) Professor Gabriele Oettingen, New York University
Our keynote Gabriele Oettingen, an NYU and University of Hamburg psychology professor has spent the last 20 years conducting scientific research on wishes, how we fulfill them, and what stands in their way.
In her book Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, Oettingen offers proven tools for thinking better, clarifying our goals, achieving the attainable ones, and identifying the internal barriers that hold us back. Her toolkit is straightforward: a four-step process called “WOOP” (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan). She has a free WOOP app, which succinctly guides you, making it easy and convenient to WOOP. It draws upon over two decades of research, and Gabriele is willing to talk you through this methodology.
Ref: 3942 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Emerging technology and the candidate experience: Are applicants and HR on the same page? Tom Parker, Ali Shalfrooshan PSI Services Introduction: For HR professionals and recruiters one of the most critical areas of interest has been the “candidate experience”; which is defined as the collective result of engagements, assessments and interactions that organisations have with candidates during the hiring process. Research by the Talent Group has identified that improving candidate experience is the top goal for recruiters in 2019. The importance of this issue is not limited to missing out on high potential talent but can actually impact business outcomes, for example Virgin Media estimated that they lost £4.4 million in 2014 due to poor candidate experience.
In a world where your best candidates are applying to more job roles and receiving offers from several organisations, the difference between a good candidate experience and a bad one could be the deciding factor in their choice of employer. To add to this, evidence from tracking websites show that candidates are not paying too much attention to the brand content before hitting apply and starting the assessment process (Oleeo, 2019). This behaviour of applicants suggests that the content of the assessments themselves are even more important when considering the candidate experience.
Therefore, we wanted to research exactly what candidates want from the assessment process, and fully understand what might improve their experiences. One of the areas we were most interested in was technology, specifically the level of comfort with it, preferences regarding devices, as well as views on social media and artificial intelligence. In addition, we wanted to understand whether these views differ from what HR professionals believe candidates want from their assessment experience as this is a relatively unexplored area within the literature.
The current study is therefore first concerned with understanding how candidates view the use of technology within their assessment processes, but also looking at how well the HR professionals who are making decisions about the assessment process understand the candidates’ view. Method
Participants: Data was collected from two groups. The first group contained 283 participants who had recently gone through an assessment process. The candidate respondents were 57.2% female, 39.9% male, with an average age of 26.9. The second group was 186 HR professionals who were specifically chosen as they were in the position to make decisions regarding recruitment processes in their organisations. This group were asked to provide information regarding the industries they recruit within and the results were found to be representative of the employment by industry statistics provided by the Office of National Statistics (2019).
Procedure: Participants in the candidate group were filtered by whether they had applied for a graduate position and completed at least one online assessment within the previous 24 months, while those in the HR professional group were filtered by whether they worked in HR and managed recruitment campaigns. Before the main questionnaire, participants were introduced to the research and asked to complete some non-compulsory biographical information. All participants were compensated for their time, and all data has been kept secured.
Participants were asked to answer questions across the following areas:
• • Online assessment device comfort: Participants within the candidate group were asked to indicate how comfortable they are using the same series of devices for the purpose of online assessments. The HR professionals group were asked to perform the same rating, but indicating how they thought candidates would respond to the question. All participants responded on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “very uncomfortable” to “very comfortable”. • • Artificial intelligence comfort: Participants in the candidate group were asked how comfortable they would feel if they knew that artificial intelligence was taking a role in their initial assessment process. Participants in the HR professionals group were asked to indicate how they felt the candidate group would respond to the same question. All participants responded on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “very uncomfortable” to “very comfortable”. • • Social media comfort: Participants in the candidate group were asked how comfortable they would feel about a recruiter viewing various social media profiles during their application process. The HR professionals group were asked the same question, but asked to respond from the point of view of the candidate. Participants were asked to respond on a 5- point Likert scale ranging from “very uncomfortable” to “very comfortable” for the following social media platforms: “LinkedIn”, “Instagram”, “Facebook” and “Twitter”.
Results
Online assessment device comfort: Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare comfort using the following devices for the purpose of online assessment between candidates and HR professionals’ perceptions of candidate feelings:
There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Smartphone candidates (M=4.09, SD= 1.18) and HR professionals (M=3.73, SD=1.12); t(466)=3.30, p=0.001. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by PC or laptop candidates (M=4.41, SD=0.97) and HR professionals (M=3.92, SD=1.15); t(465)=5.02, p<.001. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by VR headset candidates (M=3.25, SD=1.33) and HR professionals (M=2.95, SD=1.15); t(463)=2.57, p=.010. There was no significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Tablet or iPad candidates (M=4.04, SD=1.11) and HR professionals (M=3.86, SD=1.07); t(462)=1.65, p=.100. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Games console candidates (M=3.55, SD=1.29) and HR professionals (M=2.99, SD=1.23); t(464)=4.60, p=.000.
Artificial intelligence comfort: An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare comfort with artificial intelligence taking a role in the assessment process between candidates and HR professionals’ perceptions of candidate feeling. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by candidates (M=3.57, SD=1.03) and HR professionals (M=2.91, SD=1.16); t(467)=6.43, p<.001.
Social media comfort: Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare comfort with recruiters accessing the candidate’s profile during the assessment process on the following social media sites:
There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Twitter candidates (M=3.47, SD=1.3) and HR professionals (M=2.76, SD=1.22); t(437)=5.82, p<.001. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Facebook candidates (M=3.54, SD=1.3) and HR professionals (M=2.87, SD=1.27); t(456)=5.48, p<.001. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings provided by Instagram candidates (M=3.59, SD=1.28) and HR professionals (M=2.83, SD=1.26); t(441)=6.22, p<.001. There was no significant difference in comfort ratings provided by LinkedIn candidates (M=3.86, SD=1.08) and HR professionals (M=3.78, SD=1.18); t(435)=0.72, p=0.469.
Discussion: The current research looked at the differences between the perceptions of candidates and HR professionals of technology within the assessment process. There were a few areas of similarity, but some differences were noted:
• HR professionals seemed to have a different understanding of candidates’ comfort using smartphones, PCs & laptops, VR headsets and games consoles. In all cases, the HR professionals underestimated the level of comfort that candidates reported.
• HR professionals underestimated the level of comfort candidates assigned to artificial intelligence taking a role in their assessment process.
• HR professionals generally underestimated candidates’ comfort with their social media profiles being accessed as part of the assessment process, specifically regarding non-work related sites Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They were able to accurately reflect the candidate group’s comfort with their LinkedIn being accessed. We have previously discussed the importance of the candidate experience and given the above results, there is clear value in understanding exactly what the candidate wants from technology in the assessment process. The results may help to inform practical considerations while making decisions within this process, particularly in relation to which devices candidates feel comfortable using, AI being viewed more favourably and social media as being more of an acceptable tool for recruitment today.
One of the limitations of this study is that there is still limited research within the area and we were therefore unable to compare against existing studies. In future, we would want to explore this area with a larger sample, perhaps looking at how views on technology change across different candidate groups including graduate and leadership level, as well as gathering more qualitative information to provide context to the results.
Ultimately, this research shows that HR professionals may have a slightly different perspective on candidates’ views on technology during the assessment process, and depending on the area it may have negative repercussions when it comes to practical implementation of this technology. This highlights that organisations should actively seek feedback from candidates regarding all stages of their assessment processes and use this to constantly evolve how their recruitment strategies operate. Hopefully this research highlights the preferences of candidates and provides guidance regarding the use of emerging technologies in recruitment.
References
Jelley, R. B., & McCarthy, J. M. (2014). Examining a strategy for improving candidate perceptions of test fairness. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 29(2), 68-74.
Keenan Steiner (March, 2017) Bad Candidate Experience Cost Virgin Media $5M Annually – Here is How They Turned That Around. Retrieved from https://business.linkedin.com/talent- solutions/blog/candidate-experience/2017/bad-candidate-experience-cost-virgin-media-5m- annually-and-how-they-turned-that-around
Landers, R. N., & Schmidt, G. B. (2016). Social media in employee selection and recruitment: An overview. In Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment (pp. 3-11). Springer, Cham.
Office for National Statistics (May, 2019) EMP13: Employment by industry. Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemploye etypes/datasets/employmentbyindustryemp13
Oleeo (2019) Thrive in the New World of Hiring – 8 Key Considerations. Retrieved from https://info.oleeo.com/thrive-in-the-new-age-of-hiring
The Talent Board (2019) Talent Board Candidate Experience Benchmark Research Report. Retrieved from https://www.thetalentboard.org/cande-awards/cande-research-reports/
Thielsch, M. T., Träumer, L., & Pytlik, L. (2012). E-recruiting and fairness: the applicant’s point of view. Information Technology and Management, 13(2), 59-67.
DOP Questions
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
1. The study drew on the body of candidate experience research within the assessment design literature. Specific areas of knowledge and interest relating to technology were also referenced. 2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
1. The proposal links with the topic as it will help to provide occupational psychologists to better understand both the candidate experience and how to fill the gaps between candidate views and the assumptions made by HR decision makers when suggesting technology for assessment campaigns.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
1. The candidate experience is a cornerstone of ‘Psychological Assessment at Work’. The topic is growing in importance and will define decisions HR professionals make when choosing psychological assessments.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
1. Understanding the gaps between actual candidate views and those assumed by HR decision makers is a novel area of research, as previous research has often presented candidate experience findings without determining whether the view is understood by HR professionals.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
1. The research will provide insights and practical information to help support effective test design.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
1. The public or media may find the findings on social media to be particularly interesting, as they run contrary to previous findings in the area which may be as a result of modern trends in the sector.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
1. Printed copies of slides.
Ref: 3857 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Language Matters: A Critical Discursive Psychological Analysis of Managers' Talk about Young People Emma Parry, University of Sheffield
Research Focus, Rationale and Research Question: There has been a call in School to Work Transitions (STWT) research for a greater focus on the position and role of employers within this significant milestone for young people (Kyndt, E. Klehe, U.C. Trigwell, K. & Lindbmo-Ylanne, 2017). Bringing in managers’ perspectives about young people coming directly to the workplace from school or Further Education college, is one essential part of the jigsaw puzzle in order to illuminate the bigger picture surrounding the construction of young people’s identities, their future occupational possible selves, and how these are influenced by various actors involved in the STWT.
This qualitative paper is based on findings from my PhD and focuses on one of the key actors in the STWT: employers, specifically individual managers within SMEs that young people encounter within the recruitment and induction processes in their first job following compulsory schooling in the UK. 99% of businesses in the UK are SMEs (Rhodes, 2018) and it is therefore highly likely that the first job following school for those who choose to make the move directly from school to work will take place in an SME. This paper explores the ‘Identity Work’(Watson, 2008) performed by SME managers as the institutional gatekeepers with key roles in the recruitment, induction, development and support of young people in the workplace. I present the ways in which SME managers ‘other’ young people (Jensen, 2011) and construct the notions and identities of young people in the STWT through their talk and drawings.
Research Question:
• How do managers construct (through talk and drawings) young people in the STWT?
Research Methods: This research project involved undertaking semi-structured interviews with seven SME managers in England on the topic of young people who had come to work from them directly from school or Further Education college. Within the interviews managers were asked to draw a picture of a ‘typical’ young person starting work straight from school and this drawing formed the basis of discussion during the interview.
A Critical Discursive Psychological (CDP) approach was taken for analysis of the interview transcripts and drawings. I have adopted CDP as it provides a joint approach to: looking at how Discourses ‘out there’ in the media and society, shape, influence and constrain individuals (managers, in this research focus) in the STWT; and how individuals produce discourse to actively work on their identities within the STWT. A CDP approach enables my exploration of the ‘hows’ as well as the ‘whys’ within discourse (K. Budds, Locke, & Burr, 2017; Kirsty Budds, Locke, & Burr, 2014).
Research Findings: Managers showed examples everyday discursive discrimination in the way that managers ‘othered’ young people through their talk and drawings around the STWT. Two broad themes are presented in this paper: talk around young people’s work ethic; and young people’s level of preparation or readiness for work. The analysis illustrated how pervasive this type of language and rhetoric can be at embedding stereotypical notions, drawn largely from popular generational- based Discourse (focused on ‘millennials’) and perpetuated by media sources, where young people are viewed as entitled, selfish and impatient (Sinek, 2016). Managers’ talk in this paper presents the discursive devices that managers used to reduce and categorise young people as ‘others’ in a form of reductive labelling. Several of the managers appeared to draw from Discourse surrounding generational differences and particularly from Discourse labelled as ‘millennials’ when talking about young people.
I present the tensions and contradictions noted between managers’ discursive constructions of young people. The first contradiction I present illustrates examples of managers talking about young people as energy-bringers whilst also energy-drains. I also present how managers talk about young people as drivers of change whilst also negatively positioning young people as impatient for change.
Practical Importance and Implications of Research
Language matters. The importance of reflecting and reviewing the way we talk about young people coming directly into work following the end of compulsory schooling in the UK is of vital importance to ensure that young people receive fair treatment in their first experiences of the working world. This paper provides examples of the ways in which SME managers ‘othered’ young people, reducing them in a stereotypical and often derogatory way to a group which are therefore seen as ‘less than’ in the eyes of the more powerful managers. Adopting a discursive approach to research enables us to look at the language individuals use to frame other people and brings heightened awareness to everyday practices of stereotyping that may be taking place in the workplace regarding young people. In order to make changes to the language we use to talk about young people at work, we need to put a spotlight on these everyday practices and this is the practical importance of this research paper. The implications for practice are the potential to put together awareness-raising training/real world practice guides for managers (specifically SME managers) aimed at spotlighting the importance of language and discourse in relation to this specific group of workers, young people coming into their first job or apprenticeship. Additional implications for practice are to enable SMEs and other organisations potentially to critically examine their interactions with young people (via the recruitment, induction and development processes) in their workplace and identify areas where negative labelling or stereotyping may be creeping in.
Additional Questions from Submission Guide:
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science:Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
This paper links with the conference theme as it is based on recent research undertaken into the discursive devices that SME managers utilise to talk about young people coming directly into the workplace from school - bringing science directly into the arena of Occupational Psychology.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
This paper could fit under other topics but I feel that it is most appropriate under the topic related to 'research design, analytic techniques and practical applications' as I will cover a relatively new analytic method in qualitative psychology research - Critical Discursive Psychological analysis.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
The work focuses in on a specific sub-group of actors not often considered in STWT research - SME managers, despite the fact that 99% of businesses in the UK are SMEs and therefore conducting research with this group is highly relevant. The method of data collection (semi-structured interviews alongside drawings) as well as the analytical approach (critical discursive psychological analysis) are also novel.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
If delegates are Occupational Psychologists practitioners they will find the session useful to challenge their own perceptions and take back information to their organisations to support others to challenge their language and behaviours about young people as part of recruitment, selection, development processes. If delegates are OP academics then they will be interested in the data collection and analysis procedures and outcomes of the research.
References
Budds, K., Locke, A., & Burr, V. (2014). Combining Forms of Discourse Analysis: A Critical Discursive Psychological Approach to the Study of ‘Older’ Motherhood. Combining Forms of Discourse Analysis: A Critical Discursive Psychological Approach to the Study of ‘Older’ Motherhood. https://doi.org/10.4135/978144627305013501430
Budds, K., Locke, A., & Burr, V. (2017). Using Discourse Analysis in Social Psychology. In J. Brook & N. King (Eds.), Applied Qualitative Research in Psychology (pp. 144–157). London: Palgrave. Jensen SQ. (2011). Othering, identity formation and agency Sune Qvotrup Jensen. Qualitative Studies, 2(2), 63–78. Retrieved from http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/qual/article/view/5510/4825
Kyndt, E. Klehe, U.C. Trigwell, K. Lindbmo-Ylanne, S. (2017). Conclusion: Understanding Higher Education Transitions. In Higher education transitions: Theory and research. Oxon: Routledge.
Rhodes, C. (2018). Business statistics - HoC briefing paper, Dec 2018. In House of Commons Briefing Paper. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00554.x
Sinek, S. (2016). Millennials in the Workplace. Retrieved from You Tube website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU
Watson, T. J. (2008). Managing identity: Identity work, personal predicaments and structural circumstances. Organization, 15(1), 121–143. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508407084488
Ref: 3883 Standard Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Ready, steady, lead: In an evolving and complex market how do you prepare your leaders for success? Nairita Paul1, Simon Halls2, Tamsin Martin2, Andrew Geake1 1SHL, 2Just Group What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Measuring a leader’s potential for Enterprise Leadership is facilitated by combining well established definitions of leadership with new research insights gathered at SHL (2014). The traditional Corporate Leadership Model provides the primary foundation for measuring Enterprise Leadership, with Network Leadership providing the additional focus needed to address leadership in environments marked by change, complexity, and collaboration (Bartram, 2009; Bartram & Inceoglu, 2011).
Traditional leadership models have two primary functions:
1. Transformational Leadership: Setting direction and inspiring others to foster change -including shaping the organisation’s mission, culture, and strategy, driving change across the organisation, and motivating others to perform beyond expectations. Transformational leadership is important in leadership roles that require setting direction and inspiring others to foster change.
2. Transactional Leadership: Organising and directing employees to ensure efficient strategy execution, including setting objectives, monitoring performance, managing employee work, and distributing rewards. Transactional leadership is important in leadership roles that require setting objectives and goals, monitoring performance, managing employee work, and distributing rewards.
This idea of leaders having two complementary functions addressing the people and task aspects of leadership has solid grounding in existing theories of leadership. Judge and Piccolo (2004) concluded that each leadership style has a unique contribution in predicting specific leadership outcomes; and that transformational leadership was strongly correlated with contingent reward (transactional), which supports that in practice both are needed depending on the context. Bass (1985) argued that although transformational and transactional leadership are separate concepts, the best leaders are both transformational and transactional, and Howell and Avolio (1993) agreed. However, as job roles become more collaborative, fluid, and information-dependent, employees need to be able to manage the complexity while remaining adaptable and connected to those within and outside the organisation. Leaders need to do the same, but also build and enable employee networks and help employees maximize their enterprise contribution. They need to create the conditions that encourage the achievement of organisational goals through innovation, collaboration and mutual exploration of competing interests. They need to show Network Leadership, which we define as follows:
3. Network Leadership: Establishing strong network performance by building, aligning, and enabling broad networks both internal and external to the organisation, as well as creating a work climate in which direct reports do the same. Network leadership is important in leadership roles that encourage the achievement of organisational goals through innovation, collaboration, and mutual exploration of competing interests, ideas, and goals.
These three Leadership Foundations (Transformational, Transactional, and Network Leadership) provide the key to an individual’s potential for Enterprise Leadership. As these foundations are multidimensional, leaders may demonstrate strengths in some areas and not others.
Our work builds on the above to assess leaders, provide individual and group feedback, compare to the industry through benchmarking, and establish an in-house leadership development programme.
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Organisations typically invest quarter of the Human Resources budget on Leadership. This investment contributes to the maintenance and growth of leadership behaviours aimed at continuing business as usual, such as resource allocation, team building, and problem solving (SHL & Garter, 2016). However, the leadership environment is becoming increasing complex with 61% of leaders having more stakeholders to consult, 58% of leader have geographically dispersed teams, and 85% of leaders reporting increased responsibility (SHL & Gartner 2016). Occupational Psychologists aim to understand and objectively measure the behaviours required for success in this more complex environment and highlight the talent gaps that exist in the organisation’s leadership group compared to the market. Thus, we can see that occupational psychologists are essential to putting in place a fair and objective process for measuring and developing leadership talent and providing feedback. This case study demonstrates best practice in applying the Enterprise Leadership Model to assess senior leadership for this UK financial services group, providing individual and group feedback against the market benchmark, and the introduction of an in-house leadership development programme.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The category we have chosen is Leadership, Engagement, and Motivation and believe this case study and joint presentation session by both firms to specifically demonstrate how leadership theory, psychological assessment, and industry benchmarks have been applied to raise awareness of strengths, and development areas; as well as the benefits, reactions, and challenges of introducing a leadership development programme. We believe there is opportunity to showcase a true theory to practice nature of occupational psychology in the leadership domain. The assessments and development also included 360 degree feedback and therefore helps to showcase a holistic approach within an evolving workplace environment in the financial sector.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented? • Focus on assessing network leadership given increasing demands for leaders to work cross- functionally.
• Breadth of data used to provide a holistic view of leadership capability – including personality measure liked to the leader foundations (Transformational, Transactional, and Network Leadership), 360 ratings, and industry benchmarking.
• Focus on, and impact of detailed feedback at an individual and group level on self-development and identifying group tends.
• Using data to drive and create an in-house leadership development programme - a true evidence- based approach.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
This session will be a joint presentation by assessment and consulting provider and the client and will showcase the transition from leadership challenge identification, assessment use, benchmarking solution, and insights and feedback themes identification, to the introduction of the in-house development programme. Hence this unique joint session will show an end-to-end process for leadership development. The goal is to present a realistic view of what is involved when investing into leaders to bring about change. We believe this view will help academics and practitioners to gain insight into the wins and challenges faced by organisations acting on best practice.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
• Only five years ago, 87% of leaders felt they are unsupportive of their peers, and only 38% of leaders look beyond their immediate teams and consider the winder organisational context. Furthermore, only 10% reported to actively drive cross-team collaboration (SHL & Gartner 2014). Although we are seeing a movement towards more cross-functional collaboration and organisations actively investing into leadership development, the journey is ongoing.
• This session will provide a holistic and realistic view of how to invest in your leaders to bring about change and sustain growth against a backdrop of a rapidly changing marketplace using a case study (a joint presentation). The session will be open about the wins and challenges to help demonstrate how organisations are developing their leaders.
• A shift in what makes a good leader in today’s changing work environment is occurring, specifically the value of network leadership is being increasingly realised by the C-suite – this session will showcase how an UK organisation is adapting to this shift.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take?
We intend on making the electronic version of our slides available for conference attendees – this will include the industry benchmark that was used by the specialist UK financial services group to drive the development programme.
References
Bartram, D. (2009). Leadership competencies: Differences in patterns of potential across eleven European countries as a function of gender and managerial experience. In William H. Mobley, Ying Wang & Ming Li (Editors), Advances in Global Leadership, Volume V. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald Group Publishing. Bartram, D., & Inceoglu, I. (2011). The SHL Corporate Leadership Model. SHL White Paper. Thames Ditton: SHL Group Ltd.
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.
Gartner. (2016). Q4 executive guidance: Driving performance in volatile markets. Retrieved from https://www.cebglobal.com/content/dam/cebglobal/us/EN/top-insights/executive- guidance/pdfs/eg2017ann-driving-performance-in-volatile-markets.pdf
Howell, J. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated business-unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 891–902.
Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. 2004. Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89: 755-768.
SHL (2014). Creating Enterprise Leaders to drive breakthrough performance. SHL Annual Executive Retreat, Washington, DC.: SHL.
Ref: 3961 Poster Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation The relevance of authentic leadership to followers Fiona Phelps, FKMP Consulting
Method: This study employed a qualitative design in order to explore the research question This study involved seven participants who were all remote workers. The participants were recruited via an online networking site that was un-related to the researchers personal or professional network. The data was collected in the form of face to face semi-structured interviews which accumulated to transcriptions of approx. 53,000 words. The sample size was considered appropriate for a small research project (Braun & Clarke, 2013). The data was analysed based on the guidelines provided by Willig (2013) for Foucauldian discourse analysis. This type of analysis is congruent with the epistemological assumptions of the study that have been adopted in that reality is created through language and interactions, rather than existing independently, and is open to multiple interpretations.
Analysis: The analysis focussed on three discourses that were interpreted from the data; ‘how participants relate to the organisation’, ‘The real self?’ and ‘authenticity and the leader’. There were many other discourses that were interpreted from the data but the scope of the study did not allow engagement with all of these. These discourses were selected as they were deemed relevant to the research question and addressed the implicit assumptions of AL that authenticity is always desirable to followers.
How participants relate to the organisation
“it is very difficult to get fired from your school…it’s much quicker to get expelled from your job” (James, p. 11, l. 460.) Participants constructed accounts that created their working lives as being different from the rest of their lives and constructed the power dynamics of the organisation.
The real self?
“well I am sort of Ben plus…I am myself, but I am also filtering my language and my topics of conversation” (Ben, p. 30, l. 498). A theme that emerged in the discourses of how the participants presented themselves was altering their behaviour in order to adhere to what they perceived as the demands of the workplace. The demands of the workplace and their roles was positioned as a justification for this.
Authenticity and the leader
“I don’t think it is as important to me as I don’t look for that same sort of connection… and so I just get on with it and work is work and just get where you need to be” (Emma, p. 84, l. 473). “why do I look to him for leadership, I guess it comes down to an affinity with his character” (James, p. 5, l. 144) There was not a consistent construction of what the participants looked for in leaders.
Discussion: The constructions of the participants created the organisations that they worked within as being other to them and laden with power dynamics that built the context of the relationships that took place within them, including those with their leaders. Although many of the participants constructed themselves as being authentic their justifications to alter themselves within an organisational setting related to their expectations of their leaders. This research provides a different approach to that which is presented within the literature of Authentic Leadership and in doing so makes a valuable contribution to the literature. Further research could further explore the construct of Authentic Leadership outside of the epistemologies that it is based within to add to the understanding of how relevant it is to those working within organisations rather than basing the relevance on the societal demands for authenticity.
Ref: 3791 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Conducting a Systematic Review (Career decisions of working mothers) Susie Phillips-Baker1, Dr Vicki Elsey2 1SPB Work Psychology, 2Northumbria University A Systematic Review of the psychological factors associated with the career decisions of working mothers over two decades: 1999-2019
Motherhood can be costly to women’s careers (Kahn, Garcia-Manglano & Bianchi, 2014). Research suggests that when working women become mothers, their career is negatively impacted in comparison to peers without children including in relation to equity of pay, recognition, seniority or promotion prospects (Benard, Paik & Correll, 2008). The ‘motherhood penalty’ is a term which represents the ways in which working mothers experience disadvantage in the workplace, in comparison to men and to women without children (Morgan, 2015).
This systematic review proposes to add to the literature by considering the psychological factors associated with the career decisions of working mothers. Research which is needed to explore women’s own understanding and identifying factors influencing career-related decisions (McIntosh, McQuaid, Munro & Dabir-Ali, 2012).
According to many researchers, the initial transition to motherhood is a sensitive time for working mothers in terms of career decision-making. At this time women may struggle to integrate home and work roles and even decide to withdraw from the workplace as a result. Research also considers a full two decades following entry to motherhood as critical to career progression, highlighting the significance of the lasting impact of the transition from non-mothers to working mothers over the course of women’s careers (Morgan, 2015). This view is supported by the suggestion that the course of a woman’s career is different to that of their male counterparts, with different influences shaping their career decisions at different stages, including being a mother (Maniero & Sullivan, 2005). The current systematic review will include career decisions for working mothers’ post-maternity through to their child(ren)’s schooling. By widening the focus beyond the initial transition into motherhood, the review aims to also develop a better understanding of additional critical decision points identified within relevant literature.
Increasingly, the challenges of work life integration are being recognised in the literature, however an understanding of the process by which women take this decision is still incomplete (Gross- Spector & Cinamon, 2017). This is the purpose of the current study.
Review question: What is known in the literature about the psychological factors associated with career decisions of professional working mothers, post-maternity throughout schooling?
Systematic review = Typically involving a “detailed and comprehensive plan and search strategy derived a priori, with the goal of reducing bias by identifying, appraising, and synthesizing all relevant studies on a particular topic” (Uman, 2011).
Psychological factors = Psychological and/or behavioural factors which influence the career or work decisions, such as thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
Professional working mothers = Any woman who is both a mother and works in a professional and/or managerial setting.
Post-maternity through schooling = Mothers of children from 0-18 years old are included in order to capture potential points of transition for working mothers past maternity leave. This can be explicitly included or implicitly implied within the relevant research. Any studies where age of children is not known will be included, if children are not discussed in terms of University/post schooling.
