Were you unable to attend SIOP 2015? Check out this recap of some of the HWP-focused sessions this year in Philadelphia!

UN Initiatives for Women: How Can I-O Help?

In early 2015, the United Nations is launching important initiatives related to women globally, including women and work. These initiatives are a revitalization of initiatives started at the defining World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The field of industrial/organizational psychology has, for decades, been at the forefront of research and evidence-based practice on understanding and addressing issues related to women and work. This session provided information on these re-vitalized UN initiatives and engage an expert I/O psychology panel and the audience on how the profession of I/O psychology can help. One way is for researchers to include the gender wage gap in their research regarding a living wage. Another is keeping in mind that while many problems are global, solutions are local. Finally, panelists stressed the importance of partnering with economists in this work.

I-O for the Greater Good: Prosocial Applications of Our Expertise
This community of interest was a discussion forum for potential applications of our expertise in prosocial arenas as well as a debate about IO Psychology’s responsibility in this area. One major point of discussion was whether, as a field, we should separate prosocial applications as a sub-area of IOP or incorporate it as a basis for all that we do. While some argued that it should be developed as a specialty area for IOPs. Others believed it should be foundational to all research and practice. Another interesting point of discussion pertained to how to measure business performance in non-profits and other organizations which do not use ROI as a metric. This is a major gap in our current understanding of operational effectiveness in non for profit organizations.

Industrial Organizational Psychology and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in 2015, set global priorities for everything from improving working conditions and enhancing gender equality to reducing poverty. Human work-related behavior is central to meeting all of the SDGs, therefore I-O psychologists have much to contribute to these goals. As a non-governmental organization with official consultative status to the UN, SIOP prepared a list of I-O psychology topics that pertain to each goal. Attendees broke into groups to discuss specifically how their skills could contribute to the SDGs. As an IOP, you are encouraged to visit www.tinyurl.com/SIOPUN to contribute your thoughts and use this tool to contribute what you know about IOP as it pertains to the SDGs. Check out this video for more information:

Decent Work, Sustainable Development Goals, and Humanitarian Work Psychology
Promotion of locally sustainable decent work in inclusive business economies has been the focus of recent efforts by the United Nations and ILO. This symposium explored the role of I/O and HWP in promoting decent work and influencing positive psychological outcomes for the global working poor, including an examination of missing competencies for the business of inclusion, the UN Global Compact’s Local Networks Initiatives for sustainable organizational practices, a report on the recent advocacy efforts by the psychology coalition for UN for the upcoming sustainable development goals, and two South-Asian case-studies on fair-trade by humanitarian work psychologists.

Prosocial IOP and HWP Posters

There were a number for great posters this year! Lots of great research about burnout, distributive justice, and commitment. There was also some interesting work regarding employee reactions to organizational sponsored volunteer programs. Check out the full list below!

Testing the Relationship between Volunteerism and Commitment Using Organizational Surveys
Shawn Del Duco
Camille Estime
This paper explored the relationship between volunteerism and organizational commitment. We also tested the effect of survey instrument type on organizational commitment. Results from our field study indicate that volunteerism is strongly related to organizational commitment, but survey instrument type did not impact organizational commitment after controlling for employee characteristics.

Employee Reactions to a Volunteering Program: Mediated and Moderated Effects
David Jones
Hypotheses were tested to explain changes in employees’ beliefs about their company’s identity after introducing a volunteering program. Beliefs about the company’s identity were linked to feeling proud about its community involvement. Employee pride predicted their organizational identification, moderated by prosocial identity, in turn predicting several job attitudes and behaviors.

Bad Luck Reduces Perceived Psychological Distance and Increases Prosocial Behavior
Sreedhari Desai
Jonathan Keeney
Four studies explored the relationship between luck and prosocial behavior. Using archival, laboratory, and field data, we found that individuals who recall or experience bad luck are more likely to behave prosocially. This effect is mediated by reduced psychological distance. Good luck, however, did not consistently predict prosocial behavior.

Distributive Justice for Volunteers: Extrinsic Outcomes Matter
Christine Quick
Lisa Scherer
Joseph Allen
Drawing on the employee justice literature, the role of distributive justice on volunteer intention to quit was examined. The indirect relationship between distributive justice and intention to quit through satisfaction was stronger for volunteers who placed lower rather than higher importance on extrinsic outcomes.

Moderating Effects of Volunteers’ Motives on Satisfaction and Burnout
Kailey Perez
Kimberly Schneider
Kamila Gabka Ashley McCarthy
Kelsey Stephens
Aaron Whitely
F. Andrew Eichler
Volunteers may not have the same motives as paid employees for working and remaining in an organization. This paper examined volunteer motives as moderators of the relationship between organizational constraints and work satisfaction, work engagement, and burnout. Results suggest motives moderate these relationships, particularly helping motives.

Influence of Individual Differences on Sustainable Behavior Commitment and Engagement
Shelby Anderson
Carol Shoptaugh
Michelle Visio
Robert Jones
Climate change knowledge, belief in science, green-self-efficacy, commitment to environmental sustainability and self-reported sustainable behaviors were examined. Green-self-efficacy scale was developed to assess individual beliefs. A hierarchical regression indicated green self-efficacy and commitment to environmental sustainability mediate the relationship between climate change knowledge and sustainable behavior relationship.

Stepping Up or Stepping By: Bystander Intervention in Sexual Assault
Amanda Palmer
L. Witt
Daniel McDonald
This paper tested a psychological process in which command intolerance of sexual harassment/assault has direct and indirect effects on bystander intervention. Results revealed that low-conscientiousness personnel paid attention to proximal cues (i.e., their coworkers) rather than distal cues (i.e., their leaders) in determining to what extent to intervene.
Climate for Environmental Management and Environmental Management Effectiveness
David Zoogah
Integrating organizational climate and environmental management theories, we examine climate for environmental management (CEM) and its relation to corporate environmental management effectiveness. Results suggest that CEM relates positively to environmental management effectiveness through ecological behavior at the individual level. We discuss implications and limitations.

Ecological Transcendence and Ecological Behavior
David Zoogah
Based on 176 responses of employees from 46 organizations we find that ecological transcendence has a sigmoidal relationship with ecological behavior suggesting deficiency, goading, and lulling effects. We discuss implications for theory and practice

Volunteer Program Assessment: Lessons Learned and Opportunities from I-O Outreach
Joseph Allen
Tammy Allen
Mark Poteet Lisa Finkelstein
Emily Medvin
Jessie Olien Lisa Scherer
Kimberly Schneider
This session provides information about the Volunteer Program Assessment (VPA), an innovative initiative that expands I-O to nontraditional audiences. Using student consultants, the VPA provides nonprofits with information about the perceptions and concerns of its volunteer workforce. Topics will include strategic start-up issues, lessons-learned, operational concerns, and future opportunities.