Definition of labor psychology - What it is, Meaning and Concept

The occupational psychology is the branch of the psychology dedicated to the analysis of human behavior within the context of a company and during development of a work .The name of work and organizational psychology is also used, since it can analyze behavior in civil or governmental entities.

This psychological area that we are dealing with now can establish that it has its origins in the 16th century and more specifically in the work written by Juan Huarte de San Juan entitled “Examination of the Ingenios for Sciences.” A background of those in that area that in At first it was known by the name of industrial psychology.

However, it should be stressed that the concept we have and understand as occupational psychology comes directly from the evolution of studies and work carried out at the beginning of the 20th century by authors such as H.Fayol or W.Taylor.This last one stood out in concrete because I carry out a series of actions and analysis with the clear objective of finding the labor methods with the highest efficiency results, the selection of the best men for each position and also the training of them to achieve the desired objectives.

Occupational psychology can be framed within the social psychology , although it has its own methodology.Its interest is in the behaviors developed by the people in the work context, carrying out analysis from various approaches (social, group and individual).The purpose of the discipline is to improve the welfare of workers.

Labor psychology argues that organizations and commercial companies make up systems , made up of human beings who maintain interactions and whose actions are interdependent These systems, on the other hand, are influenced by the context.

Labor psychology is oriented to the functioning of these entities through an emphasis on their human resources .By studying the links within the system, you can provide guidelines that improve performance and effectiveness.

Labor psychology takes into account that in organizations two types of systems coexist: a formal system , which appeals to rationality to use the means that are available and manage the behavior of workers in so that the operation has predictability and that the objectives can be achieved; and an informal system , which is developed according to the pressure that the formal system exerts and the responses of people through behaviors that cannot be foreseen by the organization.

In addition to all this we can state that labor psychology carries out the study of various fields with the only purpose of achieving the results that are required by combining several factors.Specifically, six are those mentioned analysis fields:

-The Psychology of the personnel.It is about analyzing the skills, abilities, skills and needs of the aforementioned personnel in order to increase labor yields through training and selection.

-Ergonomics.It is responsible for studying the relationships between man and the environmental aspects that surround him.

-Organizational development: It is about changing and adapting the different organizations to make them more efficient and effective.

-Organizational behavior.It is dedicated to analyzing the influence that organizations have on the behaviors or behaviors of individuals.

-Vocational counseling.

-Labor relations.