P.I.C.O.
Population: Women currently or recently (within one year prior to the research) in paid employment in a professional setting. Mothers who have at least one child permanently in their care (between 0- 18 years old). Studies may include fathers, as long as mothers are the primary focus.
Intervention: Studies which contain data related to professional working mothers (Any intervention or approach which considers career decisions of working mothers). Studies may include psychological (predictor) variables which influence decision-making of professional working mothers.
Comparator: none.
Outcome: Any decision regarding careers based on those identified by an initial review of research including working hours, flexible working, work environment, management, additional responsibilities, compensation and opting in or out of work. Other career decisions may be included upon discussion and agreement with the project team.
Inclusion Criteria
Search terms
• Mother* OR maternal AND
• Career OR work OR occupation OR job OR employment OR vocation* OR profession* AND
• Decision OR decide OR choice OR choose OR explor* OR prefer* OR sensemak* OR transition OR option* Inclusion criteria: Psychological factors (e.g., thoughts, feelings, beliefs) and their relationships with decisions (e.g. choices, considerations) and outcomes (impact on career/work) for working mothers will be included in the review.
Exclusion criteria: Pregnancy, breastfeeding, blue-collar, low-income, post 18, University.
Databases: The following databases were searched using above search terms (within abstract) to identify potential studies for inclusion:
Web of Science, Psycharticles, Emerald*, Nursing and Allied Health and Scopus. (optional: Business source premier)
Other methods used for identifying relevant research: Reference checking and hand searching of these. Contacting experts in this field.
Search Strategy
Study Selection: The search will be restricted to peer-reviewed studies, collecting primary data in the English language with conference abstracts, academic dissertations* and case studies excluded. Papers collecting primary data only (*academic dissertations may be included later if considered necessary)
Data Extraction: Data extraction direct or *indirectly into Endnote (*depending on database export options). Endnote to be used to keep track of references.
Reviewer number 1 will review first following the protocol above. Following the initial results from the review, reviewer number 2, will independently check the results have followed the protocol. If necessary, reviewer number 3 will review if there are any queries or disparities in the decisions. In case of disagreement between researchers, the inclusion of studies will be determined by consensus. Results of this process will be reported using a ‘PRISMA flowchart’ in order to show the flow of information through the different phases of the systematic review.
Quality assessment: Quality will be assessed using an existing checklist for assessing the quality of the research studies included (e.g. ‘STROBE’ link)
Data synthesis: The systematic review proposes to consider the following in the data synthesis process:
• Patterns across results
• Any factors to explain variations in study findings
• Explore possible relationships between characteristics and findings of included studies and between studies
• Populations clearly identified to assess applicability of the findings to other populations
• Heterogeneity in study findings (e.g. exploring methodological differences or characteristics)
• Other aspects include study design, size, and funding sources to be investigated.
Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/crd/SysRev/!SSL!/WebHelp/4_6_DATA_SYNTHESIS.htm
Presentation/ Plans for Dissemination:
Additional material: Flow chart of whole process, Protocol, Data extraction form and tables. Outputs from review: Publish paper in relevant journal. Conference presentations.
Timeline for review
Protocol 1 month May 2019 Complete Literature searching 1-2 months July/Aug 2019 Underway Quality appraisal 1 month Sept 2019 Data extraction 1 month Oct 2019 Synthesis 1 month Nov 2019 Writing up 1 month Dec 2019
References
Benard, S., Paik, I. & Correll, S. (2008) Cognitive bias and the motherhood penalty, Hastings Law Journal 59: 101-129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210383142
Gross Spector, M. & Cinamon, R. (2017) Identity exploration during the transition to motherhood: facilitating factors and outcomes, Career Development International, 22(7), 829-843, https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-01-2017-0021
Kahn, J., Garcia-Manglano, J. & Bianchi, S. (2014) The motherhood penalty at midlife: The long-term impact of birth-timing on women’s careers, Journal of Marriage and Family, 76: 56-72. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12086
Mainiero, L. & Sullivan, S. (2005) Kaleidoscope Careers: An Alternate Explanation for the Opt-Out Revolution. Academy of Management Executive, February,19 (1), 106-123.
McIntosh, B., McQuaid, R., Munro, A. & Dabir-Ali, P. (2012) Motherhood and its impact on career progression, Gender in Management: An international journal, 27 (5), 346-364. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542411211252651
Morgan, F. (2015) The motherhood penalty and its impact of the career decisions of working women. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.3070.9288
Uman L. S. (2011). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(1), 57–59.
Ref: 3919 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Possibilities for pre-empting conflict within a HQ, subsidiary, intermediary triad Sarah Phoenix Introduction: Conflict is a major challenge throughout all levels of organisational functioning within all sectors, size of company and geographical locations. Within a head office - subsidiary scenario this can be particularly acute as both functions, despite having the same ultimate goal of business success and profitability, often disagree wildly. These ‘parent-child’ models are inherently problematic (Kostova, Nell and Hoenen 2018). Research into businesses with these structures shows that the subsidiary can lack commitment to head office designated goals, preferring their more autonomous position for their own priorities (Jensen & Meckling 1976). Often, subsidiary/branches seem to lose sight of the organisation’s best interests (Yu, Subramaniam & Cannella 2009).
One solution some organisations install in an attempt to bridge that gap, is to introduce an intermediary role to manage the relationship. This takes the form of a Regional or Relationship Manager, but this intermediary role can have immense difficulties such as reporting to more than one boss, job stress from inadequate support, lack of executive power and poor work satisfaction (Knight 1976; Davis & Lawrence 1977).
Underlying Theories: Research into head office-subsidiary functioning is steeped in a large number of major theories such as; general systems theory (Caws 2015), agency theory (Eisenhardt 1989), Katz and Kahn’s open system theory (Katz & Kahn 1978; Tasoluk, Yaprak and Calantone 2007) and random matrix theory (Sarkar and Jalan 2014). And there have been many other concepts hypothesised to further enlighten the subject, such as the ‘headquarter’s knows best’ syndrome (Bouquet, Birkinshaw and Barsoux 2016.), the ‘divide and rule’ problem (Nell, Kappen, and Laamanen 2017) and the ‘co-parenting concept’ (Pla-Barber, Villar and Madhok 2018). Attempts to account for the role of the intermediary vs mediator has been explored in actor network theory, game theory, prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky 1979 ) regulatory focus theory (Higgins 1997 ), construal level theory (Trope and Liberman 2010 ) and negotiation theory (Dual-Concern-Model (Pruitt 1998); Motivated Information Processing Model (De Dreu and Carnevale 2003). Within the allied concept of brokerage, are suggested theories such as social exchange theory (Blau 1977) and cognitive consistency theory (Doreian et al. 1996).
Method: The research design was for a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews of two head office managers, two branch committee volunteer officials and two intermediary managers within the same large professional membership body based in the East Midlands.
Semi-structured interviews, are particularly suitable for exploratory and inductive purposes (Ghauri & Grønhaug 2005 p. 133) and they are recommended when there is only a small number of possible respondents (Daniels & Cannice 2004 p. 186).
Constant Comparative Thematic Analysis (CCTA), a combination of thematic analysis and constant comparative analysis, was employed to maximally enable emergent themes covering both emic and etic perspectives (Laverty, Khechara and Smith 2017).
Analysis: The initial thematic analysis was based on the staged approach of Braun and Clarke (2006) identifying, coding and defining patterns, categories, overarching themes and sub-themes as described as detail in Hewitt-Taylor (2001). Subsequently all these data sets were set in comparison with each other, irrespective of thematic value, as described by Fram (2013) and detailed in Glaser (1965).
Results: The dominant theme of the research was quality of the individual relationships between the intermediary and the two contacts, outside of the direct work context, including previous awareness of the individual, 3rd party comments, any previous interactions and respective perceived status. Secondarily, but informing the main theme were themes on communications, especially of appropriate frequency and timeliness and also elements surrounding the choice, location, convenience and type of meeting venue.
Discussion: The dominant emergent theme, unexpectedly, concerned the importance of seemingly trivial details. Each party was influenced disproportionately by extrapolating their ‘gut’ feeling of how their previous expectations of the other party matched up to reality, how much care and consideration had been taken in setting up meetings and whether they heard from the other sufficiently to feel their interactions were regarded as important, yet not too much to be burdensome. It was surprising to find the same themes arising at all three triad positions, and that expected elements of trust, company knowledge, motivation, framing, utility and many other previously research-implicated aspects, were not evident. These results demonstrate the power of a qualitative scientific approach in a theory-overburdened field with the potential benefit of easier and simpler extrapolation into application.
Ethics: This research was approved by the Coventry University ethics process.
References
Blau, P.M.(1977). Heterogeneity and Inequality. New York: Free Press
Bouquet, C., Birkinshaw, J. and J.-L. Barsoux. (2016) ‘Fighting the “Headquarters Knows Best” Syndrome’, MIT Sloan Management review, Winter(December14th), pp. 1–13
Caws, P. (2015) ‘General Systems Theory: Its Past and Potential’, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 32(5), pp. 514–521. doi: 10.1002/sres.2353.
Daniels, John D. & Cannice, Mark V. (2004): Interview Studies in International Business Research. In: Marschan-Piekkari, Rebecca & Welch, Catherine (eds.): Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Northampton, pp. 185–206
De Dreu, C. K. W., & Carnevale, P. J. (2003). Motivational bases of information processing and strategy in confl ict and negotiation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 35 ,235–291
Fram, S.M. (2013) The Constant Comparative Analysis Method Outside of Grounded Theory The Qualitative Report 18 (1) 1-25
Glaser, B.G. (1965) The Constant Comparative Method of Qualitative Analysis Social Problems, Vol. 12, No. 4 pp. 436-445
Hewitt-Taylor J (2001) Use of constant comparative analysis in qualitative research. Nursing Standard. 15, 42, p39.
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3: 305-360
Katz, Daniel & Kahn, Robert L. (1978): The Social Psychology of Organizations. 2nd edition.
Kostova, T., Nell, P. C. and Hoenen, A. K. (2018) Understanding Agency Problems in Headquarters- Subsidiary Relationships in Multinational Corporations: A Contextualized Model, Journal of Management, 44(7), pp. 2611–2637. doi: 10.1177/0149206316648383.
Laverty, J., Khechara, M. and Smith, S. (2017) Comparative Thematic Analysis: Evaluating the Placement Experiences of Health-Care Students in the United Kingdom. SAGE Research
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2013) Successful Qualitative Research. SAGE.
Nell, P. C., Kappen, P. and Laamanen, T. (2017) Reconceptualising Hierarchies: The Disaggregation and Dispersion of Headquarters in Multinational Corporations, Journal of Management Studies, 54(8), pp. 1121–1143. doi: 10.1111/joms.12313 Pla-Barber, J., Villar, C. and Madhok, A. (2018) Co-parenting through subsidiaries: A model of value creation in the multinational firm, Global Strategy Journal, 8(4), pp. 536–562. doi: 10.1002/gsj.1180
Ghauri P, Gronhaug K (2005). Research methods in business studies – A practical guide. 3rd edition. Prentice Hall
Sarkar, C. and Jalan, S. (2014) Social patterns revealed through random matrix theory, EPL, 108(4). doi: 10.1209/0295-5075/108/48003.
Tasoluk, Burcu, Yaprak, Attila & Calantone, Roger J. (2007): Conflict and Collaboration in Headquarters-Subsidiary Relationships: An Agency Theory Perspective on Product Rollouts in an Emerging Market. International Journal of Conflict Management. Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 332–351 Wiley, New York
Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychol Rev. 2010 Apr; 117(2): 440–463.
Yu, T., Subramaniam, M., & Cannella, A. (2009). Rivalry deterrence in international markets: Contingencies governing the mutual forbearance hypothesis. Academy of Management Journal, 52(1): 127–147.
Questions asked in submission guidelines.
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session? Note - references can be included if desired but must be within the maximum word limit.
See background in submission
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
Using this method shows where occupational psychologists can use science to investigate multifaceted situations.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
Conflict at work is a major organisational problem. This research suggests ways of preventing conflict by putting in place factors which enhance the building of crucial relationships.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
The methodology is innovative combing thematic analysis with comparative analysis of grounded theory. Also, the subject matter of intermediaries has been very little studied, and only from the point of view of existing conflict and its remediation.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
It demonstrates how qualitative research can lead directly to practical, testable applications and addresses a major organizational challenge.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Recognizing the importance of a skilled intermediary and that sometimes crucial lynch pins are not obvious. 7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
Electronic presentation
8. What key points would you put into a 60 second opening ‘pitch’ for your poster?
• Conflict – everyone’s problem can be addressed practically
• Research areas with a ‘Gordian Knot’ of theories can be clarified by qualitative research broad brush approach
• Tailoring or blending qualitative approaches can pay dividends.
9. What proposals if any do you have to augment or enliven the basic poster display?
It might have some interactive element.
Ref: 3810 Impact Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Who Trains the School Governors - Does theory predict transfer Brian Poxon, Ann Bicknell University of Leicester
Despite the importance of school governor training to, quite literally all of us, there has been little research carried out on the factors that impact transfer in this area. This paper investigated the impact and influence of trainee characteristics on transfer of training for school governors in a local authority in the South of England. This research examined those elements, the extent to which theory was evident in the response from this target group and suggests improvements to future practice.
Governing bodies play an essential part in UK schools. Not only are they the key strategic decision makers and vision setters in every school but also play a key role within the overall system for school accountability. Governing bodies also play a vital role in driving up school and pupil performance. Therefore, it is essential that high quality induction and training is available to equip governors with the skills they need and that they feel it puts them in a position to transfer relevant learning.
Transfer research defines transfer as happening when a learning process takes place in one context and the learner applies it in a different one. In 1988 Baldwin and Ford presented a framework of three categories of training input factors: training design characteristics, trainee characteristics and work environment characteristics which has been much cited within the field of transfer. Of these, it is widely accepted that trainee characteristics play a key role in transfer (Tonhauser and Buker 2016). Research indicates a number of determinants that have a positive relationship with transfer of training including personality (eg conscientiousness and neuroticism), trainee ability (cognitive skills), self-efficacy and motivation.
The key question is whether individual governors’ performance and the performance of the governing boards are improved as a result of the application of relevant learning? Understanding the factors that underline transfer of training with this group would assist in improving the effectiveness of governing bodies which could not only impact on the children’s education but also ensure that training is effective for school governors and local authorities get value from the time and money invested. Participants: This research engaged the participation of a high-fidelity sample of primary and secondary maintained and academy school governor population in a local authority in the south of England (approximately 412) and conducted 17 semi-structured interviews and analysed 30 online questionnaires to understand how the constructs of transfer impact on school governors.
Design: As this study sought to understand views and perceptions and identify factors that influence experience and behaviour an experimental qualitative approach was selected. The researcher adopted a critical realist theorisation with a contextual approach to knowledge. This approach supported thematic analysis techniques and underpinned the notion that while there are specific factors that influence transfer of training for trainees the impact of individual determinants depends on an individual’s beliefs and experience. Questions were framed with regard to previous research regarding transfer of training.
Procedure: Interviews and a qualitative questionnaire were conducted concurrently with different cohorts of governors. The interviews took place over a three-month time period, the questionnaire during a two-week period.
Results and Discussion: The qualitative methodology used in the study to report findings was carried out using thematic analysis techniques overlaid with a template approach utilising a priori themes based on transfer of training theory.
Thematic analysis of the qualitative data resulted in the identification of three themes: 1. Personality, 2. Utility and 3. Motivation.
1. Personality: Elements of personality have a positive relationship with transfer of training and certain factors including conscientiousness and self-efficacy were evident in the data. One of the reoccurring themes of the data is the diligence by which governors apply themselves to the task of governance. This application to the role of governor is identified as one of the backbones of this study and the desire to do the role to the best of one’s ability seems to drive the motivation for training and transfer. Governors are driven to be as effective as they can in the role and training is seen as one of the ways to achieve this goal. This would also fit with volunteer motivation (Clary et al 1988) which highlights the opportunity to learn new things and the ability to apply previously unused skills or abilities. This combination of volunteer motivation and conscientiousness would seem to make governors predisposed to attend training and an increased desire to transfer what they learn.
One of the perceptions of training was that it contributed to this feeling of self-efficacy and enabled better scrutiny, questioning of staff and discussions with the senior school leaders. Using the data, it is possible to identify a training/confidence loop which consists of training, transfer and successful application of that training which resulted in increased confidence, leading to improved performance which encourages further training.
2. Utility: Grossman and Salas (2011) use the Baldwin and Ford (1988) model to highlight four trainee characteristics, one of which is utility which refers to the decision a trainee makes regarding suitability and application of training. Yelon et al (2008) investigated how autonomous professionals make intention to transfer decisions and found these are based on credibility, practicality and need.
Transfer is more likely for training content that is relevant to the job and from the data it was clear that appropriate content or credibility of the training also had an impact on motivation to learn and motivation to transfer. For example, one governor commented “(the local authority trainer) structured the training which meant that it was very easy to then think this is how I could apply it”. Other governors highlighted the “clear takeaways”, new ideas “this is what we need to do differently” and the course material “so it does for me depend…. on the content” as motivators for transfer (“motivation depends on the content”).
Practicality played an important part in governors’ decisions. Many governors reported decision making based on the practicality and potential application of training content stating, “the more practical stuff suits me” and “it was the practical application of how it makes a difference to the children”.
Need also influenced the decision-making process for governors and there was evidence within the data that this approach was used when selecting which training intervention to attend. When talking about making a decision regarding a specific course one governor commented I “chose it specifically because I felt it was an area I needed to develop further, or I needed to refresh”.
3. Motivation: Trainees must be motivated to learn and there is a positive relationship between motivation to learn, motivation to transfer and transfer. Governors, as volunteers (Clary et al 1988) are predisposed to learn new things so it was expected there would be much evidence to support an individual’s focus on motivation to learn. Governors commented on their passion for learning; “hundred percent learning is my thing” and “I’m a big believer we learn something new every day”. This evidence supports volunteer motivation theory and the overwhelming governor perception was one of a drive to learn.
Governors are not just focused on learning for the sake of learning, there was evidence to suggest that motivation to learn with an intent to develop skills would lead to further goals. For example, the desire to support the school, improve the children’s education and keep children safe were all cited as reasons to attend training.
Motivation to transfer is described as the intention to use newly acquired skills and knowledge and is seen as the best predictor of transfer. There was clear evidence of governor’s motivation to transfer: “I was committed to transferring the training when I signed up to the training”, “Always willing to apply what I have learnt” and “No point in attending if you do not apply what you have learned”.
Conclusion: Effective governance is a vital driver of school improvement so continual improvement for induction and training for school governors is essential. This research shows that governors are predisposed to attend training and to transfer what they learn. These constructs adhere to known theory regarding trainee characteristics and are mediated by the concept of volunteer motivation.
To take advantage of governor’s diligence and to encourage transfer, organisations should offer training that is credible, practical and clearly addresses gaps in governor knowledge. For example, trainers should provide exercises to assess interventions according to these standards. To overcome the barriers of design and opportunity, trainers should provide practical takeaways that governors can implement immediately to support transfer, introduce action plans developed at the end of training interventions, support the use of governor mentors and coaches and encourage group discussions to develop peer to peer learning.
The findings of this research are relevant to the DOP 2020 conference as it tests professional practice and knowledge against theory. As a result, this research contributes valuable insights regarding factors that influence transfer of training for school governors. Delegates who are governors, governor training providers or individuals who work in the education or voluntary sectors will find this beneficial. References:
BALDWIN, T. T., & FORD, J. K. (1988). TRANSFER OF TRAINING: A REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. Personnel Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1988.tb00632.x
Clary, E. G., Ridge, R. D., Stukas, A. A., Snyder, M., Copeland, J., Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516
Grossman, R., & Salas, E. (2011). The transfer of training: What really matters. International Journal of Training and Development, 15(2), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2419.2011.00373.x
Tonhäuser, C., Büker, L., Tonh, C., & Laura, B. (2016). Determinants of Transfer of Training : A Comprehensive Literature Review. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), 03(02), 127–165. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.3.2.4
Yelon, S., Sheppard, L., Sleight, D., & Ford, J. K. (2004). Intention to transfer: how do autonomous professionals become motivated to use new ideas? Performance …. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937- 8327.2004.tb00309.x
Ref: 3876 Impact Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Impact of Rainbow Lanyards at University of Edinburgh Vinisha Prakash, Thomas Calvard University of Edinburgh Business School
Introduction: The term ‘LGBT+ group’ covers a wide group of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people who represent themselves as a group in the national and international arena for political support and better social representation (Takacs, 2006). Over the last few decades, LGBT employees comprise a major portion at the workplace (Webster, 2018). As per Ragins (2007), the main rationale behind this is the anxiety and fear which makes this process challenging. To reduce this anxiety and fear, it is the responsibility of the organization to make sure that these employees get a healthy, toxic-free environment which recognizes their individuality and respects it too. The University of Edinburgh has its own Staff Pride Network to support its employees. The university employs approximately 15,000 employees (The University of Edinburgh, 2019) and is committed to the equality of opportunities for all, irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, sexual preferences or any cultural background (The University of Edinburgh, 2016). The University of Edinburgh also initiated the Rainbow Lanyard (RL) project to support the LGBT+ group. This project was initiated in the year 2017 and the lanyards were finally introduced in February 2018
Rationale: The purpose of this study is to analyse the efforts of the RLs by gathering responses from students and staff. Since the introduction of these lanyards, no study has been conducted to assess the positive or negative impacts along with the assessment of the fulfilment of the purpose of their introduction to bring awareness and support. This study will aim to understand the following aspects of the RLs:
• How high or low is the visibility of the RLs?
• Do the respondents prefer to wear these lanyards?
• Are respondents willing/likely to buy them? • Do they understand the purpose of these?
Research Question
Does the visibility of the RLs signify its high purchase amongst the students and staff members at the University of Edinburgh?: The research question aims to know if the visibility of the RLs has any relation with the with the number of purchases with the RLs while considering their preference to wear Rainbow Lanyards. Additionally, whether the RLs trigger any conversations regarding the LGBTQ+ community amongst the people or not.
Methodology: A quantitative research was carried out where the purpose of the study was identified and a suitable method of collecting data was selected (Haertel, 2010). The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of the RLs towards the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Edinburgh. This was an exploratory research which intended to explore the RL project and its impact on the students and staff at the University of Edinburgh by understanding their preference to wearing RLs. The method of data collection was through survey that was created and distributed online. Questionnaire was self-administered online survey with close-ended questions created on Qualtrics.com. The questionnaire was distributed online through platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and e-mail.
The sample size of the study was 182 out of which 70% were staff members while the other 30% were the students. Since, it was a quantitative research, SPSS was used to analyze the results through independent sample T-test .To analyze a few other factors, line graphs and bar graphs were used, using excel.
Data Analysis, Findings and Discussion: Data was analysed in parts in form of graphs and charts which was followed by the t-test to test the main hypothesis of the research.
There were 90 heterosexual respondents which was almost 48% of the population followed by 23.4% of gays/lesbians with 17.55% of bisexuals and 9.57% of queer. The ‘other’ and ‘prefer not to say’ category formed about 2% with one pan-sexual and one asexual respondent falling in the ‘others’ category.
Majority of the respondents (approximately 65%) own one of the RLs. 24.6% do not have it whereas about 10% do not have it but wish to buy one. One of the respondents who owns a RL also states “If nothing else is achieved, these bring a lovely burst of colour to our day, thank you for that.” This shows that some of the respondents are happy about the lanyards but at the same time this might also signify that the lanyards are not fulfilling the purpose. This graph also shows that even though there are people who do not have it, they wish to buy it which means that the visibility is making a difference.
Almost 53% of the respondents stated that lanyards triggered conversations and approximately 35% were unsure about it whereas only 11% denied believing it. This shows that conversations are initiated because of these lanyards which serves one of the purposes.
About 38% respondents related the lanyard with the LGBT community whereas 36% associated it with the heterosexual people who support the community. Less than 5% thought it to be a fashion trend or assumed it to be ‘just another lanyard’ while 9% related all the above mentioned reasons.
The study with the help of T-test showed that the high visibility of RL influences the likeliness of high purchase in RL. The study also noticed that a huge portion of the respondents understand the purpose of RL and willing to purchase and engage in conversations regarding the purpose of the lanyards. Personal comments from the respondents such as “I think it's a great way of signalling support, openness, safety.” or “I think they're a great way of showing that staff are open to conversations about LGBTQ+ issues and are supportive of the inclusivity encouraged in the University.” show that they are fulfilling their purpose. This study provided a path for a future research into understanding the impact of the efforts taken by organizations towards LGBT community.
Conclusion: The study explored a quantitative approach to analyzing how the RLs are impacting the awareness of the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Edinburgh. The study showed that the people who saw the RLs more often were more likely to purchase them. The study also acknowledges that more than half of the respondents owned one of the RLs and they are also the people who notice it often. It was also proved that these lanyards initiate discussions related to LGBT+ issues, which also serves the purpose of these lanyards. It is helping raise awareness about the LGBT+ community, and also the fact that university acknowledges individualities of its students and staff.
Session: Standard Paper
An LGBT network for the employees in an organization provides a mechanism for the LGBT+ and non-LGBT+ staff to come together to share information, support, knowledge, thoughts and ideas on LGBT+ issues which makes them feel heard (The University of Edinburgh, 2018). Provision of services for LGBT+ employees makes it easier for them to speak up their issues and get them resolved (Nursing Times, 2019). The Person-Environment Fit theory states that a misfit between the individual and the environment results in stress (Coelho et. al., 1974). Individuals from the LGBT+ community are subjected to chronic psychosocial stress when they are exposed to heterosexist social environment (Kollen, 2016). A report by Equality Challenge also shows that 4.2% of LGB staff and 23% of transgender staff are denied promotions due to their sexual orientation (Equality Challenge Unit, 2009). These instances prove that it becomes very essential for the organizations to nurture their human resources as they are there most important assets. Their effective deployment serves as a competitive advantage for the company (Guest, 2002). The Pride Network is one such initiative of the university to address the individualities of its employees and students. The University of Edinburgh introduced Rainbow Lanyards in 2017 for its staff and students. The purpose of the paper is to understand whether Rainbow Lanyards have an impact of on the students and staff at the University of Edinburgh. It is essential because introduction of Rainbow Lanyards is a progressive step by the university towards creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace for its employees as well as the students. Wearing a Rainbow Lanyard signifies the commitment of the organization towards providing an environment which is safe, comfortable and inclusive (FMS Diversity, 2018). Researches show that LGBT supportive workplace climate with support policies and openness about LGBT issues result in improved health and well-being outcomes along with increased job satisfaction. It also gives rise to more cordial relationships amongst the employees (Badgett et. al., 2013).
There were no associated risks in the research. All the responses were anonymously submitted. The participants were allowed to not disclose their sexual orientation if they didn’t want to. No data was shared with any third party and was strictly used for academic purposes only.
Selected References
• Badgett, M.V., Durso, L.E., Mallory, C. and Kastanis, A., 2013. The business impact of LGBT- supportive workplace policies. Köllen, T., 2016. Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations. Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity. Online verfügbar unter http://dx. doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623
• Guest, D., 2002. Human resource management, corporate performance and employee wellbeing: Building the worker into HRM. The journal of industrial relations, 44(3), pp.335-358
Brooks, A.K. and Edwards, K., 2009. Allies in the workplace: Including LGBT in HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(1), pp.136-149.
• Ford, S., (2016). (Accessed on April 9, 2019). Rainbow lanyard scheme has ‘promoted openness’. Nursing Times.
• Kenway (2018),‘LGBT inclusion makes ‘business sense’: So why are asset managers so far behind?’ (p.10,12)
• MacBride, J., (2018). (Accessed on April 9, 2019). Rainbow lanyards symbolise support for diversity. University of Edinburgh.
