Psychology Of Work And Organizations: A Profession With A Future
Many students begin the Degree in Psychology thinking about dedicating themselves to Clinical Psychology, but as the degree progresses, They realize that it is increasingly difficult to dedicate themselves to that area of ​​psychology Currently, one of the fields with the greatest professional opportunities is work and organizational psychology, in which many psychologists become part of the human resources department of a company.
Now, human resources and organizational psychology are not exactly the same, and To be a human resources professional, it is not an essential requirement to be a psychologist On the other hand, an organizational psychologist, in addition to the human resources department, can perform their functions at the management level or in the area of ​​commercial research and marketing and even production.
In today’s article we are going to review the functions of an organizational psychologist and we are going to delve into the differences between this and the human resources professional.
The work or organizational psychologist, also known as industrial psychologist either business psychologist, is a professional who applies the principles of psychology in the organizational and work environment. To do this, he has studied mental processes and human behavior (both individual and group), and puts into practice his training to solve problems in the workplace. His general role encompasses the study, diagnosis, coordination, intervention and management of human behavior within organizations
You may work as part of the company, that is, as an employee within the organization’s own organizational chart (for example, in the selection and training department), although, on occasion, you may work as part of an external company outside the company. organization, carrying out performance evaluation functions, work environment and health of workers or offering coaching services for employees or managers, among other functions. Some organizational psychologists choose to pursue their professional careers as scientists or teachers.
On the other hand, This concept is closely related to that of work psychology , although there are some nuances that differentiate them. Organizational psychology, as its name suggests, focuses on the interactions between individuals, those who make up a team, a company, a department, etc. On the other hand, work psychology focuses its attention on work dynamics, that is, the application of strategies and behavioral patterns to use a series of available resources to obtain a specific and objectively observable result: a product, a plan, a service, etc.
Functions of the work or organizational psychologist
Basically, the organizational or work psychologist has an important role in three large areas:
But what are the functions it performs? Some of the functions of this professional are the following:
Differences between the work psychologist and the human resources professional
It is common to refer to the organizational psychologist as the human resources professional, when they are different things. The organizational psychologist is a psychologist who has specialized in the field of organizations and work, while the human resources professional may not have training as a psychologist.
In Spain, for example, there is a university degree called the Degree in Labor and Human Resources Sciences (which replaces the old Bachelor’s Degree in Labor Relations), so the professional profile of the latter is different from that of the organizational psychologist Among the subjects taught in this degree are work psychology subjects, but, in addition, other topics are taught such as labor and union law or taxation of natural persons.
This occurs because in the human resources department of a company not only personnel selection or training functions are carried out, but also collective negotiations or tasks such as payroll management can be carried out The profile of the organizational psychologist fits in some areas of this human resources department, but not in all.
Organizational psychologist training
If you are a psychologist and want to dedicate yourself to organizational psychology, you should know that organizational psychologist, unlike the human resources professional, has completed a Degree in Psychology. Some psychologists finish their degree and then begin to work as recruiters or selection technicians and, after learning about the world of human resources, they are trained to cover other areas of HR, such as personnel administration or labor law.
Others, however, after finishing the Degree in Psychology decide to do a master’s degree. If your intention is that, you must choose between completing a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management or a Master’s Degree in Organizational and Work Psychology. While the first trains you on issues such as the budget, personnel payments and expenses, labor legislation, contracts, labor rights, worker safety systems (avoid accidents), selection and training. The second allows you to study the behavior of the individual within an organization and everything related to motivation, leadership, stress (and other work-related illnesses), the work environment and culture or the influence of psychological variables on the work environment. performance.
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