Although when we think about psychology we are generally imagining the study of the human psyche and behavior in a clinical context, the truth is that this discipline works with multiple other areas; It is not limited only to a health aspect.
The mind is an object of study that remains active at all times, situations and contexts. One of the areas in which multiple research has also been carried out in work psychology, which is responsible for the Psychology of Work and Organizations In this area, elements such as leadership, authority, following standards and employee productivity have been analyzed.
There are multiple theories that have emerged throughout history and the authors who have worked in this area, among them Douglas Murray McGregor, who developed two opposing theories that explain both the way of exercising traditional leadership and another more humanistic one. which the author advocated: This is McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y Let’s see what they consist of.
Starting with the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of the first factories, the need arose to manage the way in which workers carried out their work. The large amount of labor exploitation that existed at the time and that has continued over the centuries is known, with exhaustive control of what each employee did and providing few freedoms, in addition to being limited to the performance of one or several tasks. specifics indicated by management (addressing both what should be done and how).
There are also known numerous revolts carried out to improve the conditions of workers, which would eventually lead to the creation of unions. Employee performance and productivity was always something to take into account for managers, using different strategies and the majority being the use of control, sanction and coercion to promote productivity, and money as a reward. But except for those people whose basic needs were not covered, productivity did not improve excessively.
The emergence of psychology as a science made it possible to analyze this type of situations and different theories were developed. Although the first theories considered the need to exercise greater control and considered the worker mainly lazy, other currents contrary to this belief later emerged.
One of these authors, in this case from the 20th century, was Douglas McGregor. This author is based on Maslow’s theory of motivation and his hierarchy of human needs to propose that the lack of motivation and work productivity is due to the fact that once basic needs are met, the stimuli necessary to satisfy them cease to be motivating. New needs are generated such as esteem and self-realization that most companies of the time are not interested in meeting. For this reason, it proposes a new mode of business operation in the face of the limitations of the traditional one: theory Y, which contrasts with the traditional model or theory X, both models being mutually exclusive.
Theory X
The so-called theory tries to explain the way of understanding the company and the worker that had been the majority until now
This traditional view considers the worker as a passive entity that must be forced to work, a lazy being who tends to work as little as possible and whose only motivation for doing so is to obtain money. He is considered uninformed, unable to manage changes and conflicts, and unambitious. Without exhaustive control they would not carry out their work.
Under this consideration, management must show leadership capacity and exercise continuous control over employees in order to avoid their passivity. Workers’ behavior will be monitored and all responsibilities will be assumed, providing them with limited tasks.
Leadership is therefore exercised in an authoritarian manner and indicating what each person should do and how The rules are strict and strong sanctions, coercion and punitive measures are established to keep employees working. Money and remuneration are used as a basic element of motivation.
In Theory X, McGregor explains the traditional way of understanding work that has existed since the time of the Industrial Revolution. However, he considers that it was necessary to start from a different theory that had a different vision of the worker and his role in the company. The result of this was theory Y.
This theory indicates that management should be responsible for organizing the company and its resources in order to meet its objectives, but that Employees are not a passive element but an active element unless they are pushed to do so The value and importance of motivation and challenge is indicated, a value that is not usually taken advantage of and prevents workers from developing until they reach their maximum potential. Nor is it observed that each individual has their own objectives that have often not been reflected with those of the company.
In this sense, it is the management of the company that must be organized in such a way that the work promotes said development and allows the worker to meet not only objectives to which he does not feel linked, but also in the process of achieving the goals of the company can also achieve its own goals. It is also appreciated that commitment is greater when there is recognition of their achievements and that applying workers’ capabilities can generate solutions to unforeseen organizational problems or for which management does not have a valid solution.
This theory, which the author defended against the traditional or It is proposed to enrich the work by making the worker responsible for different tasks and encourage them to be active and participatory, capable of making their own decisions and feel committed to their work. Training, providing information, negotiating objectives and responsibilities and generating a climate of trust are essential for good business functioning.
It would therefore be about exercising leadership that allows participation and trust, in which the work of the worker is appreciated, in which work and personal responsibility are expanded and enriched (for example through the delegation of responsibilities) and that focuses on achieving objectives instead of authority and personal power.
The author himself, although he proposes Theory Y as desirable and an objective to be achieved, recognizes the existence of obstacles and the difficulty of generating change at a time when the functioning of most companies was governed by classical theory. For example, there is the fact that Managers should change their way of thinking and reorganize both their organizational structure and their functioning something they will tend to resist.
Furthermore, it also indicates that it may be difficult for the worker to make this change, because in many cases they have become accustomed to the workplace telling them and demanding a specific way to proceed and to be controlled, as well as because their needs are only met. satisfy outside of work. The potential of workers has been limited by management’s expectation that they are passive entities who must be forced to work, greatly losing motivation for work.
What does Organizational Psychology say today?
Over time, The work paradigm changed and the worker was no longer seen as a merely passive element in a large number of areas. Today we can see how a large majority of companies try to promote autonomy, and that proactivity has become one of the most demanded values ​​in the workplace.
However, other later authors indicated that the Y model does not always have good results: The most optimal type of operation will depend on the type of task to be performed Other models have been proposed that attempt to integrate aspects of the traditional vision (X) and the humanistic vision (Y), in the so-called balance theories.