• UK Pride Organisers Network, (2019). (Accessed on April 10, 2019).
• Washington, J., & Evans, N. J. (1991). Becoming an ally. In N. J. Evans & V. A. Wall (Eds.) Beyond tolerance: Gays, lesbians and bisexuals on campus (pp. 195-204). Alexandria, VA: American College Personnel Association
• William, B. (2019). Baroness Williams: LGBT Conference 2019 speech.
Ref: 4109 Poster Topic: Well-being and Work Rethinking Gender in Work Family Management in India Mahima Raina, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus
Theoretical Model: We use the pyramid model of work-home interface that was recently proposed to address the critical gap in work-family literature by emphasizing the interactive effects among the micro (individual), meso (organizational), and macro (national) level factors in predicting WF interface. Building on this theoretical framework, the current study aims to obtain a culture-sensitive understanding of WF interface in India, an important site of exploration due to its cultural diversity and recent economic growth. Specifically, we examine interactions among individual (role centrality, gender), organizational (organizational WF climate), and national (diffuse orientation (DO), urbanization, industry sector) factors as antecedents of WF conflict (i.e., a form of inter-role conflict in which role pressures from work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect; and WF enrichment (i.e., the extent to which experiences in one role improve the quality in the other role. The predictor variables were chosen to offer insights about idiosyncratic aspects of WF interface in India.
Relevance to the Conference Theme: The current research contributes to the cross-cultural WF scholarship by examining how effects of predictors at the individual and organizational level are qualified by contextual variables at macro level. Thus, our research in India not only adds to the scant body of research that examines multiple antecedents of WF interface (e.g., see Greenhaus & Powell, 2017) in a context outside the West, but also advances our knowledge about the complex interplay between macro and micro/meso factors in determining WF interface. Furthermore, this study considers both positive and negative aspects of WF interface, thereby complementing previous cross-cultural research that focused on WF conflict (e.g., Aryee, Luk, Leung, & Lo, 1999). Since the findings inform us about idiosyncratic aspects of WF interface in India, the research would be useful for addressing WF issues in the Indian context and provide insights for cross-cultural business operations.
Relevance to the Topic: As work-family balance and the factors that enhance and lead to a lack of the same are directly linked to workplace wellbeing, the research topic falls within the scope of the conference topic – wellbeing and work.
Originality of the Research: As mentioned, WF research is quite avid in western cultures and repeated calls have been made for a more nuanced understanding in non-Anglo cultural contexts. This study fulfils that gap by discussing idiosyncratic aspects of WF management in the Indian context.
Interest of the Audience/Media: The research would highlight the lesser known aspects of WF management, gender roles and ongoing changes in WF management ensuing globalization in a non- Anglo culture.
Material for the Audience: Printed hand-outs and options for collaborative research in case of mutual interest.
Ref: 3940 Standard Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Virtual Teams: Cohesion, Clarity and Communication Helen Rayner, The Myers Briggs Company
Introduction: There are many different types of teams. Traditional teams were co-located, all members working in the same office or other location. Virtual teams are made up of remote workers who are not co-located but who do have a common purpose, interdependent goals and work for which they are mutually accountable. In practice, many teams incorporate a blend of virtual and co- located working practices in a combined team.
There are many benefits to virtual teams. They enable experts to collaborate across geographical boundaries (Malhotra et al., 2007), improve cross functional working (Pinjani & Palvia, 2013) and reduce travel costs (Piccoli et al, 2004). Virtual teams are able to respond quickly to rapidly changing business environments (Bergiel et al., 2008) as well as speeding up project completion time as a 24- hour workflow can be generated (Jimenez et al., 2017).
Virtual teams face many challenges, notably building and developing relationships, cohesion and trust. Virtual teams often rely on written communication and miss out on body language and other non-verbal cues. These challenges are often amplified by team members coming from different cultural backgrounds, bringing with them varying norms and beliefs (He, Paul and Dennis, 2018). The consequences can include mistrust, conflict and the breakdown of relationships (Kozlowski et al., 2012).
Developing trust in virtual teams relies on technology (Ford, Piccolo & Ford, 2017; Pinjani & Palvia, 2017). Yet the training needs of the virtual team manager are often overlooked (Ford, Piccolo & Ford, 2017). This study sought to explore the experiences of working in virtual, co-located and combined teams, and the role of personality in these settings. The FIRO assessment was chosen because it is used regularly in individual and team development settings. It measures how individuals behave towards others (Expressed behaviours), and how those individuals want others to behave towards them (Wanted behaviours). The Expressed and Wanted behaviours are measured on three dimensions: Involvement (the need to belong), Influence (the need for significance) and Connection (the need for close relationships).
Hypothesis 1: Respondents in virtual teams with higher Involvement scores will report a lower sense of belonging.
Hypothesis 2: Respondents in virtual teams with higher Influence scores will report less team and role clarity.
Hypothesis 3: Respondents in virtual teams with higher Connection scores will report less understanding/depth of relationship with their colleagues.
Methodology: Data collection via an online survey has been taking place from May 2019 onwards, with further campaigns scheduled in August and September 2019. Respondents completed the FIRO Business questionnaire if they did not already know their FIRO results. Demographic information (age, gender, job sector, job level, country in which they worked) was also collected.
Lukić and Vračar (2018) outlined eight methods for building trust between team members.
Performance Recruitment and Hiring an effective Establishing evaluation and selection leader behavioural controls rewarding systems
Establishing regular Positive organizational Raising awareness of Establishing team and reliable culture and climate swift trust building activities communication
The survey items were written using these eight items as a framework.
Participants also answered open questions on communication, challenges to team working, and team virtual training.
159 respondents completed the questionnaire. 67% were female, 30% male, 3% preferred to self- define, or preferred not to disclose; age ranged from 21 to 75 years, with a mean age of 44. 61 respondents considered themselves to work in a virtual team, and 87 respondents did not consider themselves to work in a virtual team. 11 respondents did not identify what type of they worked in, and were removed from the analysis.
Quantitative analysis was used to analyse the data, and thematic analysis was used to analyse open- ended questions.
Results: As data collection is ongoing, detailed results will be presented at the conference. In summary, there are differences between the responses of who work in virtual teams, and those who do not.
Virtual Team Responses
Only significant correlation results are presented at 1% and 5% levels. Expressed Wanted Expressed Wanted Expressed Wanted
Involvement Involvement Influence Influence Connection Connection The team has a clear -.392* -.404* and shared vision Individual roles and responsibilities are -.363* -.600** -.470** -.559** -.371* -.391* clear I talk to my team to understand nuances -.377* -.394* -.430* in their culture I am aware of the strengths and -.494** -.369* weaknesses of my co-workers Team members hold each other accountable for -.376* delivery on commitments Team meetings lead to clear action plans and deliverables for -.574** work between meetings The team ensures all team members clearly understand -.377* the team’s goals, plans and progress The team uses technology (e.g. Google Hangouts, .365* .433* Slack, Microsoft Teams) to share and develop ideas *** - significant at the 1% level * - significant at the 5% level.
Non-Virtual Team Responses
Respondents who did not consider themselves to be part of a virtual team had different responses to their perspectives on working in teams.
Expressed Wanted Expressed Wanted
Influence Influence Connection Connection I am aware of the strengths and -.261* weaknesses of my co-workers I adapt how I do things to the -.296* .287* culture of my co-workers The team spends time together developing relationships during .323* .278* meetings The team uses technology (e.g. Google Hangouts, Slack, .333* Microsoft Teams) to share and develop ideas The team ensures all team members clearly understand .347** the team’s goals, plans and progress The team has a clear and .270* shared vision Cultural differences are .269* respected in my team Our team is supported by the .272* organisation ** - significant at the 1% level * - significant at the 5% level.
Independent sample t-tests showed those in virtual teams had higher Expressed Involvement scores (Mean=20.12, SD=4.92) compared to those working in non-virtual teams (Mean=17.92, SD=5.05) t(101)=2.24, p<0.026. There were no other significant differences between respondents working in virtual/non-virtual teams.
Discussion: This study shows correlations between attitudes to working in virtual and non-virtual teams and the FIRO need areas. These results indicate that respondents working in virtual and non- virtual teams have different perceptions.
In virtual teams, Wanted Involvement and Influence were negatively correlated with the items around clarity of vision. In non-virtual teams, it was positively correlated with Expressed Connection. These differences may indicate that relationships with team members enable a team vision to become clearer.
In virtual teams, people with higher interpersonal needs perceived there to be less role clarity. There was a negative correlation between role clarity and Expressed and Wanted Involvement, Influence and Connection. These correlations were not reflected in non-virtual teams. Instead, respondents with higher Connection scores reported that they understood their team’s goals and plans.
With the exception of Expressed Involvement, the t-tests showed that there were no significant differences in personality between respondents working in virtual/non-virtual teams. Those working in virtual teams had higher Expressed Involvement scores compared to those working in non-virtual teams. This could be because those working in virtual teams initiate relationships with greater frequency compared to those in non-virtual teams.
These results have implications for practitioners working with teams. They may wish to tailor their interventions to suit the team’s interpersonal style and optimise the impact of their work.
This presentation will explore these results in more depth, including the thematic analysis of the qualitative items. There will be time for questions with interactive components to the session.
References
Bergiel, B. J., Bergiel, E. B. and Blasmeier, P. W. (2008). Nature of virtual teams: A summary of their advantages and disadvantages, Management Research News, 31, p99-110. Ford, R, C., Piccolo, R. F. and Ford, L. R. (2017). Strategies for building effective virtual teams: Trust is key, Business Horizons, 60, p25-34.
He, F., Paul, S. and Dennis, A. R. (2018). Group atmosphere, shared understanding, and team conflict in short duration virtual teams, Proceedings of the 1st Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences.
Jimenez, A., Boehe, D. M., Taras, V. and Caprar, D. V. (2017). Working across boundaries: Current and future perspectives on global virtual teams, Journal of International Management, Volume 23, p341-349.
Kozlowski, S., Kirkman, B., Gibson, C., and Kim, K. (2012). Across Borders and Technologies: Advancements in Virtual Teams Research. In The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Psychology, Volume 2: Oxford University Press.
Lukić and Vračar (2018) Building and nurturing trust among members in virtual project teams, Strategic Management, 23, p10-16.
Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A. and Rosen, B. (2007). Leading virtual teams, Academy of Management Perspectives, 21, p60-70.
Piccoli, G., Ahmad, R. and Ives, B. (2004). Web based virtual learning environment: a research framework and preliminary assessment of effectiveness in basic it skills training, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25, p401-426.
Pinjani, P. and Palvia, P. (2013). Trust and knowledge sharing in diverse global virtual teams, Information & Management, 50, p144-153.
Schutz, W. C. (1958). FIRO: A three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior. Oxford, England: Rinehart.
Ref: 3983 Invited Speaker Topic: Well-being and Work The Psychology of Health and Wellbeing at Work Working Group – ‘A Guide for Practitioners’
Karen Royle, The Psychology of Health and Wellbeing at Work Working Group
The Psychology of Health and Wellbeing at Work Working Group have prepared “A Guide for Practitioners” to provide guidance on good practice to occupational psychologists on how to develop and deliver comprehensive workplace health and wellbeing programmes. The guide will be published in both hard copy and online by the DOP in the Autumn of 2019. We would like to launch this with a small drinks reception at the next DOP conference. We would need a space to hold up to 50 people on the 1st or 2nd day at the conference at 7.00pm. This guide will be useful for all professionals working in health and wellbeing and have ambitions for it to become the industry standard. We also plan a guide for service users to be launched sometime in 2020.
Ref: 3790 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Alternative perspectives in work and organisational psychology research Zoe Sanderson, University of Bristol
The President of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) recently reflected on the need for us to reinvent ourselves as a discipline to meet the challenges and opportunities of the changing times (Anseel, 2019). More specifically, concerns exist about the relevance and value of research in work and organisational psychology (WOP) in its present forms (e.g. cRRBM, 2017) and whether we are sufficiently reflexive about the questions we ask and the likely outcomes of the knowledge we create (Islam & Zyphur, 2006). Our research has also been criticised for exhibiting tendencies towards neoliberalism (Bal & Dóci, 2018) and managerialism (Prilleltensky, 1994), suggesting that it may perpetuate potentially damaging or unjust social structures and ideologies. If the nature of the knowledge in our field shapes possibilities for practice, the challenge we face is not only how to ‘practice our science’ better, but whether the ‘science’ itself is as good as it could - or should - be.
In this session I expect to explore two main questions: how might our current ways of research in work and organisational psychology be limiting our practice; and what alternative ways of research exist that could extend the possibilities of practice in our field?
Current ways of researching in WOP: For many of us who undertake work and organizational psychology research, the norms of our discipline are like wallpaper that we hardly notice, having gained an appearance of naturalness in our discourses and practices. We tacitly understand that we should frame and conduct our research in certain ways to be viewed as legitimate within the mainstream. This may involve selecting research topics that are preferable to organizational power- holders or journal editors, drawing on narrowly-defined psychological theories to the exclusion of other disciplines, or aspiring to an elusive standard of scientific objectivity in the work we do.
In this session, I hope to show how these tacit norms reflect dominant modes of epistemology, ontology, ideology, and methodology in WOP. These are not inevitable, but merely products of how our field has been constructed over time. The dominance of these modes limits the range, depth, and relevance of our research, with direct implications for practice. They also do not foreground the central importance of the personal/work values of researchers in designing, enacting, and communicating research. This perpetuates the myth of scientific objectivity and prevents researchers from reflexively making research choices that pursue their best values at work. I argue that diversifying how we research will enhance our practice, thus improving the cumulative effect of our field on the wider world.
Alternative ways of researching in WOP: The history of WOP contains many examples of intellectual work that critiques the abovementioned general patterns and demonstrates or proposes alternatives (e.g. Cullinane & Dundon, 2006; Gillespie, 1991; Holloway, 1991; Prilleltensky & Stead, 2013). These tell a different story about who we have been as WOP researchers, opening up possibilities for imagining how we might research in new, and hopefully better, ways in the future. ‘Critical’ or ‘alternative’ perspectives – which are many and varied – enrich our field, inviting us to reflect upon our own beliefs and practices, grappling with fundamental questions about the nature of what and how we research. I will give an overview of this body of work, describe the rising interest in these perspectives among researchers across Europe, and offer examples that illustrate the new possibilities for thought, research, and practice they represent.
In particular, I suggest that the traditional research-practice pipeline is a limited and limiting mode of knowledge production. This has often (unintentionally) perpetuated the valuing of academic above practitioner knowledge and experience. I expect to argue for the potential of participatory research practices in co-producing knowledge between practitioners, academics, and participants that is more relevant to organisational life and potentially rich in psychological insights.
How does this topic relate to the conference theme?: Fundamentally, knowledge-production shapes practice in an evidence-based field. More diverse modes of research put more ‘tools in the toolbox’ for practitioners to select from in addressing the unique organisational challenges and contexts we face. There is also an ethical imperative to reflect upon the research paradigms we use. To create socially positive impacts as WOP practitioners, we must recognise that research is not values-free and ideologically neutral. When we research, we take sides in debates, frame ideas, privilege certain epistemologies and kinds of data, and benefit or disadvantage groups of people. Consequently, it is ethically important for us to think critically about our research base and explore alternatives that may create more desirable outcomes when applied in practice.
Other information
There is almost no established critical tradition within our field, unlike in other aspects of psychology and most social sciences (notably including critical management studies), so these ideas are likely to be novel to many DOP delegates. There seems to be a growing appetite for new ways of thinking. This is demonstrated by the popularity of the Future of Work and Organizational Psychology movement (www.futureofwop.com), which overtly promotes the value of critical research alongside efforts to make WOP research more equal, healthy, and relevant. The recently-published Manifesto on the Future of Work and Organizational Psychology (Bal et al., 2019), which also promotes critical ideas, has been viewed almost 5000 times in the three months since its publication and attracted coverage on social media and in the national press. Consequently, it seems likely that this session will be of interest to the many delegates who use WOP research output (such as practitioners and policy-makers), those who produce it, and potentially also sector-specific media outlets.
I do not envisage a critical-uncritical binary developing in future WOP research, but instead argue that all research can become more reflexive, critical, and relevant if the researcher wishes it. Therefore, I position this session as an invitation to explore new ideas, aiming both to challenge and inspire. To this end, I can distribute copies of a checklist designed by WOP researchers to help make research projects more reflexive from conceptualisation through to dissemination, as well as paper copies of the aforementioned Manifesto, further reading lists, and electronic copies of the presentation slides on request.
This topic has clear relevance to the Research Design stream of the conference. The standard presentation format is particularly appropriate for this topic for two reasons. Firstly, I am offering a set of ideas that will be unfamiliar to most participants, so they require definition and elaboration, which is best done through an oral presentation. Secondly, I suspect that delegates will find these ideas provocative and want to respond. Delegates may disagree with my critical stance, arguing that the dominant modes of knowledge production have developed for good reason, or that change is improbable or impossible. I will allow time for these questions, discussion, and (hopefully lively) debate at the end of the presentation.
References
Anseel, F. (2019). Reinventing ourselves. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28, 287–288. Bal, P. M., & Dóci, E. (2018). Neoliberal ideology in work and organizational psychology. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1–13.
Bal, P. M., Dóci, E., Lub, X., Rossenberg, Y. G. T. V., Nijs, S., Achnak, S., … Zelst, M. V. (2019). Manifesto for the future of work and organizational psychology. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28, 289–299. cRRBM. (2017). A vision of responsible research in business and management: Striving for useful and credible knowledge. White paper downloaded from. Retrieved from https://rrbm.network/
Cullinane, N., & Dundon, T. (2006). The psychological contract: A critical review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8, 113–129.
Gillespie, R. (1991). Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Holloway, W. (1991). Work Psychology and Organizational Behaviour: Managing the Individual at Work. London: SAGE.
Islam, G., & Zyphur, M. (2006). Concepts and Directions in Critical Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In Critical Psychology: An Introduction (2nd ed., p. 17).
Prilleltensky, I. (1994). The morals and politics of psychology: Psychological discourse and the status quo. Albany, NY, US: State University of New York Press.
Prilleltensky, I., & Stead, G. B. (2013). Critical Psychology, Well-Being, and. The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Working, 19.
Ref: 3814 Discussion Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications What’s the future of work and organisational psychology? Zoe Sanderson1, Matthijs Bal2 1University of Bristol, 2University of Lincoln Future of Work and Organisational Psychology (FOWOP) is a grassroots movement involving more than 200 people across Europe who are envisaging and creating a better future for our field. We operate in an inclusive, non-hierarchical, and collaborative way, focussing on achieving positive outputs and outcomes that we jointly prioritise. In this session, we will introduce delegates to FOWOP, outline our story so far (as detailed below) and invite people to join us in co-creating change.
FOWOP was born at a meeting in The Netherlands in 2018 in which fifty work and organisational psychology academics gathered to discuss questions of relevance, methodology, researcher welfare, paradigms and other aspects of how we conduct research. These participants jointly agreed four priorities for ongoing work:
• Promoting equality in academia
Despite women being present in large numbers present at undergraduate, PhD, and starting faculty levels, higher up the academic ladder the gender ratio changes. Women tend to be promoted, funded, and published less than their male counterparts, potentially due to implicit bias throughout academia (Gvozdanović & Maes, 2018). Ethnic minority academics also continue to be under- represented, and disadvantages are often intersectional (Bhopal, 2015). Early career academics are especially vulnerable given their frequently precarious positions.
• Promoting substantive-methodological synergies in research
There is an increasing level of disconnection between theoretical and new methodological developments. Substantive-methodological synergies occur when studies are examining substantively and practically interesting and relevant issues, using state-of-the art methodological and statistical tools. We need to reassess our methodologies in terms of which ones show potential for answering the relevant and urgent research questions in our field.
• Promoting critical perspectives in research
Unlike many neighbouring disciplines, there is no established critical tradition in work and organisational psychology. Critical approaches, which are many and varied, invite us to consider the fundamental questions of how and why we do – and should - conduct research. They prompt us to consider questions of power, inequality, and ideology in organisational contexts, and how the process and outcomes of knowledge creation might interplay with these dynamics.
• Promoting health in academia
The high rates of mental illness among PhD students (Evans, Bira, Gastelum, Weiss, & Vanderford, 2018) and academic staff (Kinman & Wray, 2013) point to the need for extensive changes to working conditions and cultures. Work and organisational psychologists, who specialise in creating knowledge and advising organisations about what makes psychologically healthy working environments, should be leading by example.
A group of FOWOP members is focussing on each of these issues. We are undertaking a range of actions, such as developing events on substantial-methodological synergies, networks to promote collaboration in critical research, and designing freely available workshop templates on equality issues in academia.
These priorities are focussed on research rather than practice, which reflects the fact that FOWOP participants so far have primarily been academic researchers. We recognise this as a shortcoming and we’re in the process of forming an area of work on the future of practice in our field, led by practitioners and practitioner-academics. We hope to develop this more at the DOP conference, which tends to have a much larger proportion of practitioners among the delegates than EAWOP.
In the last year we have also focussed on delivering two over-arching goals: The Manifesto and the FOWOP day at EAWOP 2020. In March 2019 we published a Manifesto on the Future of Work and Organizational Psychology [i]. This sets out our vision for a sustainable future for our field in the form of ten recommendations that can be adapted to local contexts. In the three months since its publication, the Manifesto has been viewed around 5000 times, almost 200 people have co-signed it[ii], and it has attracted national media coverage[iii]. In May 2020 we ran a pre-conference day at the EAWOP conference in Turin. At this event around 70 delegates grappled with creating priorities and plans for action in each of the four areas mentioned above. This was reported on for The Psychologist magazine[iv] and the discussions and action plans are being summarised in a series of blog posts that are being released on our website[v].
How does this proposal link with the main conference theme?
We are proposing that how we create and practice ‘science’ in our field needs to change, and that we can collectively work towards some of those changes. This connects well to the theme of ‘the practice of science’. This session will make delegates aware of how this network has been developing in Europe, and potentially inspire them to collaborate for change in their own UK contexts.
Why is the submission appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
This submission is relevant to all the topic streams at the conference, but particularly pertinent to the research stream since we have so far focussed on the conditions and mechanisms in which our knowledge is made.
Why will DOP conference delegates find this session stimulating and useful? Why is it novel?
Our experience is that many of us want to see change in our field, but we are hindered by the off- putting reality that this is hard to achieve alone. FOWOP provides the means of developing a collective sense of agency. We work together to move towards the future we want. Those of us who have connected to this network have generally found it empowering, important, and enjoyable. We hope that DOP delegates may feel likewise, given the opportunity.
In 2021, the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) conference will be held in Glasgow. FOWOP has developed under the auspices of EAWOP, which has provided funding for two events. We recognise the importance of the DOP 2020 conference in preparing the BPS membership for EAWOP 2021. Becoming more aware of EAWOP-related developments that do not presently have a large profile in this country, such as ours, in advance of hosting the EAWOP conference will enable the DOP membership to maximise the benefit of this rare opportunity to develop thinking, practice, and networks in UK work and organisational psychology.
What might the public or media find interesting about your session?
There are increasing concerns about the relevance and usefulness of academic research generally which also apply to our field (cRRBM, 2017). There is also widespread discussion of the problems of mental illness and inequality in academia in the sector-specific and national press. As indicated by the abovementioned Times Higher Education article, sector-specific media outlets may be interested in the story of how academics are self-organising to address some of these issues from within the system.
What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees?
We can distribute paper copies of the aforementioned Manifesto, information about FOWOP, and provide electronic copies of the slides to delegates on request. We can also provide information about FOWOP to go in the general delegate packs
Footnotes
[i] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1359432X.2019.1602041
[ii] https://www.futureofwop.com/manifesto
[iii] https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/together-we-can-make-academia-environment- where-we-thrive
[iv] https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/working-greater-good
[v] https://www.futureofwop.com/blog-1
References Bhopal, K. (2015). The Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Academics: A comparative study of the unequal academy. Routledge. cRRBM. (2017). A vision of responsible research in business and management: Striving for useful and credible knowledge. White paper downloaded from. Retrieved from https://rrbm.network/
Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T., & Vanderford, N. L. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature Biotechnology, 36, 282–284.
Gvozdanović, J., & Maes, K. (2018). Implicit bias in academia. Belgium: LERU.
Kinman, G., & Wray, S. (2013). A SURVEY OF STRESS AND WELL-BEING AMONG STAFF IN HIGHER EDUCATION (p. 52). UCU.
Ref: 3949 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work Going global: Transporting a Situational Judgement Test Across Cultures Ali Shalfrooshan, Philippa Riley, Laura Cross, Mary Mescal PSI Services Introduction: The benefits of situational judgement tests (SJTs) as an alternative to ‘traditional’ cognitive ability tests have been recognised for some time. Specifically, by including a greater richness in terms of context through increased narrative and a closer alignment to role requirements, it is argued that SJTs provide candidates with a more realistic, immersive and engaging experience.
With the growth in popularity of SJTs, combined with the clear efficiencies and consistency associated with the use of standardised assessments across global organisations (Caligiuri and Paul, 2017; TalentQ/Korn Ferry, 2015), there is an outstanding question regarding the extent to which SJTs can be transported across cultures. This question is key to the evolution of SJTs as an assessment method: whilst context has its benefits, it also potentially limits the ability to utilise the same SJTs globally (Ployhart and Weekley, 2006; Lievens, 2005). This is an important question for practitioners, who need to understand when, and how, SJTs can be applied across cultures.
In assessing the extent to which SJTs can be used cross-culturally, Lievens et al (2015) identified three elements to consider:
1) Item content – how realistic are situations and responses across cultures?
2) Scoring keys – how comparable are scoring keys and identified best/worst actions across cultures?
3) Item-construct linkages – to what extent do the links between items and constructs carry across, and how does this impact validity?
One of the most comprehensive studies to date, undertaken by Lievens et al (2015), examined the extent to which a US-based SJT was applicable in Spain. The study concluded that the messages regarding transportability of content were generally positive, but also that there were limitations to the research: the fact that the tool was measuring integrity (which could be argued to have greater cross-cultural consistency than other constructs), that the US and Spain were culturally closer than other comparisons, and that the study was only limited to a particular mode of scoring. Another study looking at the transportability of SJTs from the US to China found that 70% of the scoring keys were equivalent, with differences explainable in terms of known/expected cultural differences (Li and Palermo, 2017). Therefore, despite this research there are still some remaining questions regarding how effective and transportable an SJT can be?
The Current Study: In order to add to the literature on the cultural transportability of SJTs, the current study aims to establish the extent to which a management situational judgement test applies across cultures. Specifically, the study will focus on the transportability of the first two of the three elements detailed by Lievens: the content and the scoring keys.
The consideration of a management SJT is of particular interest in relation to cross cultural transportability, given that there is a substantial literature on management and leadership styles and how these differ across cultures (eg Javidan et al, 2006). Based on this, it would be reasonable to hypothesise that an SJT measuring management behaviours may not be as transportable as other SJTs which measure characteristics that are arguably more consistent across cultures (such as the integrity SJT described by Lievens et al).
The specific questions to be addressed in the study are:
1) Content Relevance: To what extent is test content, originally developed for UK use, culturally transportable cross four different regions: Turkey, Brazil, China and the countries within the Gulf Co- operation Council (GCC - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates)?
2) Scoring Key Comparability: To what extent do the scoring keys differ across these countries?
3) Link to Culture Research: How do the findings above align with hypotheses around where cultural differences might be expected, based on pre-existing research and frameworks (eg Hofstede, 2011).
Method: The SJT used in this study was a ready-to-use management level assessment designed initially for use in the UK. The tool was based around five competencies, identified through job analysis, and scenarios generated through job analysis across a range of organisations and industry sectors. The questionnaire is in the process of being localised for use in Turkey, Brazil, China and the GCC.
