Psychologist with expertise in work,organisations and human resources
Function in a professional context:
(S)he carries out several professionalactivities, which can be simplified into the following main areas of activity:
1. WORK
(s)he analyses work situations, tasks, workstations, roles, communication tools, socio-technical environments that aresafe, efficient and consistent, with respect to the workers' requirements, thedynamics present in the work groups and the production objectives of theoccupational system. (S)he is able to understand the impact of recent changes,including digitalisation, on production processes and support the adaptation ofindividuals, groups and organisations to the new working methods.
2. PERSONNEL
(s)he plans, manages and coordinatesinterventions in the field of guidance, recruitment, training, assessment andconsulting, aimed at professional qualification and requalification, careerdevelopment and advancement and organisational changes, implemented whiletaking into account the abilities-competencies and needs of individual workers,the composition of the work groups and the particular organisational and socialconstraints of the community, with a view to diversity management.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL
(s)he designs and management interventionsaiming to improve the quality of life of the organisation, with particularattention to: the operation of working groups and the different types ofleadership; interactions between peers and within a hierarchy; internalcommunication processes; various forms of internal and external communication(with individuals and groups); the productive management of interpersonal andsocial conflicts; decision-making processes and similar areas.
4, HUMAN FACTORS, SAFETY AND OCCUPATIONALHEALTH/HUMAN FACTORS, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
(s)he designs and manages interventions topromote health, well-being and safety at work; supports prevention andmanagement of stress in the work place and the work-life balance; prevention ofaccidents at work, with particular reference to the mechanisms causing humanerror and human-machine interaction.
5. METHODOLOGY
- (s)he plans and applies qualitative andquantitative tools (for self-and hetero-evaluation) to measure the variablesand psycho-social processes and for the assessment of individualcharacteristics;
- (s)he plans, manages and coordinatesresearch aimed at identifying the critical issues tied to social andtechnological changes in work activities and organisational processes;
- (s)he provides consulting andcollaborates with experts from other disciplinary backgrounds (particularlyfrom the biomedical, polytechnic and social areas), involved in interventionprojects on organisations (for instance, in training, in assessing thestructural and functional quality of the occupational system, etc.).
Competencies associated to the function:
The competences relating to theprofessional figure have over recent years been defined jointly by thereference European association (EAWOP), in agreement with the unitary Europeanumbrella association of all industry-specific professional psychologists'associations (EFPA)
(https://www.europsy.eu/_webdata/europsy_regulations_july_2019_moscow.pdf)
In short, 6 primary competences areassociated to the function (typical of a psychologist), in turn split up into atotal of 20 specific competences. The 6 primary competencies are defined asfollows:
1. ability to specify the objectives of thepsychological intervention, analysing needs and expectations and negotiatingachievable results with clients
2. ability to make appropriatepsychological assessments of individuals, groups, organisations and situationsusing appropriate methods and tools
3. ability to develop new interventionmethods and services on the basis of theoretical and methodological knowledge
4. ability to design and implementinterventions consistent with the set objectives
5. ability to evaluate interventions interms of correspondence between project and implementation and in terms ofresults achieved
6. ability to communicate with clients andprovide them with adequate information to meet their needs and expectations.
In addition to the primary competencies,the EuroPsy model also describes 8 qualifying soft skills: the ability toidentify professional strategies for solving problems; the ability for lifelonglearning; research, experimentation and development skills; the ability tobuild multidisciplinary professional relations; promotion and marketing skills;the ability to build relations with actual or potential clients; the ability toorganise and manage a business; the ability to guarantee quality standards andthe ability to think critically about one's own skills.
Furthermore, these competencies are in linewith the functions recognised for occupational health psychology by the Societyfor Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP) https://sohp-online.org/field-of-ohp/
employment opportunities:
The occupational and organisationalpsychologist operates in complete professional autonomy, either as a freelanceror under a salaried contract, in different operational contexts:
- companies and public and privateenterprises in personnel services or Human resources, in planning Services, inProtection and prevention Services, etc.;
- companies providing services (includingLocal Health Units, Hospitals, School Institutions, Vocational training system,public and private work services, Public administrations, etc.);
- consultancy companies offering selection,job placement, training, human resources development services
