Mid-Life Career Changes

Mid-life Career Changes

Most individuals have a good understanding of what career path he or she wants to follow after graduating high school. During late adolescence, individuals are exposed to various career options by attending school seminars that focus on various interests and career choices. This leads the individual to make choices regarding educational and other needs that will lead the individual into his or her chosen career. Choosing a career requires an individual to place emphasis on what is important. Income is a basic requirement of employment because it provides for personal needs like housing, and food, but this is not the complete analysis of the right job (Saisan, & Smith, 2012). Other factors to consider when choosing a career path include the tolls of mental and physical stress, personal satisfaction of the job, and job security (Saisan, & Smith, 2012).

      For individuals who have followed a successful career path it is harder to think of these aspects because the individual has invested a great deal of time in his or her current career path. Unfortunately, many individuals have a difficult time getting past issues of salary, security, and current economic trends (Saisan, & Smith, 2012). Although these are valid concerns, especially in current economic trends, an individual who has had a successful career must consider his or her primary interests, and passions (Saisan, & Smith, 2012). If the individual finds that the current career path does not provide personal satisfaction, or is the cause of unnecessary physical or mental stress, it may be time to consider a career change (Saisan, & Smith, 2012). 

      An example would be an individual with close to 20 years experience in executive management who has discovered that his career path no longer provides personal satisfaction. Although the individual’s current career has provided years of financial security, he finds that it does not provide personal satisfaction, and is resulting in elevated levels of physical and mental stress. The individual believes that he cannot continue his current path, and decides to follow a lifelong passion to become an infectious disease psychologist. In order for the individual to make this career change, he needs to return to school to obtain a degree in psychology. He decides to take early retirement from his current career, and enrolls in college to obtain the required degrees needed to pursue the new career path.

Job Analysis

       One of the best methods to determine if a job matches the needs of the individual is to perform a job analysis. Although there is no single method used to perform a job analysis, there are different methods that provide information about the job, and the human attributes required for the job (Spector, 2012). One of the methods used in job analysis is the job-oriented analysis. According to Spector (2012) “the job-oriented analysis provides information about the nature of the tasks done on the job” (p. 6). Some methods used in the job-oriented analysis provide information directly related to the tasks, and other methods provide information related to characteristics of the tasks (Spector, 2012).

         In the case of infectious disease psychology, the job-oriented analysis provides the individual with details regarding the job-related tasks, and general characteristics of the tasks. The characteristics of the job-related tasks indicate that the individual is responsible for coordinating and facilitating therapeutic group and individual counseling sessions for HIV-infected clients. Although this is appears to be an actual task, it is a general description, or characteristic of specific tasks related to the job. Further analysis indicates that the individual would be responsible for specific tasks. These specific tasks include providing individual therapy sessions for clients receiving services from the infectious disease center, and providing crisis intervention to clients receiving HIV positive test results.

         Another method used to determine if the individual meets the needs and requirements of the job is the person-oriented job analysis. According to Spector (2012) “a person-oriented job analysis provides a description of the characteristics or KSAOs necessary for a person to successfully perform a particular job” (p. 8). The first three characteristics outline requirements needed to perform the job. These three primary characteristics include knowledge, skill, and ability to perform the job. The second set of characteristics outlines personal traits or other areas of relevancy of the job not covered by the first three (Spector, 2012).

            In the case of infectious disease psychology, the first three characteristics outline the requirements needed to perform the job. A Master’s degree or higher would be required for the position because education and internship will provide the applicant with the basic knowledge required to perform the job. Continued education courses focused on infectious disease treatments, and previous experience or volunteer work related to HIV and other infectious diseases would provide the applicant with skills required to perform the job. The third would be the applicant’s ability, or aptitude to perform the job, or continue development needed to improve and progress along the job path. Other characteristics would be considered personal characteristics related to the job. This would include the applicant’s willingness to work with people infected with life-threatening diseases, and the desire to help people with infectious diseases overcome the mental aspects of the illness.

Reliability and Validity

            Job analysis methods are not only used to determine the tasks and characteristics of a job, or to determine if an applicant meets requirements needed to perform the job. The data collected from job analysis techniques can provide a foundation on which an organization determines other activities and functions related to a position (Spector, 2012). These additional activities or functions include issues like career development, legal issues connected with employment, employee recruitment and selection, and performance appraisals (Spector, 2012). Additional information like job classification, description, training, and salary grades are also influenced by the job analysis process (Spector, 2012).           