The first stage of the localisation process was a review of the test content (item stems and responses) by two psychologists in the target culture. The psychologists reviewed the test content in line with the competencies around which the scenarios were based. They identified areas where the scenario did not transport effectively and the amendments required to address these issues. The tests were then translated into the target languages (Turkish, Brazilian-Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Modern Standard Arabic). The translation process involved an initial translation, back translation to UK English and amendments following this.
The next stage was the Subject Matter Expert (SME) trial to create the scoring key, which will be undertaken uniquely for each region. This stage is currently in progress. The scoring keys will be created using the consensus weighting approach. This approach uses the responses of circa 25-50 SMEs, who are asked to indicate the appropriate rating for each of the given actions. The scoring keys represent ‘what good looks like’ for each of the cultures. Therefore, the comparability of these scoring keys is a useful metric for determining the extent of cross cultural differences in expectation around the scenarios.
Data Analysis and Results: The results to date from the study are shown below. Additional data and analysis will be provided when the paper is presented.
1) Content Relevance The total number of scenarios that were altered, by country/language is shown in table 1 below:
The vast majority of the altered scenarios were amended due to updating the names of people featured in the scenario in line with the target culture. Other amendments included changing reference to a poorly written report to an inaccurate one (Arabic) and changing reference to working from home to working at another location (Chinese).
2) Scoring Key Comparability:
The scoring key trials are in progress. Once the data has been collected, analysis will be undertaken to determine: a) The extent of agreement between Subject Matter Experts across cultures, and practical implications for scoring. b) The comparability of the rankings of actions within scenarios, based on the average ratings received (to determine, even where there are differences in the scoring key, whether the profile of the actions remains the same in terms of effectiveness across cultures).
3) Link to Culture Research
In addition to the above, the study will detail how the findings from 1) and 2) align to independent hypotheses based on pre-existing research regarding cultural differences generally, and specific differences in relation to managerial styles across cultures.
Discussion and Conclusions: In the discussion, we will report on the contribution made by the current study to the question of the extent to which SJTs can be transported across cultures. Specifically we will comment on the detail of the content differences and scoring key variation, with reference to what might have been expected from the research regarding culture and leadership styles.
In the discussion, if possible, specific guidance will be provided to practitioners regarding lessons learned from the study, and how this can inform future SJT development for global usage.
1. What are the main psychological theories, models and research underpinning your session?
Research relating to the use of SJTs in a global context (eg Ployhart and Weekley, 2006; Lievens et al, 2015), management across cultures (eg Javidan et al, 2006) and research and models relating to general cultural differences (eg Hofstede, 2011).
2. How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’? The submission relates to the evolution of SJTs as a form of assessment, specifically in relation to global usage across cultures. The research specifically address the use of science within a practical application.
3. Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
The submission relates to SJTs, an increasingly popular method of assessment.
4. What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
The submission aims to evaluate the cultural applicability of an SJT across multiple cultures. This is an area that does not have significant research.
5. Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
The paper should be of interest to the many delegates who are involved in designing SJTs for use in assessment and/or with management populations.
6. What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session?
Cross cultural differences in managerial styles may be a topic of interest to the public or media.
7. What materials, if any, do you intend to make available to conference attendees and what format will these take? (e.g., printed hand-outs, electronic copies of slides)
Print out of the slides will be available.
References:
Caligiuri, P. and Paul, K.B. (2017) Selection in Multinational Organisations in Farr, J.L. and Tippins, N.T. Handbook of Employee Selection (2nd Edition), Routledge
Hofstede, G. (2011) Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1)
Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W., de Luque, M.S. and House, R.J. (2006) In the Eye of the Beholder: Cross Cultural Lessons in Leadership, Academy of Management Perspectives, vol. 20 no. 1 67-90
Li, T. and Palermo, G. (2017) Transporting situational judgement tests cross-culturally: a tale of two countries a paper presented at the Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Lievens, F. (2006) International Situational Judgement Tests in Weekley, J.A. and Ployhart, R.E. Situational Judgment Tests: Theory, Measurement and Application. SIOP
Lievens, F., Corstjens, J., Sorrel, M. A., Abad, F.J., Olea, J and Ponsoda, V. (2015) The Cross-cultural Transportability of Situational Judgment Tests: How does a US-based integrity situational judgment test fare in Spain? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23, 4
Ployhart, R.E. and Weekley, J.A. (2006) Situational judgement tests: A research synthesis and directions for future research. In J.A. Weekley and R.E. Ployhart (Eds.), Situational Judgment Tests: Theory, Measurement and Application. SIOP
TalentQ/Korn Ferry (2015) Global assessment: Achieving scale and managing risk. White paper available via https://www.talentqgroup.com/resource-library/global-assessment-achieving-scale- and-managing-risk/ Ref: 3812 Standard Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Do we know when we should take a break? Effect of fixed and discretionary break on creative thinking Ut Na Sio1, Lok Yuen Chan2 1University of Sheffield, 2Education University of Hong Kong Creative thinking—the ability to generate novel and feasible ideas—is an essential aspect of fast- evolving economic activity. Unfortunately, thinking creatively is difficult. Individuals, even specialists in their own field, often perform sub-optimally when solving problems that require creative thinking (Linsey et al., 2010; Wiley, 1998). Finding ways to facilitate creativity has been a key research question in many domains, such as cognition, management science, and engineering design.
Contradicting the common belief that interruption causes productivity loss, many empirical studies have reported that putting the creative problem aside for a while and work on other unrelated tasks—an incubation period (Wallas, 1926)—can facilitate creative problem-solving performance. A meta-analysis of incubation studies identified a positive incubation effect on a wide range of creative problem-solving tasks (Sio & Ormerod, 2009). The meta-analysis also suggested that incubation helps overcoming fixation on existing (but inappropriate) solutions incubation and that incubation is most helpful when individuals are fixated. Accordingly, incubation should be scheduled based on individual’s problem-solving progress, e.g., level of fixation. However, most of the past incubation studies had the timing of incubation fixed across individuals. Such incubation schedule may not be optimal for every individual.
One possible way to determine the optimal incubation schedule that allows the benefit of incubation to be maximised is to ask individuals to decide when to put the problem aside, assuming that individuals have good knowledge about their problem-solving progress. To examine this possibility, this compared the effects of fixed incubation and discretionary incubation on creative problem solving performance.
Method
Participants: One hundred and forty participants (81 females, 59 males, age: M = 28.20, SD = 8.19) were recruited via email invitation and social media posting. All participants resided in Hong Kong and they took part on this experiment on a volunteer basis.
Tasks: Two divergent thinking tasks—the alternative uses task (brick task: list all the uses of a brick) and the category-exemplar generation task (cold task: list out all the cold things)—were used as the creative problem-solving tasks in this study. Mental rotation tasks and numeric tasks were used as incubation tasks. The mental rotation tasks required participants to judge whether a pair of objects were identical or not. The numeric tasks required participants to find out the value of n in a set of sequences (e.g., 1, 3, n, 7).
Procedure: Participants were randomly assigned to solve the two divergent thinking tasks in one of the three conditions: no-incubation, fixed-incubation, and discretionary-incubation. Participants in all conditions were given 6 minutes for each divergent thinking task. In the no-incubation condition, participants worked on one divergent thinking task for the full presentation time (6 minutes) before proceeding to the second one. In the fixed-incubation condition, participants were interrupted midway through the divergent thinking task and asked to solve incubation tasks for two minutes. In the discretionary-incubation condition, participants had to temporarily put the divergent thinking task aside and solve the incubation tasks for two minutes at their discretion. Within each condition, the order of the presentation of the divergent thinking tasks were counterbalanced. The experiment was delivered online via qualtrics.
Results: To assess how fixed and discretionary incubation schedules impact divergent thinking task performance, we compared the quantity, variety, and novelty of ideas between the fixed-incubation, discretionary-incubation, and no-incubation groups.
Coding: One researcher counted the number of non-repeated ideas for each task and categorised them into different categories. The researcher employed categories used by Müller et al. (2016) for the brick task and categories used by Sio et al. (2017) for the cold task. A novelty score for each idea was computed as: 1 – (number of participants generated that specific idea/the total number of participants). The more novel the idea, the higher the novelty score. Similar evaluation methods have been used in previous studies (Sio et al., 2017; Smith et al., 2015). Mixed 2 (Task: Brick vs. Cold) x 3 (Condition: no-incubation, fixed-incubation, and discretionary-incubation) ANOVAs on the number of ideas, the number of categories of ideas, and the mean novelty score of ideas were conducted.
Number of ideas. There was a significant main effect of task F(1, 137) = 177.42, p < .001, that participants generated more ideas for the cold task (M = 15.69, SD = 8.30) than for the brick task (M = 8.64, SD = 4.96). All other effects were not significant, all p >.40, implying that the three groups generated a similar number of ideas.
Number of categories of ideas. The main effect of task was significant, F(1, 137) = 148.54, p < .001. Participants generated a larger number of categories for the cold task (M = 8.62, SD = 3.70) than for the brick task (M = 5.37, SD = 2.51). All other effects were not significant, all p >.52. This implies that neither the fixed or discretionary incubation period significantly impacted the variety of ideas generated.
Novelty of idea. There was a main effect of task, F(1, 137) = 6.94, p = .009, that ideas for the cold task had a higher novelty score (M = .65 , SD = .11 ) than ideas for the brick task (M = .63, SD = .12). Critically, the main effect of condition was significant, F(2, 137) = 3.34, p = .038. Tukey’s post hoc comparisons revealed that the ideas of the discretionary-incubation group (M = .62, SD = .09) was less novel than of the no-incubation group (M = .67, SD = .09), p = .025. No significant difference was found between the fixed-incubation (M = .64, SD = .10) and no-incubation groups, p = .26
Discussion: This study compared the effect of fixed and discretionary incubation schedules on divergent thinking task performance. The results indicated that ideas generated by the discretionary- incubation group were less novel than those generated by the no-incubation group. A similar negative effect of incubation was not found for the fixed-incubation group, implying that the negative incubation effect may due to the timing rather than the nature of incubation.
Past studies have shown that individuals were insensitive to their problem-solving progress (Linsey et al., 2010). Individuals also tend to continue an endeavour once an investment in effort has been made (Viswanathan & Linsey, 2013). Thus, individuals may be reluctant to put the problem aside even when necessary. This may explain why participants in the discretionary-incubation group were not able to schedule incubation effectively
Unlike previous studies, the fixed-incubation group in our study did not outperform the no- incubation group. Such discrepancy may be related to the heterogeneity of our sample. Compared to undergraduate participant pool used in previous incubation studies, our sample were more diverse in terms of age and therefore more diverse in terms of their problem-solving abilities. Given that the benefit of incubation depends on individuals’ problem-solving progress, the fixed-incubation schedule is unlikely to be beneficial to all our participants. This may explain the non-significant incubation effect for the fixed-incubation group.
It should be note that creative problem solving include both idea generation and idea implementation (West, 1990). The three measures we examined do not reflect idea quality, which can influence idea implementation. To have a more complete picture of the effect of fixed and discretionary incubation schedules on creative problem solving, further analyses will be conducted to compare the quality of ideas between the three conditions. In sum, the findings of this study highlight the limitations of fixed and discretionary incubation schedules. Further studies should identify alternative ways to accurately estimate the problem-solving progress, e.g., using computers to track problem-solving progress.
References
Linsey, J. S., Tseng, I., Fu, K., Cagan, J., Wood, K. L., & Schunn, C. (2010). A study of design fixation, its mitigation and perception in engineering design faculty. Journal of Mechanical Design, 132(4), 041003.
Müller, B. C. N., Gerasimova, A. & Ritter, S. M. (2016). Concentrative meditation influences
creativity by increasing cognitive flexibility. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 10(3), 278-286
Sio, U. N., Kotovsky, K. & Cagan, J. (2017). The Facilitating Role of Task Alternation on Group Idea Generation. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
Sio, U. N. & Ormerod, T. C. (2009). Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 94-120.
Smith, S. M., Gerkens, D.R., & Angello, G. (2015). Alternating incubation effects in the generation of category exemplars. Journal of Creative Behavior, 51(2), 95–106.
Wallas, G. (1926). The art of thought. London: Cape.
West, M. A. (1990). The social psychology of innovation in groups. In M. A. West & J. L. Farr (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work: Psychological and organizational strategies (pp. 309-333). Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons.
Wiley, J. (1998). Expertise as mental set: The effects of domain knowledge in creative problem solving. Memory & Cognition, 26, 716 –730.
Viswanathan, V. K., & Linsey, J. S. (2013). Role of Sunk Cost in Engineering Idea Generation: An Experimental Investigation. Journal of Mechanical Design, 135(12)
Ref: 3957 Impact Paper Topic: Well-being and Work The relationship between perceived abusive supervision and employee mental health Joel Slater, Caroline Kamau Department of Organizational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Introduction: Abusive supervisors are defined in the literature as leaders who are aggressive, undermining, scape-goating, publicly critical or belittling of employees (Tepper, 2007; Tepper, Duffy, Hoobler & Ensley, 2004). Abusive supervision literature focuses at length on the negative impact it can have on employee wellbeing (Spector & Goh, 2001; Whitman et al., 2014) but not specifically on the impact on employees’ mental health. Research is needed to shed light on the role of mediating factors such as employees’ levels of anxiety, aggressive beliefs and burnout, because these specific components of mental and occupational health might determine the impact of abusive supervisors on employees. We applied occupational stress process theory (Spector & Goh, 2001), which suggests that employee wellbeing (e.g. stress) is associated with their mental health. In contrast to other job stress and strain models (Pyc et al., 2016) where negative emotions are the outcome, occupational stress process theory places negative emotions in a central role. The theory suggests that they mediate the effect of stressors on outcomes such as employee mental health. Spector and Goh suggested that negative emotions result from an individual’s perception of an event, such as a situation interpreted as threatening. These emotions depend on the situational context but may include anger at an injustice, anxiety at a perceived threat to wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion (a type of burnout). Drawing from this and recent studies about abusive supervision (Lopes, Kamau and Jaspal, 2019), we hypothesised that employees’ aggressive attitudes or beliefs, anxiety and burnout mediate the effect of an abusive supervisor on the mental health of employees. This is because, in occupational stress process theory, negative emotional responses to a stressful situation for an employee (in this case an abusive supervisor) can become both a cause and an effect of the stressor (Spector & Goh, 2001). Therefore, expanding on previous research and utilising Spector and Goh’s emotion centred theory of occupational stress, this study aims to investigate whether abusive supervision in the workplace reduces employee’s mental health and whether this relationship is mediated by employees’ aggressive beliefs/attitudes, general anxiety and emotional exhaustion
Method
Participants/design: This was a cross-sectional study for multiple mediation analysis. Participants were selected based on the criteria that they were employed, over 18 years old and worked under the supervision of a manager, but otherwise were selected using convenience sampling. 112 participants were recruited via email with a link to an online questionnaire. The age ranges of participants were between 18-65+, with a mode age range of 25-34, at 34.8%. Length of career ranged from 0-30+ years, with 14.4% of participants having worked at the maximum 30+ category and 19.6% at the mode career length 5-9 years. Participants were employed in a variety of sectors, which were combined into 15 main sector categories such as ‘IT’, ‘legal’ and ‘education’, as well as a 16th category ‘other’, for either outlier jobs or where responses were missing. All data from participants was stored anonymously and safely and coded into numerical entries to protect privacy. Participants were informed of their right to withdraw their data from the study and the required steps to do so.
Measures: As well as sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, employment status, occupation and employment sector the questionnaires included:
• The Abusive Supervision Scale (Tepper, 2000) a 15 item scale with items such as “My supervisor ridicules me” and “Breaks promises he/she makes”.
• The Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 scale was selected as it is validated in testing for the general population (Lowe et al., 2008). The participants were asked to report the frequency of e.g. “Becoming easily annoyed or irritable”. • The Aggressive Attitudes and Beliefs – Short form questionnaire (Michel, Hartman & Gitter, 2015). Participants were presented with 8 statements such as “Some people are just bad people” and “If someone disrespects me, I feel the need to get even”.
• The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (Wu & Hu, 2009) with 8 items such as “I can tolerate the pressure of my work well” and “when I work, I usually feel energized”.
• The Mental Health Inventory (MHI-18; "Mental Health Inventory (MHI)", 2018) comprised of 4 subscales: anxiety, depression, behavioural control and positive affect and helps to measure overall emotional functioning with items such as “Have you been in firm control of your behaviour, thoughts, emotions, feelings?”
Procedure: Participants were emailed a secure link to an online questionnaire using Qualtrics. This was anonymous, and each participant coded. An information/briefing page at the beginning sought the participants consent, provided background information on the study and confidentiality alongside contact details for participants to learn more or withdraw their consent. Participants completed the survey and the data was then imported into SPSS for analysis and coding of scores. Participants were debriefed at the end of the study.
Results: The conference presentation will discuss the main results (multiple mediation analysis)
Correlations of Variables
Variable 1 2 3 4 5
1. Employee Mental Health
2. Abusive Supervision -0.22*
3. Aggressive Beliefs -0.11 0.23**
4. General Anxiety -0.7** 0.24** 0.12
5. Emotional Exhaustion -0.42** 0.21* 0.1 0.44** -
Note. N = 112. *p<.05, **p<.01.
There was a significant negative correlation between abusive supervision and employee mental health, (r = -.22, p = .012). Therefore, Hypothesis 1, that there would be a negative correlation between abusive supervision and employee mental health, was accepted.
The data was checked to examine whether it met the assumptions of regression. The sample size of 112 participants met and exceeded the minimum required size of 63, for the examination of mediation between 5 variables and an effect size of .15 and .8 power calculated using G*Power (Faul, Erdfelder, Buchner & Lang, 2008). An analysis of standard residuals was carried out on the data set to identify any potential outliers. The Std. Residual Max was 1.98, below the recommended 3.29. The Std. Residual Min was below the recommended -3.29 at -3.68, indicating some outliers in the data. However, given the nature of the scales used, there was a low likelihood of producing data with true outliers. Therefore, the outlier scores were not removed.
Tests to meet the assumption of collinearity in the data indicated that multicollinearity was not a concern. The VIF of all variables ranged between 1.06 – 1.28, and the Tolerance between .89 and .94, with the recommended values less than ten and above 0.1 respectively. The Durbin-Watson value was 2.25, indicating that the data met the assumption of independent errors. The histogram of standard residuals displayed normally distributed errors, as did the P-P plot of standard residuals with most data points on or close to the line.
As all assumptions were met, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted using the enter method to investigate the predictive relationships between the independent variable abusive supervision, the mediating variables aggressive beliefs, general anxiety and emotional exhaustion, and the dependent variable, employee mental health.
Table 7
Multiple Regression Analysis Between Employee Mental Health and Variables
B SE β t p
Abusive Supervision -.04 .08 -0.03 -0.46 .65
Aggressive Beliefs -.01 .06 -0.01 -0.14 .891
General Anxiety -.77 .09 -0.64 -8.36 .000
Emotional Exhaustion -.19 .11 -0.13 -1.72 .088
Note. N = 112.
The analysis of variance reported (Table 7) that the model was significant F (4, 107) 28.06, p = 0.000, R² = 0.51, with 51.2% of the variance explained by the predictor variables. The regression analysis showed that abusive supervision did not significantly predict employee mental health, -.04, SE = .08, t = -.46, p = .650, nor did aggressive beliefs, -.01,
SE = .06, t = -.14, p = .891, or emotional exhaustion, -.19, SE = .11, t = -1.72, p = .088. However, general anxiety significantly predicted employee mental health, -.77, SE = .09, t = -8.36, p = .000.
To test hypotheses 2-7 a multiple mediation analysis was carried out using the PROCESS extension to SPSS using model 4 for mediation. Confidence intervals were bootstrapped to 5000 samples.
Figure 1. Indirect effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health.
The total effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health was significant (Figure 1), -.24 (SE = .1), p = .02, 95% CIs [-0.45, -0.03]. However, when controlling for each other the direct effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health was not significant, -.04 (SE = .08), p = .65, 95% CIs [- 0.19, -0.12].
Hypothesis 2 was accepted as there was a significant effect of abusive supervision on emotional exhaustion, .16 (SE = .07), p = .026, 95% CIs [0.02, 0.3]. Hypothesis 3 was accepted as there was a significant effect of abusive supervision on general anxiety, .22 (SE = .09), p = .011, 95% CIs [0.05, 0.39]. Hypothesis 4 was accepted as there was a significant effect of abusive supervision on aggressive beliefs, .32 (SE = .13), p = .015, 95% CIs [0.06, 0.57].
The indirect effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health, via emotional exhaustion was significant, -.03 (SE = .03) 95% CIs [-0.1, -0.005], therefore, Hypothesis 5, that emotional exhaustion would mediate the relationship between abusive supervision and employee mental health, was accepted. Hypothesis 6 was accepted as the indirect effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health, via general anxiety was significant, -.17 (SE = .06) 95% CIs [-0.3, -0.07]. Hypothesis 7 was accepted as the indirect effect of abusive supervision on employee mental health, via aggressive beliefs was significant, -.002 (SE = .02) 95% CIs [-0.05, -0.04].
Discussion: The results of the analysis reported that abusive supervision does have a negative effect on mental health, although this not a direct effect and other factors need to be taken into account to predict the outcome between abusive supervision and an employee’s mental health. The conference presentation will discuss the practical implications for occupational psychologist and HR practitioners:
1. The first implication is that occupational psychologists need to trouble-shoot not just general concepts (e.g. wellbeing) but also specific components of mental and occupational health such as generalised anxiety disorder symptoms and burnout.
2. The second implication is that HR practitioners need to offer managers training that helps them understand what behaviours fit the definition of abusive supervision and what impact it has on the mental health of employees.
3. The third implication is that organizations need to offer specialised mental health support for employees who work for managers whose behaviour has been identified as abusive.
Ref: 3870 Impact Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Mobile Technology for Well-being; Acceptability and Implementation Catherine Smith, Louise Thomson University of Nottingham Introduction: Mobile technology can offer many benefits as a delivery method for a range of interventions, particularly mental health and well-being interventions. They can be easy to access, anonymous, flexible and cost effective. Mobile applications can also be easy to create and distribute. It is therefore essential to ensure that applications which are used for mental health purposes are backed up by a clear scientific evidence base and thoroughly developed. It is also important that this development includes investigation into acceptability, usability and implementation to ensure that the effort which goes into developing such an application receives it’s intended benefits via consistent and widespread usage of the app. This project presents the development of such an application, with a focus on examining the acceptability and usability of mobile applications as a delivery method for mental health and well-being interventions. This is underpinned by the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1985). This model presents two factors which contribute towards the sustained usage of a new technology – perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. This model has been extensively validated in a range of contexts, but not in the use of technology for mental health. This project aims to validate the model in this context, and to use the theory to inform the development, usability testing and implementation of such an application.
Methods: This project uses a multi-method design in order to investigate technology acceptance, usability and implementation from both a quantitative and qualitative aspect. The first stage was a quantitative study which aimed to validate the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1985) in a mental health and well-being context, using a questionnaire analysed using structural equation modelling. This follows the method used to validate the original model, and subsequent extensions. This study aims to show the same relationships as in the Davis (1985) thesis. Following this, a prototype application was developed. This app uses positive re-framing techniques in order to build positive mental health and optimism, using a daily diary method. A systematic review was then carried out to investigate other similar applications, and to establish whether these studies investigated acceptability or usability, and which methods they used to do so. It was found that even when acceptability is investigated, it is as a secondary outcome measure, and usually measured with open interview questions. The next stage of the project was to investigate the usability and acceptability of the new application using more stringent methods. Usability was measured both quantitatively using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS; Stoyanov et al, 2015) and qualitatively using both focus groups and individual interview questions. This qualitative study aimed to also establish potential barriers to the usage of new mobile technology, in order to facilitate implementation.
Data analysis for this project is ongoing and so results are not currently available. It is hypothesised that the Technology Acceptance Model will be valid in a mental health context and that all relationships shown in the original validation will also be shown in this study. Thematic analysis has been carried out on the focus groups and several implementation themes have been established. These themes represent potential facilitator or barriers to implementation which should be considered in both the design process and implementation of mobile technology in the workplace. Further analysis is needed on the usability data, but it is expected to show that the prototype application is easy to use but needs improvements in terms of visual presentation and engagement.
Discussion: This presentation includes discussion on a range of wider issues relating to the development of new mobile technologies and their implementation. Firstly, some discussion is included on the current standard of reporting technology development, which often doesn’t follow rigorous guidelines. Some suggestions for guidelines are presented, and directions for future reporting in this area. In addition, this project also demonstrates a full development process, using scientific evidence and rigorous research at each stage to combine several methods including user involvement at several stages. In addition to the development, this project also investigates the implementation of new technologies and links to previous implementation literature are made, as well as factors identified by the focus groups. It is concluded that implementation should be considered throughout the development of the technology and the user involvement can have a highly positive impact on future usage and smooth implementation. Finally, future directions for both research and the usage of mobile technology in this area are discussed. The prototype application presented and tested for usability currently includes positive re-framing exercises but could easily be modified to deliver a variety of intervention. The implications of this, the possible contents and the future directions are discussed.
This proposal links with the conference them as it includes discussion on the need for scientific rigour and a clear evidence base when implementing new technology-based interventions. It is currently very easy to design and create a new application and so many that are available on the market lack this evidence base. This presentation also links the creation of new mobile technologies with existing evidence on implementation and with previous scientific theories not yet investigated in this area. It demonstrates the need for a clear scientific approach to technology development, and how this can translate into practice. It has been included in the Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications topic as it contains discussion regarding good practice for the development of technology and suggests future research directions. The discussion and conclusions can be applied more generally to technology implementation, in both a research and practical context.
This project presents a novel approach to technology, by examining the acceptance and implementation of mobile technology for mental health, using previous theories in a new context. This is one of the first studies to examine the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1985) in a mental health and well-being. In addition, this project uses a multi-method design to investigate technology acceptance, usability and implementation, which is often a secondary consideration in projects. This presentation will be of interest to anyone who is considering using mobile technology as a delivery method for a new intervention or activity – both conference delegates and the public. Both mental health and mobile technology are currently of strong interest to the media and given the movement towards more conversation about mental health, is also very important in the workplace – employees, employers, practitioners and academics alike can all be affected.
The presentation slides and a short summary of the project findings will be made available online after the conference.
Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., Kavanagh, D. J., Zelenko, O., Tjondronegoro, D., & Mani, M. (2015). Mobile app rating scale: a new tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3(1), e27.
Davis, F. D. (1985). A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: Theory and results (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Ref: 3666 Workshop Topic: Learning, Training and Development Qualification in Occupational Psychology (Stage 2) Co-ordinating Supervisor Training Gail Steptoe-warren, Arden University
In order to take on the role of Co-ordinating Supervisor and take part in this workshop, delegates will:
• be a Chartered Psychologist;
• be a Full Member of the Division of Occupational Psychology;
• be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as an occupational psychologist;
This workshop provides delegates with the relevant face to face training to become an approved coordinating supervisor for the 2019 route. The workshop will provide the delegate with details of the 2019 qualification route, how they can support candidates with the enrolment process, what we require coordinating supervisors as well as details of the assessment process. On completion of the face to face training delegates will be required to complete 2 modules, module 1 being an across discipline module on supervision with module 2 focusing solely on the qualification in occupational psychology – stage 2. On completion of the workshop and the 2 modules delegates will then be
• approved as a coordinating supervisor
• be entered on the Society’s Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors (RAPPS);
For delegates to maintain entry on RAPPS they will need attend the Qualifications Board’s refresher training at least once every two years.
