Organizational psychology and dealing with employee’s behaviors

Organizational psychology is one of the most dominant topics in Human resource management courses, specialized people read in their master’s or degree programs but very rare implementation in organizational set-ups even the multinationals or small medium-sized organizations. 

The issue is despite of highlighting these issues by professionals, HR departments are scared to develop strategies to handle situations or resolve problems. There’s a strong need to identify what’s bothering or scaring employees which is affecting either performance or impacting their focus towards work, an employee can not handle situations at their own even at the workplace or outside the workplace. 

The human resource department plays an active role in managing chaos at work and developing strategies that should be not just pro-employer and pro-employee both. Dilemma is as professionals we like dialogues and develop strategies but very remote implementations when crisis hits or when situations are very tough to handle. 

Names calling or labeling employees will not help or even making any employee target wouldn’t help in the long term. Understand this, employees work because they have needs, their families are at stake, their lives are dependable upon jobs. Therefore, the responsibility of any non-understandable situation is at both ends, in my entire career I have never observed the mindset of getting rid of employees even in the worst-case situation rather actual professionals or leaders deal with situations by acting as front-line managers. 

Personal issues of employees, workplace issues, work pressure, stressed environment or personality clashes of employees can be managed but not by toxic kind of leadership rather they are handled with developing leadership, think out of the box that what could be a best possible solution in order to calm employees and manage the crisis. 

Trainings shouldn’t be for only employees or trainees; they should be for managers as well who’s minds don’t even think in critical situations or they can not work when there’s any conflicting situations. There are many kinds of threats employees dealing every day at workplace;

• Job insecurity
• Risk of employees won’t get paid fairly
• Exploitation or blackmailing
• Harassment which includes from sexual to mental
• Racism or non-inclusive policy
• Bullying or disrespecting employees
• Unfair performance appraisals
• Grievances, grudges or unhealthy rivalries
• Dominance by one group or power play
• Mis-commitments or undocumented processes   

Unless employees feel secure, respected and feel like home at the workplace how can clients feel the same way.  Here comes, role of Human resource departments to fill the gap and play active role in listening and addressing concerns of employees, employers will be insecure or unethical no matter what, it’s the job of HR department to become a protection shield or become bridge between employees and employers. 

Above mentioned points are just basic issues, organization psychology is beyond these issues, it’s understanding employees and keeping one counselor in the team to understand what’s bothering employees either it’s workplace-related issues or it’s personal issues of employees or it’s a mixture of both. Putting all burden on employees and saying it’s not “our responsibility” is not the ideal or in fact at all a good way to develop office decorum or manage issues. 

Organizational psychology speaks about the culture within the organization and how it is impacting employees, constantly putting one employee into the ocean of troubles and with zero responsibility for their contribution is not good in fact poor management or very bad management. HR department needs to highlight where employers are getting personal or where there’s rivalries or revenge game is happening, put a full stop to it and hold right culprits accountable. Especially, the culture of blackmailing by employers in the form of ruining employees’ careers, profiles or even their rightly deserved salary expectations be it in any form should be stopped. 

HR department should play a neutral and unbiased role even at the time of recruitment and within the organization no matter what top management says, there has to be a proper HR committee which ensures, no manager or employee step up their authority and make one person target just because of some personal grievances. 

Human psychology is very complex and it requires a vast and deep understanding that why managers, employers or employees do certain things, what they are looking for? Why their complaints have not been addressed or concerns listened or issues resolved? Blame games, tug of wars, power play, complicating simple situations, rivalries and grievances are part of the negative side of human nature but how the human resource department manages this challenge, is the actual game.