            For an organization looking to fill an infectious disease psychologist position, these additional aspects enable the organization to develop or provide access to continued education programs focused on infectious disease treatments or advancements. They also allow the organization to set proper policies to ensure legal issues like patient confidentiality are being followed. Other advantages provided by job analysis reviews include development of proper job performance metrics that allow the organization to monitor the performance of the individual in the position, and provide the organization with a proper career advancement policy for an individual performing the job.

Appraisal Methods

            An organization can use a variety of methods to perform a job appraisal. However, each method has benefits and limitations associated with the individual method (Spector, 2012). Some methods to consider using to evaluate an infectious disease psychologist position may include a process of actually performing the job. This method will provide extensive detail about the job, and the context in which the job is performed (Spector, 2012).  Although this method provides a clear examination of the position, it requires that the analyst receive extensive job training, which is time-consuming and expensive. This method also fails to display any differences among jobs that share the same title (Spector, 2012).

            Another method commonly used is to interview employees currently performing the job. This provides the advantage of gaining multiple perspectives of the job, and can show differences among employees performing the same job (Spector, 2012). The disadvantages of this process are the amount of time the process takes in comparison to alternate methods, and it fails to provide a contextual aspect of how the job tasks are performed (Spector, 2012). Observation of employees performing the job provides the organization with a relatively objective perspective of the job, but is also time consuming, and may result on employees changing behavior because he or she is aware of the observation (Spector, 2012).

Conclusion

            In conclusion, deciding what type of job an individual wants to pursue, or deciding to change an existing career path is a major decision in life. A career path of an infectious disease psychologist requires years of college study, and practical hands-on experience. An organization looking to create or evaluate an infectious disease psychologist position will obtain a complete overview of all the factors required for the position. Job analysis techniques are a valuable measure for any organization to determine various aspects of a specific job, and the requirements needed to ensure the job is performed to specific standards. An infectious disease psychologist position is a very important role within an organization that treats infectious disease patients because it helps the patients overcome various mental aspects of the illness. This position enhances services provided by an organization that treats infectious disease patients, and enhances the quality of life for the patients by providing valuable therapy sessions, advice, and information related to the patient’s illness.

References

Saisan, J., & Smith, M. (2012). Finding the Right Career. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/life/finding_career.htm

Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Industrial/Organizational Psychology Worksheet

Industrial/Organizational Psychology Worksheet

The purpose of this assignment is to examine the fundamental concepts of the field of industrial/organizational psychology. 

1.     Describe the evolution of the field of industrial/organizational psychology.

According to Spector (2012) “I/O psychology is an eclectic field that has borrowed concepts, ideas, techniques, and theories from many other disciplines.” (p. 5). Industrial and organizational psychology, or something similar can be traced back to the studies of European scientist Herman von Helmholtz (1821-1894). He expanded on the concept of conservation of human energy to determine if the energy levels in the present labor force were sufficient to the increasing demands of the industrial revolution (Koppes, & Pickren (n.d). English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) surmised that knowledge begins with the individual’s sensory experience. He further believed that logical thinking combined with sensory experience was superior to religion as a basis for developing a civil society (Koppes, & Pickren, n.d.). Another philosopher, Karl Marx (1818-1883) argued that freedom defined what it is to be human. He believed that a struggle for freedom existed in a capitalist system because the system attempted to develop a false sense of consciousness or belief of freedom in workers (Koppes, & Picken, n.d.). Emil Kraeplin (1856-1926) performed studies focused on work performance. He surmised that few differences between physical and mental performance existed. He believed that workers experienced fatigue in mental and physical performance in similar ways by interpreting work curve results that showed declines in production over time, and that fatigue could be reduced over time through practice and training (Koppes, & Pickren, n.d.).