Benefits of participating in the workshop
• Strengthens your knowledge as an occupational psychologist (through discussion with candidates of projects and approaches they have taken) • Keeps you up to date with developments in the academic and practitioner literature
• Develops your skills as a supervisor
• Enables you to develop the next generation of Occupational Psychologists
• Allows you to give back to and influence the future of the profession
• Meet and network with other supervisors at supervision training.
• Counts as CPD
Relevance to the conference
This workshop complements the theme of the conference as it applies to providing supervision to the next generation of Occupational Psychologists with an emphasis on adopting an evidence based practice and ethical approach to Occupational practice. The supervision workshop and associated modules is paramount in providing supervisors with the relevant knowledge and skills to provide good supervision as well as promote the importance of becoming a qualified practitioner.
Ref: 3676 Workshop Topic: Learning, Training and Development Becoming an Occupational Psychologist - Stage 2 (2019) route information session Gail Steptoe-warren, Arden University
In order to become a Trainee Occupational Psychologist, candidates will need
• A BPS accredited undergraduate degree that meets graduate basis for chartership
• A BPS accredited Master degree in Occupational Psychology
• A co-ordinating supervisor
• Sufficient workplace opportunities
• To finance the qualification
This session provides candidates with relevant information to enable them to make an informed decision about enrolment on the stage 2 qualification. The session will provide the candidate with details of the 2019 qualification route, the enrolment process and the assessment process. At the end of the session a question and answer forum will be run to allow for specific questions to be answered.
Relevance to the conference
This workshop complements the theme of the conference as it applies to providing training to the next generation of Occupational Psychologists.
Ref: 3833 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Developing self-compassion in healthcare professionals utilising a brief online intervention Amanda Super1, Rachel Lewis2, Joanna Yarker2, Lucie Zernerova3 1Amanda Super Consulting Ltd, 2Birkbeck, University of London, 3City, University of London Introduction: Organisations increasingly recognise the need to establish and maintain the health and wellbeing of their staff, as they have a moral and legal duty of care to actively look for and manage work-related stress in situ (Donaldson-Feilder et al., 2011). Finlay-Jones, Kane and Rees (2017) posit that there is a growing evidence base to suggest that self-compassion offers understanding of individual differences relating to stress management and has been found to provide a variety of positive outcomes including emotional intelligence (Heffernan et al., 2010) and resilience (Neff and McGehee, 2010).
Self-compassion is understood as, compassion directed inward, relating to oneself as the focus of care and consideration when faced with the experience of difficulty (Neff, 2003b). Self-Compassion has become increasingly recognised as important to health and wellbeing in non-clinical samples over the last fifteen years (see Zessin et al., 2015 for a review), with particular relevance to psychological health. In a meta-analysis, Macbeth & Gumley (2012) found that self-compassion is a robust predictor of outcomes related to stress and that burnout can also be mediated by self- compassion (Barnard & Curry, 2011a). Furthermore, it appears that self-compassion can be cultivated across differing populations (Barnard & Curry, 2011b).
Raab et al. (2015) argue that workers in the healthcare sector are particularly vulnerable to stress and burnout (e.g. Moore & Cooper, 1996) and that healthcare professionals require support to address the inherent stressors in their work (Shapiro et al., 2005). Crucially, research has shown that high levels of stress in nurses negatively correlates with quality of care provision (Sarafis et al., 2016). With a pressing need to ensure high quality, safe, effective and compassionate patient care (Francis, 2013), interventions to protect staff and sustain caring behaviours are required (Slatyer et al., 2017). In fact, to increase self-compassion and empathy for patients as well as reduce perceived stress and burnout in themselves, self-compassion training is recommended for healthcare workers (Raab et al., 2015). Against this backdrop, the focus of the present study was placed on healthcare professionals operating in the NHS and looked to address their specific needs for the development of self-compassion.
Rees et al. (2018) argue that for a working population, a lengthy programme could pose a potential barrier in terms of recruitment and retention for participants. Research has previously shown that brief self-compassion interventions can impact wellbeing significantly (e.g. Adams & Leary, 2007; Shapira & Mongrain, 2010), even when delivered online (Finlay-Jones et al., 2017). Given the time and scheduling constraints experienced by many healthcare professionals, self-compassion interventions may be an effective way forward for organisations looking to support staffs’ health and wellbeing.
Aims: The present study aimed to identify the impact of a brief online self-compassion focused intervention on the health and wellbeing of healthcare professionals, in order to understand whether: i. Employees health and wellbeing can be improved ii. Such improvements can be maintained across time iii. A time-limited online intervention with minimal home practice can be effective
Method Design: A randomised waitlist control design was employed. Intervention participants were assessed pre-intervention (Time (T) 1) and post-intervention (T2) and were followed up at one month (T3) post-intervention. Wait list control participants were assessed at T1, T2 and T3 (wait period) as well as additionally at (T4) immediately following the intervention.
Participants: A total of 230 participants retuned the eligibility screen and informed consent forms and were therefore included in the study. Of these, 190 completed the baseline measures; 110 were randomly allocated to the intervention group and 80 were assigned to the control condition.
Measures: The following measures were included in the pre and post-programme questionnaires: The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003a); The Warwick- Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEBWBS; Tennant et al., 2007); The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 1983); The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen et al., 2005).
Intervention: The intervention explicitly focused on the three core components of self-compassion (self-kindness/common humanity/mindfulness) as defined by Neff (2003b). It consisted of a four- week online programme delivered through four pre-recorded training webinars (ranging from 43-54 minutes in duration). Each webinar included an audio feed and slide deck, accessible on any internet connected device and the intervention group were emailed the links each week. Accompanying worksheets to record daily reflections, brief weekly key tasks and an action plan to record progress were provided to embed the ideas presented during the webinars and enhance personal learning through home practice of limited duration.
Results: A MANCOVA revealed a significant overall group by time interaction, Wilks’ λ = .65, F(12,99)=4.41, p<.001, n2=.35, when all the main study and demographic variables were included, therefore, the effect size of the self-compassion development intervention was large (d=1.46). Results showed a significant effect of the intervention for the intervention group on all the main study outcome variables. These findings show that immediately following the self-compassion development programme, participants who took part in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvements in overall self-compassion and mental wellbeing and significantly lower levels of stress, personal burnout, work burnout and client-related burnout relative to the control group. Furthermore, these improvements were seen from baseline to follow up for the intervention group relative to the waitlist control group.
The results also showed a significant effect of the intervention for the intervention group on all the Self-Compassion Scale subscales. These findings show that immediately following the self- compassion development programme, participants who took part in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvements in self-kindness, self-judgement, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness and over-identification relative to the control group. Furthermore, these improvements were seen from baseline to follow up for the intervention group relative to the waitlist control group.
Discussion and Conclusion: The present study shows that self-compassion, mental wellbeing, stress and burnout can be significantly improved by engaging with a less time-intensive programme designed for a working population. By employing a randomised controlled design, this study ensured that the impact identified in the outcomes could be reasonably attributed to the online self- compassion development intervention and can therefore be regarded as contributing to the veracity of the emergent findings for this approach. The large effect size of overall self-compassion for the intervention group from pre to post-programme compares favourably to the aggregate effect size reported in a recently published meta-analysis by Ferrari et al. (2019), which assessed the psychosocial outcome effect sizes from randomised controlled trials of novel self-compassion interventions.
The findings suggest that developing self-compassion online with no interaction with other study participants and in a briefer time period than seen with traditional formats, may provide similar benefits. For a busy working population, less in person time, no facilitator requirement and lower costs can enable such interventions to reach much higher volumes of staff. In doing so, more individuals may derive the health and wellbeing benefits afforded. Implications for theory and practice are discussed alongside limitations.
References:
Adams, C.E. and Leary, M.R. (2007). Promoting the self-compassionate attitudes towards eating among restrictive and guilty eaters. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(10), 1120-1144.
Barnard, L.K. and Curry, J.F. (2011a). The relationship of clergy burnout to self-compassion and other personality dimensions. Pastoral Psychology, 61(2), pp.149-163.
Barnard, L.K. and Curry, J.F. (2011b). Self-compassion: Conceptualizations, correlates, and interventions. Review of General Psychology, 15, 289-303.
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 386-396.
Donaldson-Feilder, E., Yarker, J. and Lewis, R. (2011). Preventing Stress in Organisations. London: Wiley.
Ferrari, M., Hunt, C., Harrysunker, A., Abbott, M.J., Beath, A.P. and Einstein, D.A. (2019). Self- compassion interventions and psychosocial outcomes: A meta-analysis of RCTs. Mindfulness, pp.1- 19.
Finlay-Jones, A., Kane, R., and Rees, C. (2017). Self-compassion online: A pilot study of an internet- based self-compassion cultivation program for psychology trainees. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(7), 797-816.
Francis, R. (2013). Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry: executive summary (Vol. 947). The Stationery Office.
Heffernan, M., Griffin, M.T.Q., McNulty, S.R., Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2010). Self-compassion and emotional intelligence in nurses. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 16(4), 366-373.
Kristensen, T.S., Borritz, M., Villadsen, E., and Christensen, K.B. (2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19(3), 192-207.
Macbeth, A., and Gumley, A. (2012). Exploring compassion: A meta-analysis of the association between self-compassion and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 545-552.
Moore, K.A. and Cooper, C.L. (1996). Stress in mental health professionals: A theoretical overview. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 42(2), pp.82-89.
Neff, K.D. (2003a). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2, 223-250.
Neff, K.D. (2003b). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2, 85-101. Neff, K.D. and McGehee, P. (2010). Self-compassion and psychological resilience among adolescents and young adults. Self and identity, 9(3), pp.225-240.
Raab, K., Sogge, K., Parker, N., and Flament, M.F. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and self-compassion among mental healthcare professionals: A pilot study. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 18(6), 503-512.
Rees, C., Craigie, M., Slatyer, S., Heritage, B., Harvey, C., Brough, P., and Hegney, D. (2018). Mindful self-care and resiliency (MSCR): Protocol for a pilot trial of a brief mindfulness intervention to promote occupational resilience in rural general practitioners. BMJ Open 8, e021027.
Sarafis, P., Rousaki, E., Tsounis, A., Malliarou, M., Lahana, L., Bamidis, P., Niakas, D. and Papastavrou, E. (2016). The impact of occupational stress on nurses’ caring behaviors and their health related quality of life. BMC nursing, 15(1), p.56.
Shapira, L.B. and Mongrain, M. (2010). The benefits of self-compassion and optimism exercises for individuals vulnerable to depression. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(5), pp.377-389.
Shapiro, S.L., Astin, J.A., Bishop, S.R., and Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 164-176.
Slatyer, S., Craigie, M., Heritage, B., Davis, S., and Rees, C. (2017). Evaluating the effectiveness of a brief mindful self-care and resiliency (MSCR) intervention for nurses: A controlled trial. Mindfulness, 9, 534-546.
Tennant, R., Hiller, L., Fishwick, R., Platt, S., Joseph, S., Weich, S., Parkinson, J., Secker, J. and Stewart- Brown, S. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS): development and UK validation. Health and Quality of life Outcomes, 5(1), p.63.
Zessin, U., Dickhauser, O., and Garbade, S. (2015). The relationship between self-compassion and well-being: A meta-analysis. Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing, 7(3), 340-364.
Ref: Keynote Session Topic: Plenary Session Meaningful Work in Contemporary Digital Society Gillian Symon, Royal Holloway, University of London
In recent times, UK policy makers have turned their attention to what constitutes ‘good’ work (Taylor, 2017) and it is a fundamental goal of occupational psychology to enable such work (e.g. Parker, 2014). One important aspect of good work is that it should be experienced as ‘meaningful’ (Hackman and Oldham, 1976; Yeoman et al, 2019). In this talk I will discuss various contemporary approaches to conceptualising and understanding meaningful work: is meaningful work an individual experience or a moral imperative? However, while one of the triggers to the Taylor report was revelations about exploitation of workers through digital means, the implications of digitalisation for experiencing work as meaningful has rarely been considered. I will particularly address the opportunities and tensions raised by digitalisation for the experience of work as meaningful: does digital technology help or hinder meaningful work? For example, while mobile devices enable social interaction crucial to validation of work as meaningful, spending hours on-line may also be experienced as trivialisation with doubts as to meaningful impact of the work. As increased consideration is given to the quality of work in the digitalised 21st century, what role could occupational psychology have in shaping meaningful work for the future?
Ref: 4108 Poster Topic: Learning, Training and Development Clerical skills development and supervisor’s support for the visually impaired Hiroshi Takeshita, Tsukuba University of Technology
Problem and purpose: The visually impaired (VI) in Japan have expanded their occupations since the 1960s to include telephone operators, recording type stenographers, programmers, and piano tuners, in addition to the traditional ‘Three Therapies’ (massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion). However, since the 1990s, the advantages of these existing occupations have reduced due to the increase in sighted people in the Three Therapies, the prevalence of direct dialling, graphic user interface, and electronic pianos.
With the development of personal computers and peripherals in recent years, it is expected that visually impaired persons will be employed in clerical occupations that were previously regarded impossible. However, companies are unaware of the jobs that can be assigned to the visually impaired and, thus, tend to overlook other skills held by such individuals (Yoshida, 1997).
Companies require students to have conceptual and social skills (Japan Business Federation, 2018). In particular, clerical work requires communication with others, self-control, and understanding of relationships between departments (Crudden, 2012; Cavenaugh & Giesen, 2012). Though there are several previous studies on working skill acquisition and support processes for mentally (including developmentally) handicapped persons, most papers concerning the visually impaired are current situation surveys, except for the one-case analysis (Shirai, 2009). Therefore, this study clarifies the process of acquiring and supporting clerical skills, by qualitative analysis.
Method: This study adopted the ‘Modified-Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA)’ (Kinoshita, 1999; Takeshita, 2019) from multiple versions of GTA (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).
From November to December 2018, we collected data from 7 visually impaired persons with more than 2 years of work experience and 10 supervisors (8 companies) (Table 1).
Table 1 Participant list
We prepared guidelines for both visually impaired persons and supervisors, and conducted individual semi-structured interviews for about an hour. The main items in the interview guidelines were as follows:
For visually impaired persons: ‘What skills are necessary for work'?’ ‘How have these changed since joining the company?’ ‘What kind of support did you receive from your surroundings?’
For supervisors: ‘What skills does he /she need?’ ‘How have those changed since joining the company?’ ‘What support did you provide?’
For four supervisors, we collected data from short recorded interviews and unrecorded interview notes. The total recording time was 12 hours 26 minutes 20 seconds. The average time for 13 full interviews was 53 minutes. The author made the interview transcripts (442 pages of A4 paper).
We explained the purpose of this study and presented the material at the start of the interview. All interviewees agreed to use a part of the narrative for research purposes in a format that did not identify the organization or individuals, as well as to record it with an IC recorder to create an interview transcript.
3. Analysis procedure: The analytical theme (Development of clerical skills for visually impaired persons and supervisor’s support) and the analytical focus persons (the visually impaired persons and their supervisors in clerical occupations) were set. We created interview transcripts using Microsoft Word. Ideas that came up while creating the transcript were recorded using the ‘Insert Comment’ function.
After looking at the completed interview transcripts, the first concept (a description that can explain an incident obtained by interpreting qualitative data) emerged from the first person’s interview transcripts; so, we began the analysis from this data. We copied and pasted the data into the ‘variation’ column of the analysis worksheet (created in MS Word), and considered ‘Why am I focusing here? and ‘What does this mean for the analytical focus persons?’ Once the interpretation of the extracted data was narrowed down, we entered it in the ‘definition’ column of the analytical worksheet, in a concise sentence. We thought of words that could express the definition in simple terms, and made it a temporary concept name. Next, we examined similar examples, counter- examples, cause examples, and result examples, and entered them in their respective columns. Questions and ideas considered during the interpretation were entered in the ‘Theoretical Memo’ column. The general ideas were written down in a separate handwritten ‘theoretical memo notebook’.
A seemingly important concept was rejected if data from another participant was not available to support this concept. In the process of searching for the second person’s data by reading all the interview transcripts, we examined the possibility of generating different concepts by comparing the contents of the references.
Alongside creating analytical worksheets, we put these concepts into rudimentary ‘results diagrams’ (created with MS PowerPoint). By doing so, it became possible to group common concepts into categories, integrate overlapping concepts, and ‘fill in holes’ (being aware of possible concepts from the result diagram). The result diagrams were saved for each creation date. A ‘concept list’ was created in MS Excel for both supervisors and visually handicapped persons. This promoted concept grouping and review of concept names.
Multiple levels and simultaneous review and comparison were performed at four levels: data (interview transcripts), concept (analytical worksheet), category (concept list), and process (result diagram). When any change was made by review, the relevant parts of all analysis tools were changed. These inter-category relationships were ascertained as to whether they were supported by the four columns in analytical worksheets or not. Eventually, new concepts and relationships between categories no longer occurred; so, we decided that we reached theoretical saturation.
Results: For visually impaired persons, three core categories, six categories, two sub-categories, and sixteen concepts were generated. For supervisors, three core categories, seven categories, and nineteen concepts were generated (Tables 2 and 3).
Table 2 Subordinates
Table 3 Supervisors
The results of the analysis are shown in Fig 1.
Figure 1 Clerical skills development and supervisor’s support for visually impaired persons
This process has a circulation structure (‘∞’). First, psychological factors that are imperceptible to the counterparty (Perceived weak skills and Observed insufficient skills) affect skill developments (working and support skills). The subordinate’s working view and supervisor’s employment view also affect working (subordinates) and support (supervisors) skill developments. Next, these perceptible skills affect the psychological factors (employment-view and working-view formations) of the counterparty. The supervisors’ employment axis includes role expectations, which is considered ‘a force of the department (same as sighted)’ or ‘employment as welfare (special treatment)’, workable departments (unlimited or limited, such as related to corporate social responsibility). These affect the scope of tasks that the supervisors leave to subordinates. For example, a supervisor with ‘100% sighted-side standards’ has no interest in how visually impaired subordinate stumble. Another supervisor with 100% welfare-side standards has no interest in how to increase the subordinate’s tasks. However, this is not perceptible to subordinates. The subordinates’ working axis includes orientation (work-oriented or family-oriented) and role (assistant or in-house expert). These are motivator for their work skills.
The broken lines in the result diagram show imperceptible factors for the counterparty. The subordinates are aware of weak skills (which are imperceptible to the supervisors) and develop their working skills. This includes others’ support acquisition strategies and attitude changes. The managers cannot see how the subordinates are stumbling, but observe insufficient working skills and evaluate performed skills. Based on the observed insufficient skills, the supervisors provide necessary support (support skill development). This includes individual advice and environment improvement. Discussion
Theoretical contribution: discovery of imperceptible elements in skill development: The theory of working skills (Katz, 1974) has explained that technical skills are trained by repetitive work, interpersonal skills are trained by role-playing, and conceptual skills are trained by on-the-job training. However, the result diagram clarified a skill development mechanism in the workplace that is different from training.
The supervisors should assess the imperceptible elements and provide subordinates with the necessary training. Skills are not constrained by personality or disability, and anyone can improve with training. For example, the reason that a subordinate has low interpersonal skills is that there were few training opportunities in the nurture/education environment (Warren, 1984), which can be improved with appropriate training.
The broken line categories (imperceptible for counterparties) shown in the result diagram contain content that is generally not voiced or is difficult for superiors and subordinates to mention to each other. The supervisor of a low-skilled subordinate will be bewildered and reluctant to recruit another visually impaired person. The supervisor of a high-skilled subordinate naturally takes the ‘100% sighted-side rule’ and causes stress for the subordinate. By generalizing as shown in the result diagram, it is possible to examine the developable tasks by understanding and predicting the situation of the other party. Thus, they do not have to have a confrontation.
Suggestions for practice: Supporting subordinate’s skill acquisition. The result diagram outlines skill development for subordinates with visual disability. The concepts included in working and support skill development can be used as a checklist for inexperienced supervisors and subordinates. By understanding subordinate’s ‘perceived weak skills’, supervisors can better understand their subordinates’ struggles. The subordinates also notice ‘their lack of interpersonal skills (perceived by the supervisor)’ that they previously missed.
The supervisor’s view of employment and the subordinate’s view of work define their potential. Using the results diagram, they can identify, discuss, and list the skills that need to be developed.
Future tasks: There is a need to develop teaching materials and programs that allow supervisors to develop support skills without sacrificing normal work (the result diagram can be used as a starting point.). It is possible to use existing external training for technical skills and interpersonal skills. For conceptual skills, it is desirable to develop an effective training program. For example, using a simple tool such as a whiteboard and magnetic figures and arrows, sighted and blind people can communicate with each other by moving figures.
References
Cavenaugh, B and Giesen, J. M. (2012). ‘A systematic review of transition interventions affecting the employability of youths with visual impairments.’ Journal of visual impairment & blindness, July 2012 400-413.
Crudden, A. (2012). ‘Transition to employment for students with visual impairments: Components for success.’ Journal of visual impairment & blindness, July 2012 389-399.
Glaser, B. G., and Anselm L. S. (1967) ‘The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research.’ New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.
Katz, Robert L. (1974). ‘Skills of an Effective Administrator.’ Harvard Business Review 52 (1974) 90– 102. Kinoshita, Y. (1999). ‘Guraundeddo seorī apurōchi: sitsuteki jisshō kenkyū no saisei’ [Grounded Theory Approach: Revitalization of Empirical Qualitative Study]. Tōkyō: Kōbundō, 1999.
Takeshita, H. (2019). ‘Thoughts on and methods used in M-GTA.’ In Ishiyama, N., Nakanishi, Y. Koyama, K. Takeshita, H. Mechanisms of Cross-Boundary Learning (pp.58-91). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Warren, D. H. (1984). ‘Blindness and early childhood development (2nd. ed.)’ NY: American Foundation for the Blind.
Ref: 3753 Standard Paper Topic: Well-being and Work Combining Mindfulness and Physical Exercise - a multi-tasking intervention at work 1Nicki Tanner, 1Cheryl Travers, 1David Fletcher, 2Ray Randall Loughborough University1, Sheffield University2 Introduction: The UK education sector has higher than average rates of stress, depression and anxiety (HSE, 2018). The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2018, commissioned by the Education Support Partnership, indicates that 67% of teachers are stressed at work, while 57% of those canvassed had considered leaving the profession because of health pressures. Levels of teacher stress have been shown to impact both students’ academic performance and social adjustment. These data indicate that effective and practicable interventions are needed, which teachers can follow given their busy schedules and the constraints of the school context.
Physical exercise is an intervention that can promote wellbeing and the World Health Organisation recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week (WHO, 2010). Yet only a relatively low proportion of adults achieve these recommended levels. A different type of intervention that might improve wellbeing is mindfulness. There is some evidence that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can help individuals to manage stress and develop resilience (Good et al., 2016). Mindfulness has been defined as ‘non-judgemental attention to experiences in the present moment’ (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Kabat-Zinn created the well-known Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme that recommends a daily sitting meditation of 45 minutes. However, a meta-analysis of MBIs in working adults, found that home practice requirements ranged from 10- 60 minutes daily with positive results on psychological wellbeing (Virgili, 2014).
There is a plethora of studies that focus on either physical fitness interventions, or MBIs, but little work has been done to combine the two to form an integrated intervention. While the benefits of mindfulness have been applied more recently in the sports arena, this generally has a different focus (enhancing sports performance) rather than providing opportunities to learn and apply these skills through physical activities for the general working population.
This paper describes research that tests a workplace intervention which aims to ‘multi-task’ by combining mindfulness skills training with aerobic physical exercise, in the same class-based session. This Mindfulness Based Physical Exercise (MBPE) intervention was designed to provide participants with the skills to integrate mindfulness into their own aerobic physical activity, with the aim of achieving the benefits of both mindfulness and aerobic physical exercise. In addition, it was hypothesised that the intervention might deliver additive benefits, decrease levels of sedentary time, and lower the overall time required to develop a ‘routine’ for both sets of intervention activities. Specifically, the research sought to test whether combining mindfulness with aerobic exercise had a positive effect on wellbeing in school staff and to explore participants’ perceptions of integrating mindfulness with physical exercise in such a combined intervention.
Methodology: In line with the Medical Research Council recommendations for complex health care interventions (Craig et al., 2008) an initial test phase was carried out in one independent school in order to develop the MBPE intervention, refine the delivery within the school context and test out the acceptability and logistics for the outcome measures. An embedded, mixed methods, process and effect evaluation methodology was used for both the pilot and the main study.
This paper will focus on the Main Intervention Study and the aims were to evaluate whether the MBPE intervention had a positive effect on wellbeing for adults working in two separate schools; and how the participants perceived the integration of mindfulness with physical exercise in the combined intervention. The study assessed the intervention fit to the school context, which has particular organisational and time constraints. Ethical approval was sought in conjunction with the recruitment of schools into the study in order to ensure that both University ethics and school health and safety requirements were met.
This main study took place in two separate independent schools; a group at one school was allocated as the Experimental Group (B1), the second became the wait-list control (C2). Twenty-four people took part in the study following a strict protocol for acceptance that included a compulsory health screen check (HSC) consisting of a HSC form and 1-2-1 conversation with the researcher. In addition, an Orientation Session was used to ensure that participants met inclusion/exclusion criteria and were aware of the commitment and expectations. All participants completed a set of outcome measures before receiving the intervention (T1). B1 Group (n=14) then received the MBPE Intervention in the Easter Term. Both groups completed a second set of outcome measures at the end of the Easter Term (T2). The wait-list control group (n=10) then received a shortened MBPE Intervention at the start of the Summer Term. Both groups (n=21) completed a third set of follow- up outcome measures, six to twelve weeks after receiving the intervention (T3).
Quasi-experimental methods were used to test the dependent variable of wellbeing using the 20- item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) and the short self-report measure of current mental wellbeing, the WHO5 wellbeing index (Topp et al., 2013) at T1, T2 and T3. Additional qualitative and quantitative data was collected at times T1, T2 and T3, along with class questionnaires (Reflection Sheets) and weekly Journals, to assess perception of the intervention and context fit. The questionnaires and journals included process evaluation questions such as details of dosage (how much practice and what kind); mechanisms of impact (participants’ perception of different elements of the intervention) and context (how well the intervention suited the school environment). The process and effect evaluation data also included Class Attendance Registers, class recordings and MBPE Teacher observations of the classes and participants.
A number of aspects of recruitment, intervention delivery, and data collection methods had to be altered in order to meet school requirements and adapted in some instances due to unforeseen school events/issues. For example, school demands such as unforeseen departmental meetings after school and high temperatures causing room issues in the summer term.
Data Analysis and Results: Extensive data analysis is currently underway, but early analysis for the wellbeing questionnaires does not seem to show any conclusive results for wellbeing. However, the qualitative analysis is very promising in understanding perceptions and also informative on how the intervention fits the school context. A brief summary of some of the findings are provided in the table below.
Table 1. Sample themes from participant data streams
Question Positive Responses Negative/improvements “very positive it has definitely helped me to be calmer and cope “for me the two serve different better with stress” purposes” What was your
experience of this MBPE ‘I found it really uplifting” ‘time of day made it hard to be fresh’ Intervention?
“I now cycle with a completely “Can only sustain it for a short time” different mindset”
“very powerful and it would be great to offer sessions to pupils and staff” “Useful for some”
How useful is this “very {useful}, I think PE teachers “..I find the school day so busy that it’s intervention in the should get trained and use it in extremely hard to implement” school context? lessons”
“really useful – I hope to encourage my classes and walking groups to take time to be mindful”
These findings will be explored in more detail, along with examples of how participants have already transferred the skills to their day to day life and suggestions for how it might be used and offered more widely in their schools.
Discussion and Conclusions: Finding ways to help schools address the issue of work-related stress and improve wellbeing is vital if we are to support staff to be at their best in school, which ultimately helps students. Finding an intervention that combines the development or continuation of physical fitness with psychological wellbeing, in the form of mindfulness skills, could have a significant impact for the wellbeing of school staff, who experience high levels of stress and are ‘time-poor’.
