Options for Psychology Graduates across Disciplines
Rachel S. Permuth, PhD, MSPH
National Director of Research, Innovations 2 Solutions, Sodexo
September 24, 2015
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AGENDA
1. Career Areas for Psychology Students: Traditional & Unconventional Roles
2. How do corporations use psychology to promote well-being in the workplace and caring for employees?
3. Some Further Workplace Trends to Consider
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Career Areas for Psychology Students: Traditional & Unconventional Roles
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Several Key Areas for Psychologists in a Healthcare Setting
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I. Clinical Health Psychology
II. Community Health Psychology
III. Public Health Psychology
IV. Psychology in Managerial and Administrative Functions
V. Special Jobs in a Hospital
VI. IP Psychologist/Organizational Health Psychologist
I. Clinical Health Psychology
• Clinical health psychologists administer behavioral modification treatment and psychotherapy. They study the intersection of physical & mental health, to understand the interplay and how to treat most effectively. Some branches specifically focus on improving the “functioning” of individuals who have experienced severe (physical or mental) trauma.
• To this one can also add several non-clinical psychology functions that accompany and support medical treatments.
• Average Salary: $72,000+++ (Entry-Level Salary: $63,000)
I. Clinical Health Psychology
Neuro- psychologist Gero-
psychologist
Child Life Specialist
Genetics Counselor
Military Psychologist
Experimental Psychologist
II. Community Health Psychology
• Community health psychologists organize community health programs, meetings and surveys intended to provide citizens with information about healthy behaviors so that they may make better decisions.
• Importance of research and implementing community-level programs
• Average Salary: $60,000 (Entry-Level Salary: $48,000)
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II. Community Health Psychology
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Social Worker Health Educator Mental Health Counselor
Substance Abuse Counselor
Prevention Programs Officer
Social and Community Service
Manager
Dr. Meg A. Bond, PhD Community Psychologist & Director, Center for Women &
Work at UMass Lowell “Community psychology, which integrates research and action, has
allowed me to pursue both my interests: helping individuals and addressing the systemic causes of injustice.”
“ When I started graduate study in clinical psychology, I knew I
wanted to “help people,” but something was missing for me. I took a 2-year leave of absence, during which I worked in a residential treatment center for adolescent girls. I returned to school to discover a new program emphasis on community psychology. With its focus on empowerment, prevention and changing social conditions to improve people’s lives, I knew I had found the right professional home.”
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III. Public Health Psychology
• Public health psychologists conduct research to better understand public health problems, consult with and advise government officials, write about health issues affecting society, and help to develop and implement educational programs and policies.
• Importance of research, policy perspective and program evaluation on a larger-scale
• Average Salary: $80,000 (Entry-Level Salary: $40,000)
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III. Public Health Psychology
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Federal/State/Local Program Evaluation
Legislative Aides & Advisors
Researcher/Director of Public Research Programs and Centers
APA Congressional Fellowship Program
IV. Psychology in Managerial and Administrative Functions of a Healthcare Organization
• Every organization requires psychology in its managerial and administrative functions (ex: Market Research Analyst, HR and Career Counseling, Marketing & PR, Corporate Management)
• What is unique about an organization in the healthcare setting? • “Health” as a good/service is very different
• Intricate flows of payers, third-party agents, government intervention, etc.
• “Quality” of a healthcare product/service is very abstract
• Average Salary - varies widely by role • Market Research Analyst: $60,000 (Entry-Level $48,000)
• HR: $56,000 (Entry-Level $40,000)
• Marketing: $60,000 (Entry-Level $50,000)
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V. Special Jobs in a Hospital
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Admin. Hospital
Psychology
Care Coordinator
Health Information
Adm.
Healthcare Facility Adm.
Hospital Nurse, Staff
and Physician Coaching
Mental Health Admin.
Patient Experience
Officer
Quality Assurance and Care Quality
Monitoring
VI. IO Psychologist in a Healthcare Organization & Organizational Health Psychologist
• IO psychologists apply principles of individual, group and organizational behavior to the workplace and solve problems in the functioning of an organization
• In-House or External Consultant
• Organizational Health Psychology = IO Psychology + Health Psychology
• Studying how employee mental and physical health is tied to work-related factors
• Average Salary IO Psychologist: $98,000 (Entry-Level $55,000)
VI. IO Psychologist in a Healthcare Organization & Organizational Health Psychologist
• Monitoring performance of employees & their mental conditions, taking into consideration norms or culture, workplace aggression, stress, etc.
• Working together with HR for job placement and recruitment, talent management and work assignment
• Advising management executives on any modifications in the working environment
• …and many more emerging roles!
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist & Consultant “When I began my career as an industrial/organizational (I/O)
psychologist, there was an emphasis on testing … in an effort to put the right person in the right job. Today, the emphasis is turning to establishing the atmosphere most conducive to productivity and quality work.”
“We diagnose an organization’s problems by surveying people in the organization through questionnaires, informal interviews, focus groups…Why do employees stay with the company? What helps them produce quality products or quality service? Do they have the right training, the right equipment, the right management, the right whatever? Does the way management treats employees cause them to feel good or bad about the company’s customers? … We come back to management with our analysis.…We then try to get the managers involved in coming to their own solutions.”
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Dr. David Sirota
Paula Goudsmit
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President at High Impact Coaching and Consulting
“Much of psychology assumes that people aren’t whole. Coaching is different, because it focuses on positive psychology. You are not fixing anything – you’re just helping to bring out the best in people. As a coach, you don’t have the answer. You’re
just the guide to help people get to their answers.”
“To be successful, you need to be able to blend psychology with business needs. In my typical day, I wear both a business and a
coaching hat.”
