As you’ll soon read, one of the top trends for 2023 centers around the future of work. While industrial-organizational and occupational health psychologists, among others, have long focused on work and work-related issues, the Covid-19 pandemic has fueled a broader surge in interest and attention.
During the pandemic, APA received many requests for guidance from public officials, Fortune 500 CEOs, colleges and universities, and other scientific membership associations. These entities are grappling with a broad set of workplace issues including employee mental health and how to address equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
Grounded in our strategic objectives and EDI Framework, APA views employee mental health and EDI as essential to a well-functioning business or organization. Because of this, we are sharing knowledge from our field with external entities, as well as infusing these concepts into the fabric of how we do business. Employees’ mental health matters, so we are fostering a culture that is psychologically supportive and promotes well-being. The recently released U.S. Surgeon General’s Framework (PDF, 3.04MB)opens in new window highlights the dimensions involved, with enormous thanks to our members who used their backgrounds in applied psychology to inform its development.
As workplace issues evolve, there are three principles I see as foundational:
- Using psychological science. Whether speaking externally about workplace issues or addressing them within APA, we base our positions and decisions in science. Research on how perceived control affects stress, for example, can greatly inform strategies for internal workplace communications.
- The criticality of listening. Leaders cannot always assume they have the answers. Instead, we must elevate workers’ diverse voices and listen deeply to drive positive workplace change. Our approaches are strongest when we blend the workforce’s multidimensional lived experiences with rigorous scientific knowledge.
- Subgroups matter. Collecting data and identifying demographic subgroups of workers is critical for implementing organizational interventions and promoting organizational excellence. For example, if psychological safety is a workplace goal, we must know how it might be experienced differently by various subgroups so that solutions can be crafted that account for that diversity. People often talk about “the return to the workplace.” No matter what 2023 brings, we cannot return to what was. We must move forward into a new post-Covid workplace, armed with psychological science, the voice of the workforce, and a foundation of EDI.