This paper presents a novel approach to the topic of wellbeing in the form of a complex intervention, which combines physical exercise with mindfulness skills. It links to the main conference theme as the intervention is work-based and tries to use the science of both physical activity and mindfulness to create a practical intervention to improve wellbeing in staff working in a school context. Conference participants interested in workplace interventions, or specifically mindfulness-based interventions, are the target audience for this paper. The mixed method, process and evaluation research strategy could be interesting for those people who recognise that real life research sometimes needs to be carried out pragmatically. Finally, the approach to combining mindfulness with physical exercise might be applicable to many individuals for their personal wellbeing.
References
Craig, P., Dieppe, P., Macintyre, S., Michie, S., Nazareth, I. and Petticrew, M. (2008), Developing and Evaluating Complex Interventions: New Guidance, Medical Research Council, London. Good, D. Lyddy, G. Glomb,T. Bono, J. Brown, K. Duffy, M. Baer, R. Brewer, J. Lazar. (2016). Contemplating Mindfulness at Work: An Integrative Review. Journal of Management, 42,Vol 1, pp 114-142.
Health and Safety Executive (2018). Health and safety at work: Summary statistics for Great Britain 2018. http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1718.pdf
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156.
Teacher Wellbeing Index (2018). Education Support Partnership. https://www.educationsupportpartnership.org.uk/resources/research-reports/teacher-wellbeing- index-2018
Topp, C.W., Ostergaard, S.D., Sondergaard, S. & Beck, P. (2015). The WHO-5 Well-being Index: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84, 167-176.
Virgili, M. (2013). Mindfulness-Based Interventions Reduce Psychological Distress in Working Adults: a Meta Analysis of Intervention Studies. Mindfulness Vol 4, 4.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
World Health Organization (2010). Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health 2010. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_recommendations/en/
Ref: Invited Speaker Topic: Career Development Professional Development & Networking Sub-Committee Tammy Tawadros, Tammy Tawadros Coaching & OD
Tammy Tawadros Convenor for PD&N Sub-committee will highlight some of the work the sub- committee has been doing and canvass views on what activities those participating in the session would like us to offer in the future. Please bring your mobile phone in order to interact in a real-time survey!”
Ref: Discussion Topic: Career Development Strengthening OP Communities and Careers Taslim Tharani, Vicki Elsey, Ingrid Covington, Wendy Kendall, Beth McManus, Pavneet Khurana, Grace Mansah-Owusu, Huma Khan, Joh Foster, Laura Longstaff (OP Careers Taskforce)
Following the session from DOP Conference 2019 ‘Developing a Community of Occupational Psychologists’ several groups continued their discussions, creating small collaborative groups aiming to address key challenges within our profession. Early career development was highlighted as a key concern – do we have a talent pipeline challenge within Occ Psych? This round table discussion aims to address this key concern by exploring how each of us, together with key stakeholders across Occupational Psychology, can better support and grow the future talent in OP. Ref: 3851 Impact Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications Voice Behaviours: Exploring Migrant Narratives of Voice in the Land of a Hundred Thousand Welcomes. Yvonne Tougher, University of East London In November 2018, research by the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin stated that, Ireland is now one of the most diverse countries in the EU, with 17% of the population born in another country. The contemporary relevance of this study is based on its recognition that the Irish workforce is no longer homogenous, for the first time in history, it now enjoys a greater diversity and this needs to be acknowledged in research design.
For the first time in 10 years Ireland is reaching almost full employment, employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers in the service and utility industries, employees can pick and choose where they want to work, and change jobs easily. Effective employee voice is a factor in improved job satisfaction and employee retention. Irelands new diverse workforce deserves a more inclusive approach to understanding how best to facilitate effective employee voice for immigrant workers. This study is novel because it includes migrant workers voices, as stakeholders, in the shaping and development of diversity and inclusion practices in Irish workplaces.
Where previously, Irish based companies could historically assume that certain norms would be universally accepted by its native workforce, these assumptions can no longer be entertained in a diverse and mobile workforce. The notion, that all voices might be equal when offering suggestions, or that changes to the status quo will be welcomed and actioned by management, fails to consider the wider contexts, such as the economic climate, which may influence managements appraisal of what ideas benefit the organisations bottom line.
Ireland is now home to a more diverse population than ever before, established cultural norms need to understand and accommodate the artefacts of other cultures, so that the policies and work practices we adopt will support and benefit this new enriched society. It is hoped that this study will encourage businesses and organisations to actively engage in evidence based consultative practices which promote, and benefit from, effective employee voice. This project begins the exploration of voice behaviour in migrant workers, key contributors to our society and economy, by privileging their voices as joint stakeholders in all our futures.
The qualitative approach of this study permits the necessary venturing beyond established assumptions about differences between cultures and nationalities, between concepts of voice; and allows the migrant narratives to illuminate their experiences of voice behaviour and its meaning. Ethical approval was obtained in line with the BPS guidelines, participants were fully informed of the purpose and aims of the research, and informed consent was obtained prior to collecting any data. All participants were over 18 years and had a conversational level of English. Participants were aware of their right to end interviews at any time and to withdraw their data from the study. Participants identities were fully protected by anonymising all data and storing any identifiable material on an encrypted device.
In keeping with the traditions of critical psychology this study brought attention to the lived experiences of often neglected members of our newly diversified society and raised awareness of inequities and power imbalances that exist. The ontology of transformative paradigm acknowledges that multiple versions of reality do coexist and this study demonstrated a value for each reality by making a space for their expression in research. Social justice lies at the heart of transformative values, an axiology that aims to involve participants as co-producers of understanding rather than subjects to be studied and categorised.
This study links to the main conference theme ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at work,’ by demonstrating how the application of scientific methodology can assist Occupational Psychologists monitor, assess and keep pace with a constantly changing work environment, and in doing so improve outcomes for all stakeholders.
This submission is appropriate to the chosen topic as it brings a new perspective to how we research ‘employee voice’, challenging the scope and reach of voice beyond the confines of the workplace, relocating voice within the lived narrative of the employee.
This research study is novel in that it represents new territory for organisational research in Ireland, the cultural, historical and socioeconomic contexts have never aligned in this way before and therefore the lived experiences of all stakeholders are needed to gain a more profound understanding of how it is to live and work in Ireland today.
Conference delegates will find this research interesting because it will require them to challenge their assumptions about ‘employee voice’ and discover how a qualitative approach to research in Occupational Psychology can enable researchers to look with new eyes and see what others may have over looked.
The public and the media will find the session presentation resonates with them in their own lives, challenge the way they think about their own voice in the workplace and inspire them to promote the introduction of voice mechanisms in their organisations. The media and public will see how Occupational Psychology can positively contribute to society in our everyday lives.
The researcher will provide electronic copies of all slides for the session.
Ref: 3862 Discussion Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications What makes for successful (and scientific) projects? A 4 M’s delivery approach? Michael Towl, Ann Bicknell Arup Background: Einstein is credited with observing that there is nothing more practical than good theory. Yet it is fair to say that this is often lost in translation in the real world. Attempts to bridge the science-practitioner gap have a long history, and whilst there is agreement that it is problematic, there is disagreement in how to address it. Is success purely context specific?
The evidence-based practice model (Briner and Rousseau 2011) is promoted as an approach that the profession should aim to apply. This is defined as “making decisions through the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of four sources of information: practitioner expertise and judgement, evidence from the local context, a critical evaluation of the best available research evidence, and the perspectives of those people who might be affected by the decision”. Bartlett and Francis-Smythe (2016) identified that practitioners do consult a wide range of different types of evidence, from empirical to client data [and reflecting a] concern for ensuring the validity and reliability of insights gleaned” (p.626). The scientist-practitioner model (Hodgkinson, 2011) on the other hand advocates that practitioners should be able to have the background knowledge of core concepts, theories, tools and techniques and use this to critically evaluate their interventions. To do this they should be suitably conversant to be able to articulate what the findings imply for the client. This would place practitioners as a ‘translator’ of theory into the workplace. However, Bicknell, Arthur and Francis-Smythe (2011) identified that knowledge transfer competencies were often not widely understood or applied by academics and professional specialists. In essence – there is a delivery gap.
In a “hybrid” model positioned by Bartlett and Francis-Smythe (2016), they combine both evidence- based practice model and scientist-practitioner model to be located within the consultancy cycle. We advocate that a project’s success happens during an ‘application stage’ in which the practitioner needs to be able to act as a ‘compelling translator’. This application phase can be mapped onto the 6 different stages of the consultancy cycle and may require different skill sets for each stage (see Fig 1).
Often our clients do not always want to see the evidence, they want to know the ‘So what does this mean for me’? This means that the ‘application stage’ constitutes the ability to critically evaluate the client, in order to know:
• What theory or evidence will best help their client;
• How to advocate for and influence the use of a theory or evidence;
• How to effectively apply the theory or evidence;
• How to best translate any findings from applying the theory or evidence.
A key question then is: Do we as a profession put enough importance in being able to be a ‘compelling translator’? Where is this as a competency in the new DOP chartership guidelines?
Figure 1 The missing translator role: Putting science into practice Session Overview: During this 60 minute roundtable discussion we aim to create a space to explore the missing link when applying science into the real world. To do this we will introduce the evidence- based practice model (Briner and Rousseau 2011) and scientist-practitioner model (Hodgkinson, 2011) and position the need to for the ‘application stage’ to be given as equal importance as collecting and reviewing evidence (5 mins)
We will share the 4 M model - Methods, Media, Mindsets and Messages used in our consulting practice to help during the ‘application stage’. Examples of where we have had confirmed successes (e.g. >80% satisfaction in culture change through creativity in ‘de-badging, pop-ups and mock-ups’ and use of digital supports, or secured Awards and recognition for proposition delivery e.g. ‘Eyeballs for Safety’) along with projects that had returned rather less sustainable success e.g. consistent reporting behaviours (10 mins).
We will engage the attendees in facilitated roundtable discussion to help explore what success looks like for them in the ‘application stage’ and also as a ‘compelling translator’ (20 mins). We will then conduct a plenary/key lessons learned (15 mins) before articulating next steps (10 mins).
Two experienced chartered Occupational Psychologist practitioners will help facilitate discussion around examples of What has worked best for them? and What parallel delivery skill sets they drew upon at each phase of the consultancy cycle?
The end result of this session will help inform how practitioners think about the translation and delivery skills they use whilst moving through the consultancy cycle and further professional best practice by considering creativity here as equally important and compelling to translating theory as the substance of science.
Submission Guidance Questions
How do you see your proposal linking with the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’?
• This paper and discussion are a reality check for road testing theory in the real world.
Why do you think the submission is appropriate for the particular topic you have chosen?
• This paper is appropriate for the Topic of ‘Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications’ as it focuses on the practical application of science.
What do you consider to be the most novel or innovative aspects of the ideas being presented?
• There is a need for our profession to put equal importance on how we engage with clients and apply science in the real world as we do with collecting and reviewing evidence. In our paper we wish for practitioners to be able to reflect and explore the para-professional skill set that is also required for delivery of successful projects.
Why do you think conference delegates will find the paper or session stimulating and useful?
• Conference attendees will be able to take part in a facilitated shared brain conversation about the ‘other factors’ that make up the 30% of project successes. This will help improve professional best practice and elevate the importance of the ‘application stage’ in Occupational Psychology.
What might the public or media find interesting about your paper or session? • We are addressing the challenge of making science appetising for non- scientists and in so doing, educating Clients about what OP’s actually do!
What topics are to be debated and what do you see as the major questions to be raised and points to be argued?
• Our position is that whilst theory exists it requires translation and so we will debate ‘What good application looks like for practitioners’? Using real world examples and data.
Who will be the main discussants and what is their experience and general perspective on the topic?
• The main discussants will be experienced occupational psychology practitioners, who can reflect how they have applied theory to meet (and fail to meet!) these challenges.
Additionally,
• There will be no materials needed to be produced for the discussion.
• The optimum numbers can range between 10 – 30.
• This is a roundtable discussion for layout, with flip chart paper on each table
References:
1. Arnold, J., Randall, R., Patterson, F., Silvester, J., Robertson, I., Cooper, C., Burnes, B., Swailes, S., Harris, D., Axtell, C., and Den Hartog, D. (2010). Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior in the Workplace. Pearson, UK
2. Bartlett, D., & Francis-Smythe, J. (2016). Bridging the divide in work and organizational psychology: Evidence from practice. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25(5), 615-630.
3. Bicknell, A., Francis-Smythe, J. and Arthur, J., (2010). Knowledge transfer: deconstructing the entrepreneurial academic. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 16 (6), pp. 485-501.
4. Briner, R. B., & Rousseau, D. M. (2011). Evidence-based I-O psychology: Not there yet. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4,3 –22
5. Hodgkinson, G. P. (2011). Why evidence-based practice in I–O psychology is not there yet: Going beyond systematic reviews. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4, 49 –53.
Ref: 3918 Standard Paper Topic: Learning, Training and Development Exploring the impact of a Reflective Goal Setting on students’ academic growth Cheryl Travers1, Alistair Cheyne2 1Loughborough University, 2ESSCA School of Management, Bordeaux, France Introduction: With increasing numbers of students entering higher education institutions (HEI’s) in the UK, competition for graduate employment is high and made more difficult without a “good” degree. Universities are under increasing pressure to support students in maximising their academic growth potential to ensure entry into their chosen careers. Students increasingly tend to focus on performance type ‘grade goals’, and some argue a culture has emerged whereby students seek to acquire the right degree grade rather than develop as sophisticated learners, showing little interest in subject content and displaying reduced responsibility for personal knowledge generation. Students’ apparent increasing instrumentality and passivity in their learning may pose a risk to academic standards and even learning and development capacity in their future careers.
Studies have begun to examine the impact of personal goal setting interventions on academic growth in university settings (e.g., Author withheld; Morisano et al 2010; Schippers et al, 2015) and highlight the importance of written goals for academic growth, regardless of the type of goal. Due to the importance of goal specificity in goal setting theory, it is expected that academic-related goals will lead to enhanced academic performance, yet prior research has established weak or moderate relationships between academic goal setting and performance. Most of this research has not compared the impact of academic versus other kind of goals, such as goals regarding career, physical health and social goals. Following a reflective goal setting intervention (author withheld) found that students claimed to experience academic growth from setting personal development goals – the majority of which were not academically-related. In this paper, further analysis is presented revealing quantitative effects of reflective goal setting on academic growth.
We explore the impact of final year students’ self-selected personal development goals on their academic growth, specifically:
1. Do students perceive reflective goal setting to have impacted on academic growth and if so, how, and through which type of goals?
2. Are there quantifiable improvements in academic growth for those who set goals compared to those who do not, and is such growth a result of specific academic growth-related goals?
Method
Sample: This paper reports on findings from: a) a total sample of 251participants beginning the reflective goal setting programme in October 2016 and 2017. 135 (54%) were female and participants were aged between 21 to 24 years. Informed written consent was obtained from all students to enable use of their reflective accounts and anonymity was assured (relates to research question 1); b) two subsamples (n=40) created from the total sample (one with academic goals (AG) and the other with general development goals (GG)) and a matched sample of final year undergraduates from the same degree programmes and cohorts with no experience of the goal setting programme (NG) (relates to research question 2) (see Table 1).
Table 1: Subsample groups in research question 2
Average baseline Subsample Average age Male:Female grade No Goals (NG) 21.4 21:19 62.03 General Goals 21.45 21:19 62.09 (GG) Academic Goals 21.4 21:19 62.19 (AG)
Procedure: Reflective goal setting participants were taken through a five-stage reflective goal setting framework, (Author withheld) as the foundation of a final year optional course on personal development based on concepts and principles from e.g. goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990; 2013); reflective practice (e.g. Gibbs, 1988), and transfer of learning (Knowles, 2015).
Indicators of Academic growth
Perceived academic growth - Participants completed a semi-structured final reflection questionnaire immediately at the end of the process asking for their accounts of the impact of the intervention across a range of areas including academic growth. Academic achievement – anonymised student grades were acquired for all relevant students. Core course grade averages were calculated for the semester immediately before the reflective goal setting and the semester immediately after.
Analysis: We used thematic analysis of students reflective accounts of the impact of reflective goal setting process and content analysis of types of academic performance-related goals. Quantitative examination of the impact of reflective growth goal setting on academic growth and performance beyond reflective goal setting used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to examine group differences.
Results a) Research question 1
Each participant set 3 goals each and of the 753 possible goals chosen, 21% (160) were specifically aimed at academic growth and performance consisting of a combination of mastery goals (e.g., improving time management or organizational skills) and performance goals (e.g., obtaining a higher grade in assessment than usual). Some relate to proximal issues (e.g., ‘to do all lecture reading as soon as I can after the lecture.’) and others distal objectives (e.g., ‘to improve my final degree.’). Academic growth goals fell into three key themes: (1) personal organization and time management; for example, ‘Becoming more organised by having a timetable and to-do lists’, (2) emotional and psychological control e.g. ‘Not putting off the things I find most challenging’; (3) interpersonal-skills development e.g. ‘Being more assertive about my own opinions in group coursework meetings.’.
232 (92.4%) claimed to have experienced some degree of academic growth. As formal goal setting ended, students were approaching end of semester assignments and examinations; when completing their final reflection, most had limited access to actual academic impact in grade terms. However, the majority anticipated that academic growth would be forthcoming, mainly because they planned to continue to employ the reflective goal setting skills they had acquired into the next semester. A few had received grades from mid-semester assessment and reported noticeable improvements in their performance, which they attributed to the reflective goal setting process. Those who had set academic related goals could see a clear pathway between their goals and future performance, especially as their confidence, work ethic and self-efficacy had been enhanced. Some elaborated that this was due to the new-found belief that, for the first time in their academic careers, there would be an ‘effort-outcome’ ratio with academic outcomes matching the effort they expended.
Contrary to a major premise in traditional goal setting theory, but supporting our previous work, was the finding that, regardless of the type of goals set, participants claimed that their non-academic goals had also impacted on their academic performance. These non-specific effects resulted from such aspects as the development of interpersonal skills, psychological aspects (e.g. changed mindsets) and enhanced well-being and management of stress. In addition to goal effects, the actual process of reflective goal setting and its key features (e.g. diary keeping) had provided participants with a framework which could be transferred to other learning scenarios beyond the intervention itself. b) Research question 2
Average pre intervention (Time 1) and post intervention (Time 2) grades were generated from only core programme courses for each participant. The distribution in each group (NG, GG and AG) were within acceptable limits for skewness and kurtosis. Averages for each group are shown in Table 2
Table 2: Pre (Time 1) and post (Time 2) intervention average grades
Sample NG GG AG Average pre intervention grades 62.03 62.09 62.19 Average post intervention grade 63.82 66.76 68.22
Following this a repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the grade average growth across those 2 time periods for all three groups. This shows a significant main effect of time, F(1, 117) = 74.31, p <.001, η2 = .388, as well as a significant interaction between time and sample group, F(1, 117) = 6.68, p <.001, η2 = .106. Post hoc tests explored the nature of the significant interaction and in all groups there was a significant change in grades. For NG, the Time 2 grade (M = 63.82, SD = 4.41) was significantly higher than the baseline Time 1 grade (M = 62.03, SD =4.48), t(39) = 2.62, p =.012. For GG, the post intervention grade (Time 2) (M = 66.76, SD = 4.65) was significantly higher than the baseline grade (Time 1) (M = 62.09, SD =5.12), t(39) = 6.26, p <.001. Finally, for AG, the post intervention grade (Time 2) (M = 68.22, SD = 5.36) was significantly higher than the baseline grade (Time 1) (M = 62.19, SD =6.01), t(39) = 5.81, p <.001. A comparison of post intervention (Time 2) grades between the three groups was also conducted. A one way ANOVA revealed significant differences between the groups (F(1, 117) = 8.62, p <.001). A post hoc test for homogenous subsets showed that the NG group (M = 63.93) was significantly lower than AG and GG. Post hoc comparisons show that, while all groups improved significantly over time, both goal groups had significantly higher outcomes than the NG group (see Figure 1 for a comparison of group changes in mean grades time).
Figure 1: Average academic growth across the three samples (with standard error bars)
Discussion and Conclusions: The reflective goal setting programme was initially designed to enhance personal development and interactive skills to enhance employability, well-being and leadership (reported elsewhere - author withheld). This paper reveals that its use can fulfil key functions for final year students as part of their personal development and academic growth which extend beyond the programme itself. Given the paucity of successful interventions for improving academic performance in university students, the current study indicates that personal goal setting deserves greater attention as an effective technique for improving academic success. In our study, students became proficient self-regulators, leading to their development as more autonomous learners. It appears that effective general goal setting can bolster generalized self-efficacy and possibly induce a learning or mastery orientation which can be generalized to other domains. The framework was designed to maximize real-world benefits by combining multiple components of goal setting, reflective practice and writing goals down. Further work needs to examine the relative impact of the specific elements within the framework in order to assess their importance, utility, and potential differential effects and in varying contexts.
Our paper links to the main conference theme as the intervention uses (and challenges) the science of well-established work psychology theory to create an innovative, practical intervention to improve interpersonal skills and academic growth. Conference participants interested in developmental interventions, transfer of learning and goal setting and reflective practice are the target audience for this paper. Our approach to personal development and academic growth might be interesting for those people who want to make more attempts to translate theory into practice. The five stage model outlines in the paper might be applicable to many individuals for their own personal goal setting and growth or with their clients and students. This paper forms part of a longer article, paper copies of which will be made available at the conference. Slides and other supporting materials will be made available electronically, along with a full reference list and a copy of the reflective goal setting framework.
Ref: 3969 Impact Paper Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications The language of homecare: Exploring the role of language use in homecare workers’ reflective diaries Cheryl Travers1, Lucy Perry-Young2, Samantha Streit3 1Loughborough University, 2Sheffield Hallam University, 3Manchester University Introduction: Employed by private businesses, homecare workers frequently deliver intimate and personal care, largely unsupervised, in private households. With the increasing ageing of the population in the UK, and evidence which suggests that 60% of people receiving homecare have some form of dementia (Carter, 2016), this workforce is increasingly likely to take on most of the responsibility for dementia care. Research confirms the demanding aspects of homecare work and poor working conditions, but homecare workers views and experiences of their role are under- researched (Stacey, 2005). How do they maintain a positive sense of identity in what is deemed to be a ‘dirty’ job? (Cassell & Bishop, 2014). Research reveals that homecare workers often have a conflicted, frequently contradictory relationship to their work, identifying “constraints that compromise their ability to do a good job or to experience their work as meaningful but they also report several rewards that come from caring for dependent adults (Stacey, 2005, p831).
There has been a growing interest in the adoption of metaphor analysis as a method of studying organisational life and workers’ experiences of their roles (e.g. Cassell and Bishop, 2013). Metaphor can be understood as a figure of speech used to imply resemblance between an action or object, event or experience on the one hand, and a widely understood word or phrase on the other. According to Lakoff & Johnson (1980, p.3), “metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of how we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature”.
Metaphor analysis offers the possibility of accessing new conceptual insights regarding certain occupational groups. Exploring metaphors can be beneficial in terms of revealing how workers make sense of and conceptualise their work. The use of metaphors in the context of caring has been explored previously by scholars. For example, Spencer et al (2001) found that both staff and residents of a residential care home used the metaphors of home and family to evoke factors that foster social cohesion. However, there have been no studies of the metaphors used by homecare workers. Therefore, this study, chose to explore metaphors emerging from analysis of the language used by homecare workers writing in reflective diaries about their experiences of caring for people with dementia in their homes.
Method: Drawn from a broader ethnographic qualitative study of homecare workers (authors withheld), the evidence presented in this paper is based on the written reflective diaries of 11 (all female) paid homecare workers employed by a well-established UK homecare provider. These workers were on zero hours contracts, unqualified and employed across the age range – though this data was not collected formally to preserve anonymity. They were all visiting one or more clients with dementia or memory problems. Participating homecare workers from the organisation were trained to keep reflective diaries and produced diaries over a four-month period. They were offered remuneration at their usual rate of pay, for up to 16 hours, given specially designed notebooks, with prompts to help them reflect, and they were supported by researchers in the field during the process. More detail of the broader project and the use of diaries as a methodology can be found in (author details withheld).
Homecare workers were not asked to use metaphors or any types of language but were invited to reflect on their experiences of visiting clients and write about that in their reflective diary. They were prompted with questions from Gibbs’ (1988) Reflective Cycle, but otherwise were free to write what they wanted. Methodologically, the approach adopted here is a critical-interpretive one (Cassell & Bishop, 2014), critically reflecting on homecare work ‘through the eyes of the beholder’. We will draw from the homecare workers diaries to analyse the language they used to write about their work with clients with dementia to discover how they view their work and reconcile this ‘dirty’ work with delivering good homecare
Analysis: In terms of the analytical strategy adopted, each diary was fully transcribed, and a process of open thematic coding conducted initially by the key author and compared with that of the other authors. Each transcript was studied – word by word, line by line to analyse the hidden transcripts used by the homecare workers’ metaphoric language as a sensemaking device to explain their experiences. After several iterations of this process, the metaphors generated by diarists that shared similar properties and themes were grouped together.
Findings
The metaphors revealed through analysis are presented in Table 1 along with illustrative material from the diaries. In addition, the hidden transcripts provided serve to elucidate the metaphors used.
Table 1 – Metaphors used by the homecare workers
Text example of the Metaphor Hidden transcript Purpose metaphor Reframing the dynamic of relationship which is “Like a granddaughter actually precarious and to them.” transient as a homecare
worker. “She was like his The true nature of the daughter.” relationship is fiscal Reframing social and bound and based on “Just a normal mum physical taint. Homecare ability/client satisfaction. and daughter workers can carry out Role is demanding of The cherished interaction.” intimate and demanding patience, time and family member care, despite poor pay and emotions – yet, pay does “Felt like a mother and conditions, because that’s not reflect this. Use of this daughter together.” what family do for each metaphor helps to other. readdress the status “Mother, daughter balance. duo.” Carer often needs to
ingratiate themselves “You treat your client with other family like a family member.” members (client’s children). Also, role demands some breaking-down of usual social boundaries as carer is required to undertake personal/intimate tasks, requiring physical contact with strangers. ‘Blood is thicker than water’ adage
With this metaphor the emphasis is upon feelings “Walking on and the homecare worker Homecare workers may be eggshells.” as a vessel for these. paid by the hour and not in “Confidence just went They cannot leave the job between, but their care out of the window.” behind. transcends beyond the The emotional “I need to refrain from Work demands that they visit and they are tied by sponge just jumping in” form an emotional bond an emotional bond. They “Down in the dumps.” that transcends job- are prepared to suffer for “Shattered.” spec/pay rate. their role which makes “Feel like I have been It suggests that the care them more worthy. put through a wringer workers are devoted and willing to risk their well- being for their client. Regular references to
material wealth of clients, “Very lady-like.” comments on their homes ”Felt like a queen” Blurring social boundaries and possessions. Carers and shifting focus away The ‘parlour’ who ingratiate from “dirty work” aspect companion themselves with clients of job. that are deemed wealthy, Likewise, building a might feel vicariously, rapport with a client who more aspirational. has a
professional/academic
background, suggests
carers true self,
intelligence can be valued
via meeting of minds.
Special relationship and
compatibility more
important than just a job Class-based focus whilst “A bit rough” with poor pay. (as opposed to making judgement on other care peers. Carer aligning self “Moaning” To differentiate the carer workers) with client and in doing and set them apart and distancing themselves above their peers. from servile nature of role
Forming a relationship with client that is friendly and allows conversational “Time flew by.” is mutually beneficial. Cheats low-pay stigma “Time passed very Carer can focus on social through shifting focus to The leisure quickly.” aspect of visit, even genuine pleasure/ seeker “Created a cosy creating opportunities for philanthropic gifting of companionship” genuine friendship. carers own time. Shifts focus from fiscal based exchange measured in time/money.