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How do corporations use psychology to promote well-being in the workplace and
caring for employees?
More Unconventional Careers that Use Psychology
I. Benefits & Rewards
How can we retain good employees? How do we bolster employee performance and productivity? What drives
employee motivation, and how do we set the right incentives? • Consider perverse incentives (i.e. motivation crowding out) and
how the workforce may differ culturally, generationally, and individually…
• To be optimally effective, recognition and reward programs must be formalized and designed to consistently and fairly reinforce desired behaviors, company-wide.
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I. Benefits & Rewards
Six Strategies for an Effective Global Recognition and
Rewards Program
Differences in Recognition & Reward Preferences
II. Employee Engagement
How do we encourage employee engagement and adherence to organizational values?
For example: 1. Employee Experience
2. Gamification
II. Employee Engagement – Employee Experience
II. Employee Engagement - Gamification
Drive Workplace Outcomes Improve Health & Safety Loyalty Programs
Training & On-boarding Employee Engagement Business Success
Set Goals and Objectives
Metrics, Scoring System, Feedback & Rewards
Program Pilot
Program Evaluation
Iteration (As Needed)
III. Workplace Design
How do we ensure that the workplace we offer employees is suitable to their needs and allows them to perform their best?
How do our buildings affect human emotional functioning, social support and occupant stress?
Evidence-Based Space Design
Open Spaces vs.
Privacy Lighting & Windows
Interaction Zones
Egalitarian Seating
Hybrid Workspaces
Connection to Nature
IV. Internal Communication
How do we ensure that our internal communication and feedback mechanisms work properly and encourage
employees?
Consider: • Work-Life Balance
• Mentoring & Career Development
• Form & Frequency of Performance Feedback
IV. Internal Communication – the “Always On” Workplace
36% Distraction
23% Work/Life Conflict
30% Intrudes Personal
Time
35% No/Less Breaks
56% Increased Productivity
36% Work/Life Balance
49% Positive Work Relationships
53% Flexibility
V. Incentivizing Employee Health
How do we encourage employees to stay fit and active, follow a healthy lifestyle? What issues must be considered in structuring a wellness program to encourage healthy
behavior, while remaining respectful of employee autonomy and privacy?
Office Sports Teams Yoga Fridays
Health Checks & Awareness
Programs
Healthy Food and Snack
Choices Free Gym
Memberships
Balance
Employee
Input &
Acceptance
V. Incentivizing Employee Health
Improved Health
Decreased Costs
Increased Productivity & Efficiency
Improved Quality of Life
Restricted Financial Rewards
Reasonable Alternative
Standard
Strong Incentives Non-discrimination Employee Privacy
VI. Diversity & Inclusion
How do we encourage a culture of diversity and inclusion? How do we ensure that all employees feel welcome and able to contribute their best? How do we make sure employees
have mental peace in a diverse environment?
D&I Training Social Identity &
Employee Engagement
Implicit Biases in Recruitment,
Advancement, Leadership
Programs, etc.
Quantify Impact of Diversity on
Business Performance
Global Villages & Cultural
Teambuilding Anti-Bullying Campaigns
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Some Further Workplace Trends to Consider
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Total Worker Health™ : A Holistic Perspective on Employee Well-Being
SafeWell Integrated Management System (SIMS)©
Mindfulness at Work
FUTURE WORK SKILLS 2020
Creating Jobs of the Future: No Crystal Ball Needed 30 Jobs for 2030
Concluding Statement: Shape your own future and career
• Use the global trends to shape your own future and career. There’s much more to a psychology degree than becoming a “psychologist”.
• To discover new & interesting fields where you can use your knowledge and skills, try • Retrofitting: Adding new skills to existing jobs
• Blending: Combining skills and functions from different jobs or industries to create new specialties
• Problem-Solving: Necessity is the mother of invention. The supply of future problems with human behavior and emotions is endless. Anticipate these problems and make a career out of solving them.
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APA. (2015). Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Retrieved 8 September 2015, from http://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/industrial.aspx
CDC, (2013). Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic. [online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ohp/ [Accessed 7 Sep. 2015].
DeAngelis, T. (2008). Psychology's growth careers. [online] American Psychological Association. Available at: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/04/careers.aspx [Accessed 7 Sep. 2015].
Downey, S., van der Werff, L., Thomas, K. and Plaut, V. (2014). The role of diversity practices and inclusion in promoting trust and employee engagement. J Appl Soc Psychol, 45(1), pp.35-44.
Enchautegui-de-Jesús, N., Hughes, D., Johnston, K. and Oh, H. (2006). Well-being in the context of workplace ethnic diversity. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), pp.211-223.
Ferdman, B. (2013). Toward Enhancing Industrial and Organizational Psychology's Contributions to Diversity and Inclusion Practice. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(3), pp.237-242.
Kelle, J. (2015). The 25 Most Lucrative Careers in Psychology. [online] Best Psychology Degrees. Available at: http://www.bestpsychologydegrees.com/25-most-lucrative-careers-in-psychology/ [Accessed 7 Sep. 2015].
Mor-Barak, M. (2005). Social Psychological Perspectives of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion in National and Global Contexts. In: M. Mor-Barak, ed., Managing diversity : toward a globally inclusive workplace, 1st ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp.239-254.
Psychology Career Center, (2015). Health Psychologist Career Information, Jobs, Degrees & Training Programs – Psychology Career Center. [online] Available at: http://www.psychologycareercenter.org/health-psychologist.html [Accessed 7 Sep. 2015].
Psychology School Guide, (2015). Health Psychologist Career: Duties, Education and Salary Profile. [online] Available at: http://www.psychologyschoolguide.net/psychology-careers/health-psychologist/ [Accessed 7 Sep. 2015].
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