Workplace Psychology Meeting

Newswise — Industrial and organizational psychologists will be looking at some of the current issues and emerging trends in the workplace at the 19th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology April 2-4 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago.

The conference is expected to attract more than 3,000 of the world’s top workplace scientists.

More than 600 symposia, practitioner forums, panel presentations, posters and other sessions will feature a wide range of workplace issues including strategies to select the best employees, ranging from top management to hourly workers; the use of personality tests to predict worker behavior; achieving a balance between work and family; the effects of shift work on families; how organization values provide a sense of continuity and change during corporate changes, and how the science and practice of I-O psychology can be applied to a number of worker and public safety concerns.

Other sessions will highlight national security concerns, including arming airline pilots and psychologically preparing soldiers for war; dealing with conflict at work and understanding its impact upon employees, and strategies for the advancement of women in the workplace.

Additional topics to be discussed:
· The impact of alternative work arrangements. Compressed work weeks and telecommuting seem to be a win-win situation.
· Shift work and family status. Conventional wisdom says shift work is detrimental for married employees. Not so, according to this study.
· Internet pre-screening. Does it lead to better hiring decisions? Practitioners from four organizations who have more than a million on-line applicants discuss the pros and cons from the perspective of both companies and candidates.
· Whose fault is it when computer systems breakdown? This study indicates one overlooked reason—IT people comprise a distinct subculture within organizations—one that often has troubled relations with other groups, ie. users and managers.
· Effective ways to hire hourly workers. These people are often crucial to business success and comprise the majority of many organizations’ workforces. This study identifies the best and innovative selection practices at many U.S. organizations.
· Facial expressions in the boardroom. Emotions play a crucial role in interpersonal communication at work. In this study of board members, women were better at reading the facial emotions. That is, in part, say the researchers, because women have higher emotional intelligence than men.
· Bullying in the workplace. Researchers examine the various forms of workplace bullying (racial/ethnic, verbal, email) and offer tips on how managers can control this harassing behavior to better protect employees.
SIOP President Michael Burke will open the three-day conference with the keynote
address. Also, during the opening session, SIOP will present its annual recognition awards and Fellows, men and women who have made significant contributions to the field of IO psychology.

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is an international group of 6,000 industrial-organizational psychologists whose members study and apply scientific principles concerning people in the workplace. For more information about SIOP, including Media Resources, which lists 1,400 experts in more than 100 topic areas, visit http://www.siop.org