Suggestion of knowledge that transcends any “Doctor’s direct, blunt recognised professional manner.” standing and qualification Adding gravitas to care “Let loose on my own” but focuses on tacit role. “Total blessing of wisdom/social skills and Professionals can lack memory loss” invaluable common- The empathic social graces, despite their “A problem shared, is sense. oracle high status. a problem halved” Doctor, lacks social graces Careworker’s know and “You have to take the and fails to put feelings of understand their clients’ rough with the client first. needs best. smooth” Carer is indispensable and “Not rocket science” utterly irreplaceable because they have client’s interests at heart. “Like a rule book.” Clear division between staff and management. Carer is seen as righteous “Sneaky buggers” War-like imagery suggests and acting morally to serve having to go into battle to the best interests of client. “Guns blazing” exist. Management are The carer is prepared to go The foot soldier adversaries. Rule/books maverick by stepping out “Bumping heads” metaphor implies drive of line to accomplish for compliance, but carers successful mission with “I’m already in bad desire to break rules for clients interests as key. books” the good of the client
Discussion and conclusion: We set out to explore the metaphors used by homecare workers in their written reflective diary accounts of caring for clients with dementia. We found that homecare workers employed six key metaphorical themes which served to reveal hidden transcripts related to how they saw their role and their identity as homecare workers. We feel that we have made some useful contributions to the methodology and homecare literatures. We also believe that these findings could be used to help homecare workers express themselves to others and articulate their concerns regarding their value as workers and their needs as homecare workers. This paper will appeal to those working with similar underrepresented groups in occupational psychology and may also encourage others to use this methodological approach. The paper makes a contribution due to employing a relatively unique methodology of reflective diaries and metaphor analysis combined. A fuller paper will be made available at the conference along with electronic version of the slides and other published papers from the wider homecare workers project. References available on request.
Ref: Keynote Session Topic: Plenary Session This is not working: An evolutionary mismatch perspective Mark van Vugt, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and University of Oxford
In this presentation I analyze modern work place practices from an evolutionary mismatch perspective. Evolutionary mismatch is a key concept in biology, referring to traits and behaviors that yielded fitness benefits in ancestral environments, but produce costs when they occur in novel environments. Examples of mismatch have been documented in animal behavior research (e.g., impact of light pollution on sea turtles) but the concept could also be applied usefully to human behavior. This is reasonable given the recent changes in our lifestyle and social organization as our ancestors departed from living in traditional small-scale societies to large, complex societies. In analyzing the way we work now from an evolutionary mismatch perspective, this lecture reaches three conclusions that are not yet part of the mainstream literature. First, in modern societies humans spend more time working than in traditional societies, and this is primarily due to increased status and consumer needs. Second, many aspects of the modern workplace such as certain physical cues (e.g., lack of natural stimuli, physical exercise) and social cues (e.g., low emotional closeness, power differences) are sometimes inconsistent with our evolved work psychology, which could explain the alienation, frustration and stress of many employees. Third, experiments with designing workplaces and organizations as small-scale societies, which are more closely aligned with human nature, show promising results to increase job satisfaction.
Ref: 3922 Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (S) Ensuring and Enhancing Fairness and Validity in Civil Service Recruitment and Selection Paul Weldon, Civil Service HR
The overall aims of this symposium are to:
• Detail an approach to establishing the validity of strengths-based assessment used at interview
• Present best in class design and evaluation action that has been taken in relation to a very widely used SJT
• Discuss research exploring the SJT test taking experience of users with a range of neurodiverse conditions, with particular focus on trialling alternative response formats
The symposium will feature papers which range from providing a background to multi-year fairness improvement work to innovative new responding formats and rigorous evaluation methods
Ref: 3930 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (1) Blending Strengths- and Competency-Based Assessment in Interviews: A Predictive Validity Study Carl Barnes, Civil Service
Introduction: The Civil Service has historically used a competency-based assessment approach for selecting candidates into generalist and specialist roles across government departments (i.e. the Civil Service Competency Framework or CSCF). In recent years, amid some dissatisfaction with a reliance on the CSCF, the Civil Service has looked to strengths-based assessment as an alternative. Whilst competency-based assessment is focused purely on evaluating candidates’ capability, strengths- based assessment is focused on evaluating the product of candidates’ capability and engagement (Linley, 2010). A review of the Civil Service Fast Stream (e.g. Bridge Report, 2016) recommended that strengths-based assessment be used to improve inclusive selection outcomes due to their potential to improve gender balance and social mobility (CAPP, 2016).
Occupational Psychologists in the Government Recruitment Service took the lead in piloting strengths-based questions alongside traditional competency-based questions within semi-structured interviews. Meta-analytical techniques were used to combine assessment scores from multiple government departments and recruitment campaigns to explore diversity impacts. The initial findings from this analysis indicated no disproportionate differences in interview scores amongst different groups of candidates for both strengths and competencies (i.e. differences were either insignificant or showed only a small effect size). Further, combining strengths scores and competency scores into an overall interview composite score often helped to further reduce and moderate any group differences (Barnes, 2018). The latter finding was in keeping with other research that has evidenced that combining different assessment methods and measures of different constructs improves fairness (e.g. Deakin & Dovey, 2017).
The Civil Service officially rolled out strengths-based assessment more widely across government departments in 2018 – 2019 as part of a new recruitment framework ‘Success Profiles’. The Success Profiles framework retains competency-based assessment (labelled as behaviours), along with the assessment of strengths, experience, technical skills and (cognitive) ability.
While some empirical evidence of diversity impacts exists and is positive, there is little empirical evidence of the predictive validity of strengths-based assessment in selection outside the use of psychometric instruments. Quality of hire evidence for strengths-based interviews has relied more on case studies and anecdotal feedback. Similarly, empirical research evidence that suggests the use of strengths is associated with greater satisfaction, well-being and performance (e.g. Linley et al, 2010) has been outside the context of employment assessment for selection and recruitment. This study aims to explore the following research questions as they relate to the semi-structured interview mode of assessment in selection for employment:
1. Does strengths-based assessment predict future job performance?
2. Does strengths-based assessment predict positive job holder experiences / person-job fit?
3. Is strengths-based assessment more or less predictive than competency-based assessment? What is the unique contribution of both assessment approaches?
4. Does combining strengths-based and competency-based assessment in an interview lead to greater predictive validity overall? Design: This paper will present the initial findings of ongoing quantitative research - with data collection and analysis currently ongoing
Method
Sample: A cohort of 314 incumbents working in Middle Manager roles within a large government department were tracked through the selection process into their appointed jobs.
Predictor Measures: Candidates were appointed into their role on the basis of their performance in a semi-structured interview consisting of both strengths-based and competency-based questions, for which scores were collated. Scores available consist of:
• A score for each strength assessed,
• A score for each competency assessed,
• A combined score for strengths,
• A combined score for competencies,
• A total interview score.
Criterion Measures: In order to measure job performance, each incumbent’s line manager was issued with a 13-item rating form and asked to rate the incumbent’s performance across a range of areas, including an overall job performance rating. Line managers rated job performance using a 7- point scale ranging from extremely ineffective to extremely effective.
In parallel, each incumbent was issued with a 13-item questionnaire and asked to respond on a range of areas related to their experiences in their job role and person-job fit (e.g. enjoyment, capability, whether expectations were met and intentions to stay in role). Incumbents’ responses were on a 10-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Data Analysis: Data collection is still underway. To date, line manager ratings of job performance are available for 105 participants and job-fit/experience data is available for 120 participants. The researchers aim to increase the sample to at least 157 in each case (i.e. 50% response rate). Interview scores, line manager ratings and job incumbent responses will be matched to enable the data analysis. The intended data analysis can be broken down as follows
Criterion Exploration
• Line manager ratings for individual job performance areas (i.e. individual items) will be explored for inter-correlations using Pearson correlation. If highly correlated, consideration will be given to collapsing into a smaller number of summary scores (e.g. mean scores) and compared against the overall job performance rating that was given.
• Job incumbent responses to questionnaire items will be explored for inter-correlations using Pearson correlation and Exploratory Factor Analysis to determine any scope for collapsing into a smaller number of summary scores/scales (e.g. engagement items vs. capability items).
• The relationship between line manager ratings / criteria and job incumbent responses / criteria will be explored using Pearson correlation.
Predictive Validity Analysis • Interview scores will be correlated with criterion scores using Pearson correlations. Correlations will be corrected for the effects of range restriction in a selected sample (Dobson, 1988). Correlation coefficients will be interpreted in the context of well-established frameworks for interpreting criterion-related validities in selection (Pearlman et al, 1980; Cronbach, 1970; Cohen, 1969; US Department of Labour, 1999).
• To explore the relative and unique contribution of strengths vs. competencies in predicting the criterion variables, regression analysis will be carried out.
Results and Conclusions: The results from the analysis of this study, the main conclusions and implications for further research and practice in the use of semi-structured interviews / strengths- based assessment will be presented during the session. PowerPoint slides of the session will be made available to conference attendees.
Ethical Considerations: The Civil Service carry out information assurance reviews prior to any data collection. Data protection officers have approved this research.
Participation in the study was entirely voluntary and participants were provided with a clear privacy notice explaining how their data will be used and stored. There were no other ethical concerns.
References
• Barnes, C. B. (2018). Evaluating a Blend of Competency-Based and Strengths-Based Interviews: a Meta-Analysis Approach. Presented to the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference, Stratford upon Avon, 2018. Unpublished conference paper https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/a5hecxmFnU5dpZ
• Cohen, J. (1969) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. NY: Academic Press.
• Cronbach, L. J. (1970). Essentials of psychological testing (3rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
• Deakin, P., & Dovey, H. (2017). Can combining assessments improve test fairness and enhance user experience? Assessment & Development Matters, 9, 25-29.
• Dobson, P. (1988). The correction of correlation coefficients for restriction of range when restriction results from the truncation of a normally distributed variable. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 41, 227-234.
• Linley, P. A., Nielsen, K. M., Gillett, R., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effects on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 6-15.
• Pearlman, K., Schmidt, F.L. & Hunter, J.E. (1980). Validity generalization results for the tests used to predict job proficiency and training success in clerical occupations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 373-406.
• Piasentin, K. A., & Chapman, D. S. (2007). Perceived similarity and complementary as predictors of subjective person-organizational fit. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 80, 341- 354.
• Recruiting for Strengths – The Evidence. A White Paper by CAPP (2016). • Socio-economic diversity in the Fast Stream: the Bridge report (2016). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/socio-economic-diversity-in-the-fast-stream-the- bridge-report
• U.S. Department of Labor. (1999). Testing and assessment: An employer’s guide to good practices. Washington, DC: Author.
Ref: 3927 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (2) Ensuring fairness: making multimedia SJT assessments fully inclusive Ali Shalfrooshan1, Paul Weldon2 1PSI Services, 2UK Civil Service Background: The Civil Service has an ambitious strategy to reflect the diversity of the communities it serves and to become the most inclusive employer in the United Kingdom by 2020. In addition, the Civil Service has committed itself to the Disability Confident scheme. The aim is for the Civil Service to lead the way in creating a disability-inclusive culture where colleagues can realise their full potential with recruitment processes that are accessible to all.
To help deliver these aspirational goals, the Government Recruitment Service initiated a project to build and implement a new set of online tests to be used for high volume recruitment across the Civil service. Due to the requirements of the project, a suite of completely bespoke, mobile enabled, item banked, multimedia assessments needed to be designed to test candidates across 6 job grades from entry level to middle management roles.
This paper provides a practical case study, in which delivering an inclusive and fair test was a critical outcome. The steps taken are detailed in the next section, and cover a broad set of proactive activities implemented both during the initial design phase and since the launch of the assessments.
Initial Design: Steps taken to ensure fairness
Initial design considerations: Scoping the product need in combination with an equality analysis were key initial steps prior to the project commencing. These activities set the general vision for the assessment and the choice of format/design. For example, scoping highlighted the test needed to adopt responsive design principles, be delivered without time limits and include a multimedia video based SJT format. Specifically, the multimedia format was chosen due to previous research showing lower adverse impact associated with this testing approach (Chan & Schmitt, 1997).
The design team utilised best practice research to optimise the fairness of the test from the very initial stages of development to delivery. The test used a rating format as this approach was shown to have the lowest associated subgroup differences between White and BAME candidates (Arthur, Glaze, Jarrett, White & Schurig, 2014). The use of this rating approach created a challenge, as item banked SJTs typically use best/worst formats. Therefore, a new approach to item banked SJT scoring using the Rasch model was developed to ensure we were able to utilise this fairer response format. During the item writing phase, we also applied some of the best practice design principles for designing fair SJTs, detailed in the paper by Mescal and Riley (2017).
Stakeholder involvement and data analysis at every stage: Representatives from 13 different diversity networks were involved during the job analysis phase, which included interviews with 61 representatives, 6 workshops and trials with 71 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). To ensure the test content produced was fair the SMEs were asked to assess and comment on the fairness/inclusivity of the test content (which comprised of 513 scenarios, 3,078 actions, and 280 interview questions at this stage). Based on this review, scenarios were updated to address any feedback.
Over 4,000 civil servants were then involved in a subsequent trial, of which 800 were BAME civil servants. An additional 10,000 external triallists were also utilised. The data collected from these trials were used to make decisions regarding the final content of the test, with subgroup differences, reliability, construct validity and item difficulty all being considered and taken into account. A total of 174 scenarios and 1,742 actions were dropped based on this review, with 334 scenarios and 1336 actions being retained. Overall the involvement of stakeholders ensured that the assessment had wide acceptance amongst business and candidate networks, and that its fairness was evaluated across the entire design cycle.
Accessibility web design and testing: Web accessibility gives users with different kinds of disabilities the possibility to access online content. This is a significant issue for online testing and a technical challenge many online systems do not account for. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (known as WCAG 2.1) are an internationally recognised set of recommendations for improving web accessibility. They explain how to make digital services, accessible to everyone, including users with impairments to their vision, hearing, mobility, thinking and understanding
From the very outset steps were taken to make the test as accessible as possible, which impacted the choices regarding software used (eg utilising bootstraps that enhance accessibility), how the tests were implemented (eg using header tags to ensure easy access for assistive technologies) and how the information was presented). These accessibility activities were supported by the Digital Accessibility Centre who were commissioned to test the suite of assessments and assess whether the test conferred WCAG 2.0 AA standards. This process involved 10 expert testers covering a range of user types.
Post implementation: Steps taken to enhance fairness
Data Evaluation and proactive test updates: Shortly after the launch of the assessments an initial assessment of fairness was conducted. This was based on a sample of 58,295 candidates. Overall no issues were found for the following protected groups: Gender, Age, LGBT status and disability status. Nevertheless, there was an opportunity to improve the test further. Therefore, a suite of proactive steps were carried out to improve the test.
A total of 2,160 d-values were calculated across the assessments and were used to identify test content to remove. Most of the test items had d-values with negligible effect sizes. However, any items with a small or medium effect size were identified as items to drop. The item set was then recalibrated using the data from 193,474 assessments. The total number of scenarios dropped via this process is 124. In addition to removing test content, new multimedia test content was also created and trialled during 2018. A new updated version aligned to the Success Profiles framework was launched in September 2018.
Usability testing and feedback: To improve anything, feedback is critical. Therefore, across 2018 and 2019 a significant initiative to gain feedback from users was started. A range of research methods was used, from structured and unstructured interviews, usability testing and contextual research, running in fortnightly cycles. In addition to meetings with test creators, a total of 98 test taking users and 22 recruiter and vacancy holder users were consulted.
The purpose of this was to identify enhancements to the tests eg test guidance, instructions, documentation and content. BSL and Audio Descriptions: British Sign Language (BSL) is the preferred language of over 87,000 deaf people in the UK. There is a total of 151,000 individuals who can use BSL and involves the use of hand movements, gestures, and facial expressions to communicate. As the overarching goal of the assessments were to make the test accessible to the widest population of candidates possible, it was identified that the video content presented in the test could be enhanced by having BSL and audio description added. Therefore, all of the existing 67 videos presented in the test were updated to have audio description and a BSL signer added. The transcripts were also updated to have even greater detail provided to the candidate.
Summary: Since its initial implementation in 2017 almost 400,000 candidates have completed this suite of multimedia assessments. As the new tests are accessible by default, the number of requests for adjustments by disabled test takers has reduced by a significant 80% - when compared to a previously used test.
Based on the analysis of a sample of 130,000 candidates the tests have been shown to not cause adverse impact on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, faith, marital status or age. The proactive activities to update the text content and item properties also demonstrated a large improvement in the subgroup differences with the effect sizes decreasing as a consequence of the updates.
This project thus demonstrates a practical approach to addressing the issues regarding fairness and accessibility. Despite the importance of the decisions made during the initial design phase, the need for continuous improvement is arguably even more critical, especially if the goal is to become the most inclusive employer in the UK.
References
Arthur, W., Glaze, R.M., Jarrett, S.M., White, C.D., Schurig, I. (2014) Comparative Evaluation of Three Situational Judgment Test Response Formats in Terms of Construct-Related Validity, Subgroup Differences, and Susceptibility to Response Distortion Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 99, No. 3, 535–545
Chan, D. & Schmitt, N. (1997). Video-based versus paper-and-pencil method of assessment in situational judgment tests: Subgroup differences in test performance and face validity perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 1, 143-159.
Mescal M. & Riley P. (2017). How do we make SJTs Fairer? Division of Occupational Psychology BPS Conference
Ref: 3928 Part of Symposia Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work (3) Situational Judgement Tests and Neurodiverse Candidates – An Investigation into Accessibility. Katy Welsh, Civil Service
Introduction: Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) continue to be used by a large number of organisations in both the public and private sectors. Recent research by the Civil Service shows they remain a fair method for selecting individuals from a range of backgrounds (e.g. Lievens et al, 2016). Past research regarding the fairness of SJTs has tended to focus on protected groups based on gender, ethnicity and age but limited research has been conducted regarding disability, specifically neurodiversity. While neurodiversity encompasses a range of disorders (e.g. CIPD, 2018), the main focus of the current research concerns Autism and Asperger’s/Autistic Spectrum Disorder (defined as ASD for the remainder of this submission). A recent report by the Westminster AchieveAbility Commission for Dyslexia and Neurodivergence suggested that online tests are not appropriate for groups with ASD, however feasible alternatives for large-scale recruitment (which is often required in organisations such as the Civil Service) were not discussed. The current research seeks to understand the challenges the SJT format poses to individuals with ASD and how access to this test format can be improved.
As far as the researchers are aware, the current research is the first scientific study looking specifically at the experience of ASD candidates when taking SJTs. SJTs are a common method of assessment for selection in to work, therefore this submission fits under the topic Psychological Assessment at Work’. The limited amount of research in this area means this is a novel piece of research, which the researchers anticipate will pave the way for further study in this area. The researchers expect that as an under-researched area they can offer some unique insights that will encourage discussion between delegates. The researchers also expect that findings will be of interest to the media as access to work for disabled individuals is a growing area of public concern.
Design: This paper will present the findings of ongoing research comprising both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data from focus groups has already been collected and quantitative data collection is ongoing.
Method: To understand the experiences of individuals with ASD, focus groups were carried out with volunteers from across the Civil Service. A guided discussion focussed on three area of exploration, these were:
• General experience of online tests,
• A review of test guidance available,
• A review of a sample of SJT questions.
To explore the accessibility and alternative response options for the SJT, participants were asked to complete a research version of the Civil Service Judgement Test (CSJT). Participants were sourced via a range of Civil Service networks and included individuals both with and without ASD.
The research version of the SJT contained four scenarios presented in video format and four scenarios presented in text format; four of the nine Civil Service behaviours were represented.
The SJT was split into two sections. In section A, participants responded to SJT items in the standard format, where the individual is presented with a single scenario and four actions and they are asked to rate the effectiveness of each action on a four-point scale. In section B, participants responded to one of two different alternative formats:
B1. Participants were asked to rate each action and provide a written explanation of the rating given.
B2. Participants were presented with each action and asked to explain how effective they felt the action was, without a pre-defined rating scale
All participants were presented section A, 50% were presented with section B1 and 50% with section B2.
In addition to responding to the test items, participants were asked which response format they preferred and why. Data Analysis: Thematic analysis on the focus group data was carried out under the three areas of exploration.
Data collection is still underway for the research version of the SJT. To date, data is available for 28 participants with ASD and 72 participants without ASD. The researchers aim to increase the sample to 50 ASD participants.
Once data collection is complete, a group of experienced psychologists and testing specialists will score the written responses to Section B of the SJT based on the existing scoring key. Responses will be reviewed against the scoring key and the behavioural indictors for the relevant behaviour to provide a score for each action.
Group difference will be analysed using T-tests to examine:
• Differences between ASD and non-ASD participants on the standard format CSJT test content
• Differences between ASD and non-ASD participants on the alterative format CSJT test content
• Differences between ASD participants on the different standard formats (video and text-based)
Chi squared analysis will be carried out to examine the preferred response format between ASD and non-ASD participants.
Thematic analysis on the open text feedback will also be carried out.
The current SJT uses a consensus scoring method, comparing candidate ratings to the ratings of SMEs (subject matter exerts). Should any group differences be found, further analysis will be carried out to examine potential alternative scoring methods.
Results: The results of the focus group highlighted a range of improvements to the CSJT and supporting documentations. The key areas for improvement were:
• Clarity of test guidance
• Clarity of test instructions
• Definitions of rating scale
• Role of test taker when responding to scenarios
The results from the analysis of the research version of the SJT will be presented during the session.
Discussion and Conclusions: During the session, the researchers will discuss the findings of the research, sharing best-practice recommendations regarding the design and use of SJTs for candidates with ASD. This will include recommendations concerning the question formats (text- based and video-based), the scoring method and the practicalities of administering and scoring free- text responses. The researchers will share their conclusions regarding whether the alterative formats investigated provided a suitable and fair reasonable adjustment for the candidate groups and make recommendations for the future use of SJTs within these groups. PowerPoint slides of the session will be made available to conference attendees.
Ethical considerations: The Civil Service carry out information assurance reviews prior to any data collection. Data protection officers have approved this research.
Participation in the research was entirely voluntary and participants were provided with a clear privacy notice explaining how their data will be used and stored. The largest area of concern would be causing a negative impact on individuals taking part in the research who are then required to take similar tests for employment. For this reason, no feedback on individual test scores was provided to participants.
References
CIPD. (2018). Neurodiversity At Work. Retrieved from https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/neurodiversity-at-work_2018_tcm18-37852.pdf
Lievens, F., Patterson, F., Corstjens, J., Martin, S., & Nicholson, S. (2016). Widening access in selection using situational judgement tests: evidence from the UKCAT. Medical Education, 50, 624 – 636.
Westminster AchieveAbility Commission for Dyslexia and Neurodivergence. (2018). Neurodiverse voices: Opening Doors to Employment. Retrieved from https://www.achieveability.org.uk/files/1516612947/wac-neurodiverse-voices-opening-doors-to- employment-report_2018_interactive.pdf
Ref: 3841 Standard Paper Topic: Psychological Assessment at Work How do gendered stereotypes impact the careers of LGBT individuals? Ashley Williams, Anne McBride, Helge Hoel Alliance Manchester Business School Introduction: Research investigating the impact of stereotypes on careers has predominantly focussed on stereotypes associated with employee gender. Researchers have demonstrated the impact of role congruity in an occupational setting, by showing a congruence between stereotypes of how leaders should behave and stereotypes of men (e.g. assertive and competitive), and incongruence between stereotypes of leaders and stereotypes of women (e.g. nice and compassionate; Schein, 1973). This phenomenon, known as the “Think-Manager-Think-Male” paradigm, has been replicated many times, and creates a biased negative evaluation of women as leaders. Research also demonstrates that men who assume traditionally feminine roles are similarly stigmatized (Zawisza, Luyt, Zawadzka, & Buczny, 2018).
In addition to causing actual career barriers, gendered stereotypes have been demonstrated to influence individual’s career interests and choice through self-perception of abilities. For example, research has demonstrated that once exposed to gender stereotypes, women were less likely to express an interest in a leadership role on subsequent tasks (Davies, Spencer, & Steele, 2005). By influencing decisions individuals make regarding their careers, gendered stereotypes often present a perceived career barrier, which in turn can cause career indecision, less career planning, and lower aspirations.
Implicit inversion theory (IIT; Kite & Deaux, 1987) suggests that gender stereotypes about gay men and lesbian women tend to be the opposite of those held about their heterosexual equivalents. Where heterosexual women are stereotyped as feminine, lesbian women are believed to be more masculine. Similarly, heterosexual men are assumed to be masculine, whilst gay men are assumed to be highly effeminate (Blashill & Powlishta, 2009). Such stereotypes have been shown to lead to discrimination in the hiring process (Drydakis, 2014). However, very little is currently known about stereotypes of bisexual and transgender individuals, and therefore further work is required in this domain to advance knowledge regarding the impact of gendered stereotypes on LGBT individuals’ perception of career opportunities and barriers.
Current theories of career decision and development, such as Circumscription and Compromise Theory (CCT; Gottfredson, 2002), describe how career aspirations are formed during childhood, and develop with the evolving self-concept. This theory notes that during the early phase of development, gendered stereotypes play a significant role in an individual’s assessment of suitable roles (Beyer, Rynes, & Haller, 2004), which suggests individuals discard certain occupations as a result of perceived career barriers. However, such careers theories are currently limited in their application to LGBT individuals. The aim of the current research is to explore the way in which LGBT individuals perceive career barriers, and specifically how gendered stereotypes contribute to such perception.
Design: The sample consists of 37 individuals, who have been recruited via LGBT+ networks within both public and private sector organisations. This sample includes 6 lesbian, 26 gay, 2 bisexual and 3 transgender individuals, with a mean age of 39. In order to uphold the conditions of full ethical approval for this research, participant and organisation anonymity is maintained in the reporting of this research.
The exploratory aim of the research is met by using narrative interview design, whereby participants use storytelling to uncover their experiences of the phenomenon being studied. These interviews are informed by a drawing of a timeline, constructed by the participant during the interview and developed throughout the discussion. Existing literature has used visual timelines to investigate a particular phenomenon alongside key career milestones (Mazzetti & Blenkinsopp, 2012). In the context of the current research, career development is mapped alongside self-concept and identity development. Subsequent narrative interviews allow for exploration of the interaction of such events and the impact of stereotypes throughout the timeline of careers. The combination of verbal interview and drawing activity helps remove barriers that sometimes hinder elicitation of sensitive or personal information, and is particularly useful when interviewing members of marginalized groups (Berends, 2011).
Thematic analysis is used to analyse the data collected as it allows for continuous comparisons between sets of narrative based on recurrent themes and remains flexible enough to allow for intersectional sensitivity in approaching the data.
Results: Results indicate that the impact of gendered stereotypes on lesbian and gay individuals’ perception of career barriers is inverse to that of heterosexual individuals. The below quote demonstrates the way in which masculine stereotypes of lesbian women impacted one participant’s perception of career barriers in a stereotypically feminine industry:
“You know there were gay people, but they meant the men… and then the women were supposed to look a certain way and behave a certain way, and I didn’t fit into either … somehow I was neither gay enough or woman enough” (Lesbian female)
Many participants also discussed the positive experiences of working within stereotypically congruent occupations, as demonstrated in the following quotes:
“I probably enjoyed my time there so much because that is the only time when I felt like being gay is the norm … the assumption is as Cabin Crew, that you are a gay man, and it’s nice that people think you are the norm” (Gay male) “There is almost a perverse kind of benefit in some ways… in some specific contexts, I think there is a benefit to being perceived as more masculine, because there is more license to display the kind of confidence and assertiveness that men are allowed to display, because I think I get put into that category” (Lesbian female)
Further, the analysis indicates that transgender individuals experience changes in the perception of their career opportunities and barriers following transition, due to being subject to different gendered stereotypes. The conference presentation will allow for further exploration of these findings, and their positioning within the existing literature.
