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Friday, April 13, 2012

Work Psychology: Condensed Version

Right, so I haven't done as much work as I would have like this spring break. My mom came to visit for about 5 days which did hinder the work a little. Not that I didn't enjoy the visit, but I didn't do any studying for those 5 days. And the other days? Only an hour or two and I mostly focused on Clinical Psychology so that I wouldn't have to worry about condensing those notes when exam time comes.

So, yesterday I started work on the 8 weeks we've had of Work Psychology (also known as Industrial Psychology and Organizational Psychology) and realised one thing; It's super boring. And the lecturer is terrible. I don't say this about many lecturers because I can usually focus on one redeeming quality. But I've realised that her notes on Blackboard are unorganized, her lectures are unorganized and repetitive, the learning outcomes she has come up with are unorganized and jumbled, and her voice is completely monotone. Seriously, one lecture sounded like this, "Why do some people like their jobs? Why do some people get stressed? Why do some people leave early everyday?" And it went on like that. I almost want to shout, "Yes! I get it! Some people get stressed at their jobs. Move on!" It is frustrating and not just because I have to study this woman's lectures. It's because Work Psychology is possibly to easiest branch and it's going to be the hardest for me to study and the hardest for me to answer on the exam.

Anyway, I've decided to give you all a little taste about what's to come in future posts as I have given up with previous lectures. So, without further complaints from me, here is Work Psychology: Condensed.

Bad supervisor = stress
High demands with Low Rewards = stress
Low demands with High Rewards = stress

If you don't like flying or heights, don't become a pilot. 

If you screw up in your job application then you won't get the job. Selection processes are far more complicated than they need to be. Some people are crazy enough to believe that a person's handwriting can determine whether or not they're suitable for the job (obviously in some jobs good handwriting is a necessity, but really people...). If your applicants don't like your selection process you won't get many applicants.

The culture of the work place determines many things like how they deal with safety issues. Culture can even be defined by the national culture (really!?).

If your workplace isn't safe, it'll be shut down.

Right, so that's pretty much what I learned from Work Psychology. I hate to say it, but fairly obvious stuff right there. I'm sure that there is a deeper meaning to all of it, but the lecturer is so bad that that is pretty much what she says. Back to the grindstone today, but this time I'm just going to read the book.