Experimental psychology is considered to play a major role in the development of I/O psychology, and provided the principles and techniques (Spector, 2012). At the time, several psychologists were attempting to apply psychological theory to the business sector using techniques like psychological testing (Spector, 2012). In the United States, early work in I/O psychology focused on issues concerning employee performance and organizational efficiency, but in the United Kingdom the focus was directed more toward the health and fatigue of employees (Spector, 2012). Pioneering the I/O psychology movement in the United States were two experimental psychologists; Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916), and Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955). Their early work placed emphasis on the application of psychology to help solve organizational problems (Spector, 2012). Both Munsterberg and Scott were also credited for writing the first books related to I/O psychology: The Theory of Advertising by Scott (1903), and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency by Munsterberg (1913).  During World War I both the United States and United Kingdom began implementing I/O psychology in response to military demand on both the private and government sectors (Spector, 2012). After World War I, I/O psychology continued to expand into most of the areas of application it is used for today (Spector, 2012).

2.     Explain why industrial/organizational psychology should be considered a science.  Include an explanation of how descriptive and inferential statistics are used in I/O research.

According to Spector (2012) “I/O psychologists do many different jobs in a wide variety of settings.” (p. 6). Psychologists that focus on I/o psychology are often divided between the areas of practice and scientific research. Because the practice of I/O psychology in an organization setting is based on research produced by scientific data, I/O psychology is dependent on scientific research (Spector, 2012). Although there are two distinct classifications of I/O psychology, those who specialize in the fiend are more likely to perform work that crosses both sectors. One major difference is setting. Most research is performed in college or university settings where I/O psychologists are employed as professors. Most practical I/O psychology is applied to consulting firms, government, private sector organizations, and military (Spector, 2012). I/O psychology can be considered a science because research is one of the primary activities performed by I/O psychologists (Spector, 2012). One of the major contributions that researchers have provided to I/O psychology is the development of procedures used to select and train employees (Spector, 2012). Research is also used to solve problems that an organization may be experiencing. These problems can range from employee turnover, employee theft, and attitude in the workplace (Spector, 2012). Although most research data is published in major publications or journals produced by associations, and private entities, practitioners can get access to research data by attending annual conferences (Spector, 2012).

I/O psychologists use various research methods that include the basic methods, procedures, techniques, and tools used to conduct empirical research (SOIP, 2013). These basic techniques of scientific method, inductive and deductive reasoning, development of research questions, hypothesis creation, design and implementation of studies, and the nature and definition of constructs form the basis the general areas of I/O psychology (Spector, 2012). I/O psychologists also use various statistical techniques to analyze the data that empirical research produces (Spector, 2012). This process includes both inferential and descriptive statistical methods, and parametric and nonparametric methods. This requires the use of specific competencies, and issues and techniques that encompass estimation of central tendencies, estimates of variability, sampling and distributions, and estimates of point and interval (Spector, 2012).

3.     Discuss the influence industrial/organization psychology has had on organizations. Provide examples.

During the periods between World War I and World War II American organizations started employing the services of I/O psychologists to address employee problems primarily related to productivity. During this same time, I/O psychology in the United Kingdom was also advancing studies on improving efficiency and working conditions for British workers (Spector, 2012). This time period saw the development of I/O psychology consulting firms, with the first recognized firm called the American Company Psychological Corporation being formed by James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944) in 1921 (Spector, 2012). Another important milestone in I/O psychology during this time was the Hawthorn studies that were conducted by over a 10-year span at the Western Electric Company (Spector, 2012). The Hawthorn studies originally focused on environmental aspects of the workplace, which included how brightness of lights, and issues like humidity influenced worker productivity (Franke, & Kaul, 1978 as cited in Clark, 1995). The studies evolved into the psychological aspects of employee performance and included issues like employee breaks, managerial leadership, group influences, and working hours (Franke, & Kaul, 1978 as cited in Clark, 1995).  Two major factors that helped shape the field of I/O psychology in the United States were the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 (Spector, 2012). Although these two major events helped shape the field of I/O psychology, research from the field has produced valuable information that improved the standards of the workplace, which resulted in improvements in employee satisfaction and productivity through comprehensive training programs, and policies developed to enhance the work environment (Spector, 2012).

References

Clark, D. (1995). Hawthorn Effect. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/hawthorne.html

Koppes, L. & Pickren, W. (n.d.). Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from http://uwf.edu/skass/orgpsy_files/articles/Historical%20perspectives1.pdf

The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://iopsych.msu.edu/koz/Kozlowski%20(Ed)%20-%20Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20Organizational%20Psychology-Abstracts.pdf

SIOP. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.siop.org/history/crsppp.aspx

Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.