Discussion: Whilst the sample is diverse in terms of industry, age and job role, there is limited variability in the identity of the participants, particularly with regards to ethnicity. This will indeed provide a limitation of the research, as it could be deemed non-representative of LGBT employees. However, this represents a common limitation in LGBT research, and a review of other research that has utilised LGBT networks has demonstrated a similar challenge. Colgan et al. (2007) found that members of “subgroups” within LGBT networks, such as ethnic minorities, are less likely to disclose their sexual or gender identity at work, and are therefore much less likely to participate in a research project specifically concerning LGBT issues.
This research is suitably aligned with both the main conference theme of ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’, and the specific topic of ‘Psychological Assessment’. The combination of the narrative interview and timeline represents a seldom-used method within this domain, allowing for significant contribution to scientific research. The contributions of the research will assist in extending existing theories of careers (e.g., CCT) and stereotypes (e.g., IIT), as well as aiding the development of organisational interventions. Such interventions include assisting with the design of inclusive recruitment materials and strategies, as well as providing support for careers counsellors to specifically assist LGBT individuals with regards to unique career experiences.
Conference delegates are likely to find this session stimulating as it offers a different perspective on identity, by exploring the role of gendered stereotypes outside of sex-based gender discrimination. Sexual and gender identities are being discussed in the media more than ever, and organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the need to create LGBT friendly organisations with inclusive policies.
References
Berends, L. (2011). Embracing the visual: Using timelines with in-depth interviews on substance use and treatment. Qualitative Report, 16, 1–9.
Beyer, S., Rynes, K., & Haller, S. (2004). Deterrents to women taking computer science courses. IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE, 23(1), 21–28.
Blashill, A. J., & Powlishta, K. K. (2009). Gay stereotypes: The use of sexual orientation as a cue for gender-related attributes. Sex Roles, 61, 783–793.
Colgan, F., Creegan, C., Mckearney, A., & Wright, T. (2007). Equality and diversity policies and practices at work: lesbian, gay and bisexual workers. Equal Opportunities International, 26(6), 590– 609.
Davies, P. G., Spencer, S. J., & Steele, C. M. (2005). Clearing the Air: Identity Safety Moderates the Effects of Stereotype Threat on Women’s Leadership Aspirations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(2), 276–287. Drydakis, N. (2014). Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the United Kingdom’s Labour Market: A Field Experiment (No. 8741).
Gottfredson, L. (2002). Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription, Compromise, and Self-Creation. Career Choice and Development, 4, 85–148.
Kite, M. E., & Deaux, K. (1987). Gender belief systems: Homosexuality and the implicit inversion theory. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11, 83–96.
Mazzetti, A., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2012). Evaluating a visual timeline methodology for appraisal and coping research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85(4), 649–665.
Schein, V. E. (1973). The relationship between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57(2), 95–100.
Zawisza, M., Luyt, R., Zawadzka, A. M., & Buczny, J. (2018). Does it pay to break male gender stereotypes in advertising? A comparison of advertisement effectiveness between the United Kingdom, Poland and South Africa. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(4), 464–480.
Ref: 3966 Standard Paper Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development Shifting horizons and life chances: interventions for social mobility Philip Wilson, Civil Service Fast Stream and Early Talent Introduction: Civil Service Fast Stream and Early Talent (FSET) oversees high profile talent programmes for school/college students, apprentices, diversity interns and graduates who have the potential to become future leaders across the Civil Service. The Fast Stream graduate programme now stands at number 1 in The Times 2019 Top 100 graduate employers listing. An overwhelming priority for FSET is social mobility, seeking to shift the horizons of those from less privileged circumstances (Wilson, 2012 and 2018). Acknowledging the need to accelerate change, we commissioned a ground breaking research review by the Bridge Group – comprising a 2 year action plan which was fully implemented by early 2018 and developed further over the following 12 months. From this, FSET’s social mobility vision for the Civil Service has been entirely re-vamped. Crucially the strategy feeds into the Civil Service Talent Action Plan, which states: “We must ensure that opportunities for progression are open to all. In doing this, we have an opportunity to provide exemplary leadership on social mobility, not only as an employer, but also to lead the way for other organisations." This paper outlines interventions, in the form of a refreshed strategy – drawing on a range of occupational psychology themes - which have yielded positive outcomes in the social mobility space.
Setting out a social mobility strategy
Our social mobility strategy has allowed us to comprehensively revise our approach. Social mobility is, for us, about upward transition between generations - about access to opportunities, beyond an individual’s starting point, to enhance life chances.
The Bridge Group research and action plan was rolled out between 2016-2018 and into 2019, examining barriers to progression, and actions to address these. It included state of the art statistical evaluation of over 100,000 candidates and detailed stakeholder review, helping to install a new social mobility strategy. The sweep of the strategy also builds on previous good practice, Fast Stream data and accompanying market research with High Fliers and Trendence. It encompasses the full talent pipeline from schools, colleges, apprenticeships, internships (targeting lower socio-economic undergraduate/graduate students), into the graduate programme and beyond. In so doing we aim to be thought leaders for the entire entry level/graduate UK market. The involvement of different government departments as key stakeholders remains critical to integrating social mobility across the whole organisation.
Methodology: The strategic approach taken consisted of a range of strands concerning measurement, attraction, recruitment, on-boarding and advocacy:
Measuring social mobility
• Fast Stream was one of the very first, in 2011, graduate recruiters to introduce a set of measures to identify socio-economic status. Since that time applicant and appointment levels for lower socio- economic background (SEB) groups have been published yearly – in the Fast Stream Annual Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file /767789/Civil_Service_Fast_Stream_Annual_Report_2017_-_2018.pdf
• We have now fully aligned the new Civil Service driven question set - with key contributions from Fast Stream - to establish common measures to understand socio-economic background –published in 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/socio-economic-background/socio- economic-background-seb
• FSET were the first agency in the Civil Service to fully use these new measures and therefore are able to start to monitor their impact.
• These measurement approaches were supplemented by a comprehensive pilot of ‘contextualised’ recruitment analysis to review performance in the context of previous disadvantage.
Attracting, recruiting and on-boarding for social mobility
Key components of our approach are:
• Establishing clearer accountability for socio-economic diversity in the Fast Stream – installing a number of senior social mobility champions.
• Mobilising the existing Fast Stream workforce to be involved in attraction activities, driven by support from senior leaders.
• Delivering more curriculum-based interactions with targeted universities, and engage actively with widening participation teams.
• Engaging with diversity partners to help reach out to target groups, including: upReach, My Kinda Future, Elevation Networks, Rare Recruitment and UpRising.
• Introducing enhanced data insights for dynamic monitoring of progress.
• Identifying high-touch universities which had the greatest potential mix of individuals from a lower socio-economic background, geographic location and relevant undergraduate courses. • Increasing the availability and visibility of key messages that will support lower socio-economic applications.
• Establishing a route to fast tracking lower socio-economic successful participants on the Fast Stream Summer Diversity Internship Programme (Wilson, 2013), through to final stage assessment centre (‘Fast Pass’).
• Engaging more pro-actively with candidates from under-represented groups at the registration stage through personal contact.
• Developing resources and outreach modules that can be delivered remotely by teachers, and Fast Streamers, in schools and colleges.
• Delivering a critical review of the way in which the Fast Stream defines and identifies ‘talent’, working towards more inclusive methods of identifying potential.
• A revised selection design including a state of the art regional assessment centre, video interviewing, shortened application window and more digital delivery.
• Reducing time to offer to support candidate engagement.
• Based on publicly available data, benchmarks have been updated - with the new graduate benchmark at 25.1% for SEB (drawing on Higher Education Statistics Agency 2017/18 graduate population data). The apprenticeship benchmark is 37.6% (based on Census 2011). These figures help us to determine how far we need to travel (and have travelled) to achieve an appropriate mix at selection and later stages.
• Establishing a 'near miss' Direct Appointment Scheme, in which Fast Stream graduate applicants who just missed out on a place, are offered new opportunities (at a lower grade - around 800 each year). These have yielded enhanced socio-economic diversity compared to mainstream recruitment.
• Establishing a high potential talent development programme to advance apprentices to our graduate programme
• Running 'Welcome to My Future' events for all new Fast Streamers, which are specifically about promoting diversity and inclusion and areas such as being inclusive leaders.
Public promotion and advocacy
• Promotion and advocacy is strongly demonstrated within outreach events, networking events, leadership training and diversity internships. Profiles of individuals from socially diverse backgrounds are presented on the Fast Stream website/YouTube/social media. The award winning Fast Stream social mobility network is also key here.
• We provided a best practice case study of our approach for the 2019 Bridge Group outcome report.
• We also encourage suppliers to improve all their assessment methodologies against social mobility - e.g. when they provide products for our assessment stages. We have worked closely with test developers, to achieve diversity/social mobility within their designs.
• In addition, we offer regular external presentations/seminars that set out our social mobility approach.
Results: Roll-out includes these positive highlights: • The success rate for Fast Stream graduate programme lower socio-economic candidates increased each year from 2017 (doubling compared with 2016), to 2018 and 2019.
• Expansion of socio-economic applications rates across diversity categories between 2018 and 2019.
• For schools, we offered 100 lower SEB one-week placements to Years 10 – 13 and over 5000 one day Discovery Events at Year 9. 98% said they would recommend the placement programme to their friends when they return to school. 100% of schools would like to take part again.
• Over 19% of mainstream apprentices (in 2018) were lower socio-economic.
• Diversity internships expanded to a record 650 in 2019 from just over 500 in 2018.
• Evaluation metrics for 2018 and 2019 spring interns – including lower socio-economic students - indicated 100% would recommend the internship.
• Delivering over 30% conversion of diversity interns, including the lower SEB, to permanent Fast Stream graduate roles, utilising ‘Fast Pass’.
• For our high talent apprenticeship development programme around 40% of participants who achieved a graduate role were lower SEB.
• We have collected graduate application data for the new metrics indicating: State schooled – not selective: 58.8%; State schooled – selective: 26.05%; Eligible for free school meals: 21.29%; First person in family to go to university: 52.85%; Parental occupation: 19.1%; Self-assessment – coming from a lower socio-economic background: 35.27%.
• To support engagement we have delivered the shortest end to end Fast Stream Recruitment Campaign on record in 2018-19 – reducing the timeline by 2 weeks and achieving our lowest mean Time to Offer of 12.9 weeks.
• Recognition from a range of social mobility-related awards: including being in the top ten of the 2018 Social Mobility Commission/Social Mobility Foundation UK Social Mobility Index; National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2018 and 2019 - Best Diversity Initiative in Work Experience – winner; Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2018 and 2019 – Best Social Mobility Strategy – finalist; Target Jobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2018 – Best Diversity Strategy – winner; FIRM Awards 2018 - Best Diversity & Inclusion Recruitment Strategy – winner; Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2018 - Championing Social Mobility – finalist; UK Social Mobility Awards 2019 – Organisation of the Year – finalist; UK Social Mobility Awards 2017 – Organisation of the Year – highly commended.
Discussion: With this comprehensive range of actions we have shifted outcomes positively. The breadth of these areas pinpoint the spread of avenues available to extend mobility and expand opportunities. And activity is being further progressed, including:
• Completing roll-out of multimedia assessment design for Autumn 2020, with a strong lower SEB diversity focus.
• Extending the diversity of assessors in terms of lower SEB.
• Working on a more ‘welcoming’ assessment experience (triggered by external research).
• Continued development of website/campus representation. • Further expanding our Early Talent pipeline, including expanding diversity internships.
• Investigating approaches to use diversity internships to specifically leverage diversity success (currently in discussion with Legal representatives).
• Continuing review of data analysis to show at which stage candidates drop out of the process in respect to SEB.
• Increased in-service diversity events for SEB.
• Continue improved mean time to offer to enhance candidate engagement.
• Review integrating intersectionality, recognising overlapping identities (e.g. Black Caribbean and lower SEB) which may support different routes to attraction and engagement.
• Capture workplace data to review SEB performance management, promotion and retention by diversity characteristics – to help identify gaps and inclusion needs.
• Integration of apprentices (highly represented in terms of SEB) into graduate selection– including degree apprenticeships.
References
Wilson, P. (2012) Social mobility – occupational psychology’s role in the new diversity challenge. Division of Occupational Psychology Conference.
Wilson, P. (2013) Harnessing the benefits of internships - an award winning diversity internship programme. Division of Occupational Psychology Conference.
Wilson, P. (2018) Accelerating social mobility: breaking through the class ceiling. Division of Occupational Psychology Conference.
Collaborating Beyond OP: Bridging evidence and practice Topic: Work Design, Organisational Change and Development
Bringing together physical design & organisational psychology to build healthy workspaces Joanna Yarker1, Charlotte Hermans2 1Affinity Health at Work/Birbeck University, 2AECOM
With recent figures suggesting that 26.8 million work days lost to ill health, costing UK employers upwards of £9.7 billion a year in lost productivity (HSE, 2018), it is not surprising that workplace wellbeing is a high priority for organisations. There is a vast, yet diffuse evidence base that can help us to understand the impact of the workplace on health and wellbeing, yet typically different disciplines have worked in silos. For example, ergonomists, environmental psychologists and real estates researchers have explored the impact of work settings, noise, light, air quality, while separately, organizational psychologists have developed a strong understanding of the role played by the psychological and social aspects such as manager support, work autonomy and culture. The emergence of the WELL Building Standards, and growing pressure from clients, has led the workspace design industry to prioritise design for wellbeing bringing new opportunities to create healthy and productive workspaces.
This session brings shared insights from a partnership between Affinity Health at Work, Birkbeck and AECOM, a global company leading in the field of workplace design. Working together to develop and test a conceptual model for Holistic Workplace Wellbeing, we adopted a multi-disciplinary perspective that integrates the contributions of psychologists, architects and design and construction. Together, we have gathered data from over 1500 employees, across four workplaces, to examine how people interact with their workspaces. Most recently, gathering data pre- and post- to examine the impact of an office re-fresh. We examine ambient factors (light, temperature), office features (layout and equipment) and management practices, alongside work and health outcomes to identify the salient features that predict performance, health and wellbeing.
Our findings demonstrate the complex interplay of features in the physical and the psychosocial work environment with dominant influences of managerial support, workplace autonomy, and environmental “hygiene factors” such as noise and lighting. Behavioral protocols or ‘shared rules about how we use the space around us’ play an important role in supporting wellbeing.
This collaboration, bringing together different disciplines and working across academia and business, has allowed us to develop a new working model of workplace wellbeing. The implications for professionals working together to design and deliver healthy workplaces are considered. Specifically, we recognize the importance of leveraging expertise from different disciplines and drawing from a research-driven approach, and share the opportunities and challenges of working together to create healthy and productive workspaces.
Keywords: work design, office design, health, wellbeing, productivity
Ref: 3911 Standard Paper Topic: Leadership, Engagement and Motivation Machiavellianism, ideal leadership concepts and organisational crisis on abusive supervision and OCB Zainal Ezzat Adel Bin Zainal Azman, Anders Friis Marstand Birkbeck University of London The effect of destructive leadership involving abusive supervision, petty tyranny, and strategic bullying has been observed to have various negative impacts on employees such as lower job and live satisfaction and greater psychological distress (Tepper, 2000). Due to the conceptual overlap between abusive and destructive leadership, the present paper will utilise the term “abusive leadership” to describe the abusive supervision of leaders. However, followers’ reaction to abusive leadership has been observed to vary in different contexts (Knapp, Faley, Ekeberg, & Dubois, 1997), indicating that various factors affect followers’ recognition and perception of destructive behaviours. The present study reveals how organisational contexts and follower factors such as Machiavellianism and self-concepts of leadership may lead to an acceptance of leaders’ abusive behaviours towards followers, and thereby maintain supervisor-targeted organisational citizenship behaviour. The effects of abusive leadership are thus expected to influence followers’ supervisor-directed organisational citizenship behaviour (SOCB) as these behaviours are built on the absence of altruism and courtesy (Williams and Anderson, 1991).
The use of Machiavellianism as a higher-order personality construct is one that relates to the ideals espoused by Nicollo Machiavelli involving a mistrust in human nature, lack of conventional morality, opportunism, and lack of affect in interpersonal relationships (Christie & Geis, 1970). “High Machs” were found to have a strong tendency to manipulate others (Geis & Christie, 1970), exhibit abusive supervision in work teams (Wisse, 2016), and are partially linked with increased task performance in competitive settings (Hutter, Fuller, Hautz, Bilgram & Matzler, 2015). Due to the overlap between Machiavellianism and abusive leadership (distrust in others, lack of moral standards, strategic use of interpersonal relationships), it is suggested that the perception of one is conceptually related to the perception of the other. Additionally, there is a large body of research in the area of social comparison theory that pertains to the acceptance of individuals who are like us. This is as actual and perceived personality similarities has been partially linked with outcomes, such as satisfaction and attraction, in various forms of interpersonal relationships such as friendship (Izard, 1960) and the leader-member exchange (Oren et al., 2012). Thus, it is suggested that the relationship between abusive leadership and SOCBs are moderated by followers’ Machiavellianism.
Ideal leadership self-concepts behave in a similar process, acting as a trigger for social learning through directing the decision to endorse or reject leaders as role models. People’s ideal selves includes both the positive standards that we strive to reach and the minimum standards that we attempt to avoid, thus forming the basis of social learning and self-development (Markus & Nurius, 1986). These ideal leadership self-concepts are built from implicit leadership theories (ILTs) that represent the traits and behaviours that followers expect from leaders. Epitropaki and Martin’s (2004) 6-factor ILT structure involving sensitivity, intelligence, dedication, dynamism, tyranny, and masculinity was used by Tu, Bono, Shum & LaMontagne (2018) to show that followers’ tyranny and sensitivity were involved in the learning of leadership behaviours. More specifically, followers who endorsed tyranny as part of their ideal leadership self-concept were more likely to emulate the behaviours of an abusive role model while sensitivity provided a protection factor. Tu et al. specifically used sensitivity and tyranny as they related more to the interpersonal treatment of and concern for others, however the present paper suggests elements relating to leader competence, such as dedication, are also involved in the endorsement of abusive behaviours when organisational and individual performance are emphasized, such as in the context of an organizational crisis. Thus, it is suggested that the relationship between abusive leadership and SOCBs are moderated by followers’ ILT of tyranny, sensitivity, and dedication (ILT-TSD).
The notion that interpersonal conflicts are put aside during periods of crisis has been explored in the past, with Hurt and Abebe (2015) finding that intrateam conflict is to some extent superseded by the urgent need for collaboration and prompt decision making. Chen, Chen & Sheldon (2015) argue that our and others’ undesired behaviours can be overlooked during periods of intergroup conflict as material and social resources become scarcer and the survival and well-being of the organisation becomes threatened. Intergroup competition is an integral part of social identity theory, as groups regularly compete over status and prestige. In situations of greater competition, I propose that people will be more motivated to accept abusive behaviours because the survival and well-being of their organisation is at even greater stake. Destructive behaviours will be perceived as critical for their company to stay in business, that the rival company is merciless and therefore deserves no merciful treatment, and that the “do or die” situation reasonably overrides personal and societal considerations of morality (Chen, Chen & Sheldon, 2016). Thus, it is proposed that interorganisational competition moderates the effect of abusive supervision on supervisor-targeted organisational citizenship behaviour.
Design and methodology: The present research uses an experimental vignette methodology. Recruited participants were first given a questionnaire measuring their ILT-TSD (Epitropaki & Martin, 1994) and Machiavellianism (Rauthmann, 2013). Participants were then given one of three vignettes describing a leader whom they were positioned to be working under (abusive, non-abusive, and neutral). This is followed by one of two vignettes describing an organisational period that is going through a period of crisis or non-crisis. Referring to the given vignettes, participants were then asked to answer the 7-item SOCB scale (Williams & Anderson, 1991), followed by manipulation checks using the 15-item abusive supervision scale (Tepper, 2000) and a 2-item organisational crisis assessment.
We ran one-way ANOVAs comparing participant reports of abusive supervision and perceptions organisational crisis across the leadership and organisational crisis vignette groups. Results confirmed the effects of the manipulation as participants reported highest scores of abusive supervisions in the abusive leader vignette, and highest scores of organisational crises in the crisis vignette.
The main effect of abusive leadership behaviours on SOCB were confirmed (B = -.432, p = 0.003), however no other direct effects on SOCB were found. The hypothesized two-way interactions between abusive leadership and the 3 ILTs, Machiavellianism, and organisational crisis perception were not supported through regression analyses, however a two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction effect between abusive leader exposure and organisation crisis prevalence on SOCB (F (2, 194) = 3.25, p = .05). Regression analyses indicate that while abusive supervision predicts SOCB in non-crises scenarios (B = -.532, p = 0.007), it fails to do when organisations are positioned in periods of crises (B = .230, p = 0.316). Three-way interactions between ILTs, Machiavellianism, or organisational crisis and abusive leadership are also explored, revealing partial support for a tyranny- crisis-leadership interaction (B = .347, p = 0.036).
While a majority of the leadership literature has focused on the emergence and effects of transformational and charismatic leaders, the present study sheds light on how abusive leadership behaviours may emerge and persist in groups and organisations. The present paper also calls into question the effects of leadership during periods of perceived crisis, as the influence of leaders may shift in purpose and strategy. This paper contributes to the theory of leadership and social identify through positioning crises as periods that safeguard deteriorations in interpersonal relationships, while also bridging together individual-level and organisational-level constructs. It also adds to identify theories, revealing how self-concepts of tyranny can be manifested when confronted with abuse in certain contexts. This paper also contributes to organisations through indicating the fluctuating effects of certain leadership behaviours. Abusive leaders in times of crises may incite certain positive outcomes, however this effect may not be sustainable as organisational contexts change. High performing abusive supervisors in troubled times may be the result of a gifted team, and a reluctance to accept contextual factors for one’s performance may result in undesired outcomes when the crisis is no longer present to maintain unity
References
Chen, M., Chen, C. C., & Sheldon, O. (2015). Relaxing Moral Reasoning to Win. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2015(1), 12910.
Christie, R., & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Ehrhart, M. (2004). Leadership and procedural justice climate as antecedents of unit-level organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology, 57(1), 61-94.
Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2004). Implicit Leadership Theories in Applied Settings: Factor Structure, Generalizability, and Stability Over Time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(2), 293-310.
Hurt, K., & Abebe, M. (2015). The Effect of Conflict Type and Organizational Crisis on Perceived Strategic Decision Effectiveness: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 22(3), 340-354. Hutter, K., Füller, J., Hautz, J., Bilgram, V., & Matzler, K. (2015). Machiavellianism or morality: Which behavior pays off in online innovation contests? Journal of Management Information Systems, 32(3), 197-228.
Izard, C. (1960). Personality similarity, positive affect, and interpersonal attraction. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61(3), 484-485.
Knapp, D., Faley, R., & Ekeberg, S. (1997). Determinants of Target Responses to Sexual Harassment: A Conceptual Framework. The Academy of Management Review, 22(3), 687-729.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954-969.
Oren, L., Tziner, A., Sharoni, G., Amor, I., & Alon, P. (2012). Relations between leader-subordinate personality similarity and job attitudes. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(5), 479-496.
Rauthmann, J. F. (2013). Investigating the MACH–IV with item response theory and proposing the Trimmed MACH*. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95, 388-397.
Tepper, B. (2000). Consequences of Abusive Supervision. The Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 178-190
Tu, M., Bono, J., Shum, C., & LaMontagne, L. (2018). Breaking the Cycle: The Effects of Role Model Performance and Ideal Leadership Self-Concepts on Abusive Supervision Spillover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(7), 689-702.
Williams, L., & Anderson, S. (1991). Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship and In-Role Behaviors. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601-617.
Wisse, B., & Sleebos, E. (2016). When the dark ones gain power: Perceived position power strengthens the effect of supervisor Machiavellianism on abusive supervision in work teams. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 122-126.
Ref: 3863 Poster Topic: Research Design, Analytical Techniques and Practical Applications People Analytics and HR employees' Resistance Eleni Zarkada, MSc Student in the University of Edinburgh
To begin with, since the digital world has provoked changes in the business field due to the rise of Big Data (Manyika et al., 2011), it is crucial that occupational psychologists consider this issue with a critical aspect and understand its effects in employees' lives. This research focused only on HR employees' behaviour towards the use of data and more specifically, the use of People Analytics - those data that are related with human beings. The goal was to uncover the reasons why some HR employees avoided intensively their use instead of being agile. Due to lack of academic literature on the field, only a few papers insisted on deepen in the reasons by starting with Attitudes and Self- Efficacy (Vargas et al., 2018). Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 2012) the current research aspired to extend the existing literature by adding the factors of Skills/Knowledge and organisational Culture.
The data were collected by an online questionnaire and five semi-structured phone interviews, while Pearson's coefficient correlations and Regression Analysis as well as Thematic Analysis were used respectively. The first research question supported that Skills have an impact on Attitudes, meaning that data illiterate employees will shape negative attitudes, but unexpectedly it wasn't supported, although through the interview the impact of Attitudes on Skills was more obvious. The second research question aspired to examine the effect of Self-Efficacy beliefs on the use of People Analytics on Attitudes, which was also rejected. Although the first two research questions intended to explain the formation of Attitudes in order to understand the main reason of Resistance, no specific answer was given. However, the third research question opted to reassure that Attitudes influence Resistance based also on bibliography on the field of innovation (Shah, Irani and Sharif, 2017). Despite the weak correlation and the low predictability of the regression analysis, it was one of the statistically significant results that indicated even a small relationship with Resistance among all the factors examined. At the same time, the interviews reinforced the idea that Attitudes are an essential part underpinning HR employees' Resistance. The fourth factor examined was Culture, as refers to a data- driven Culture embedded to the organisation. There were also contradicting results, because the interviewees emphasised a lot to this factor, whereas the statistical results showed a weak correlation and a low cause-and-effect relationship. Given the above, a new model of interactions among these concepts was proposed providing a spherical view of where professionals should focus in order to resolve resistance issues.
Last but not least, in order for a business to change Resistance, the last research question examined how PA Training can alter Attitudes, indicating a moderate correlation and predictability, being also statistically significant. The qualitative data were in line with these results, giving more information on innovative techniques followed by some organisations.
Finally, there were topics that arose during the interviews, shedding light to the contradicting findings and also opening avenues of future research. The interference of politics among leadership, the active involvement of leadership with PA, the Awareness of employees towards the value of analytics and the means of gamification used in training were those capturing the researchers' attention. Conducting this research, the discipline of Occupational Psychology has enriched its knowledge on the field of innovation adoption or resistance, as well as the role of Attitudes, organisational Culture and Training on it. Since Psychology has a long tradition with data and statistics, professionals themselves should encourage employees to change their mentality by inventing ways to make them approachable.
Ajzen, I. (2012) The theory of planned behavior, in Van Lange, P., Kruglanski, A. & Higgins, E. (ed.) Handbook of theories of social psychology. SAGE Publications Ltd: London, pp. 438–459. doi:10.4135/9781446249215. n22.
Manyika, J., Chui, M., Brown, B., Bughin, J., Dobbs, R., Roxburgh, C. & Byers, A. H. (2011) Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. The McKinsey Global Institute: McKinsey & Company.
Shah, N., Irani, Z. & Sharif, A., M. (2017) Big data in an HR context: Exploring organizational change readiness, employee attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Business Research, 70, pp. 366–378. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.010.
Vargas, R., Yurova, Y., Y., Ruppel, C., P., Tworoger, L., C. & Greenwood, R. (2018) Individual adoption of HR analytics: a fine grained view of the early stages leading to adoption, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(22), 3046-3067, doi : 10.1080/09585192.2018.1446181.