Introduction
The world is changing very first in various fronts due to the changes brought about by advancement of technology. Technological advancements have made work easier, communication faster, and movement more convenient. Industries and organizations have been heavily impacted upon by this technological improvement. According to Gröschl (2011), organizations have transformed over the years due to the changes brought about by the advancing technology.
As this scholar notes, organizations have been forced to adjust their structure to reflect these changes in the external environment. This scholar emphasizes the fact that failure of an organization to implement changes may lead to serious negative consequences, including being forced out of the market. It is due to this that the services offered by organization psychologists have become very vital for the modern organizations.
The workplace has completely been transformed from what it used to be traditionally. Business environment has become increasingly competitive. More firms are getting into the market with products that already exist. This has created a very competitive environment where various firms are fighting for a few customers.
Given this fact, firms are determined to make their operation as effective and efficient as possible. As Griffin (2012) observes, one of the ways that firms currently use to improve their efficiency is to cut down costs of operation. One of
the ways of cutting down cost of operation is to downsize the workforce. Firms are under constant pressure to have a thinner workforce. Improved technology has made work easier. A task that required ten individuals to perform can now be done by a single person operating a machine.
This changing nature of work is coming as a surprise to some individuals and firms. These are individuals who have spent several years working in normal brick and moter offices where they report to work every morning and go back home in the evening. Telling such an individual to work from a remote place, and with the advanced telecommuting services, coordinate with other workers may become a difficult task. However, this is a change whose time has come, and can no longer be ignored.
The current workplace has embraced team work. Individuals must work as a team, with each team member having a specific role to play within the organization. According to Griffin (2012), the team members must not necessarily work under the same roof. With virtualization being developed, the need for a physical office is becoming less relevant.
These team members can work from different locations, but with the help of telecommunication, they can easily coordinate, and report their findings to the other team members in real time. Cases that require face to face communication can be facilitated without the need to meet physically. This can be done with the help of video-conferencing machines. These machines can help ensure that these individuals can hold a face to face conference to address issues that may be of concern.
Increasing Diversity of the Workforce
This changing nature of the workplace is bringing new complexities both to firms and to the employees. According to Gröschl (2011), various organizations are headed by individuals who have advanced ages. They have conformed to the traditional way of life, and therefore are rigid to some of the changes that take place in the external environment.
However, the workforce is constantly changing. Griffin (2012 ) says that new employees who entered into the business within the last five years exhibit different adaptive features from those who have stayed within the job market for over ten years. These employees come to the job market with fresh ideas. They have skills in telecommunication and are very flexible to changes in the environment.
This scholar notes that industrial and organizational psychologists have a huge task of trying to reconcile these two contrasting personalities. While the older generation prefer status quo, and resent radical changes that may radically redefine their roles within the organization, the younger generation are vibrant are always trying new things that will make their tasks less repetitive. They are against status quo, and as Riggio, R. (2007) describes, this group are restless and very ambitious.
The two divides must be brought together to ensure that there is cohesion within an organization. The aging populace may not be able to understand these changes taking place within the workplace. The younger population may not understand the reason why the aging population prefers to maintain status quo. This may lead to serious disharmony within the firm, which can cause serious challenge to the objectives of the firm.
Diversity at workplace did not occur overnight. It is a systematic change that takes place gradually and over a long period of time. It starts with development of a special need. When there is a necessity that is not meet by the current forces within the firm, the need to create a new approach will always develop. Once one need has been met, new needs will always arise, leading to further need to develop more changes within the firm.
This is a continuous process that will ensure that change is constant. Understanding the increasing diversity in the workplace is very important. Organizational psychology is therefore, very important both to the older and the new employees within an organization. It will help in defining some of the factors that cannot be avoided within an organization. Different variables contribute differently to the evolutions of the trends in the market. Some of the variables that contribute to this evolution are as follows.
- Technology is one of the leading factors that have contributed to the evolution of the workforce. Technology has redefined various roles within an organization. Communication has been improved, and with invention of sophisticated machines, it is now possible for a firm to downsize its workforce and replace it with machines. This forces the workforce to redefine their role within an organization. They have to avoid cases where their tasks can be performed by machines. Technology has also improved flexibility of the workforce. Those who have the capacity to understand the advanced technology can easily change from one task to another.
- Increasing demand for skilled workers is another variable. The world population is constantly on the rise. However, this increasing population does not have a proportionate increase in the number of skilled labor that is available in the job market. According to Riggio (2007), despite the higher population in various countries around the world, firms have limited skilled labor to undertake various duties. As such, the markets for these employees have become tighter as firms struggle to recruit and retain the best workforce in the market.
- The social media effect is another variable that has impacted heavily on the increasing diversity of the workforce in the current market. When it started, Gröschl (2011) says that social media was considered a tool for communication for the youths. However, this has changed over the years. Social media is currently considered one of the most important tools in managing the workforce. Through social media, people are able to share their experience and this has encouraged many individuals to improve their skills.
- The changing social structure of various societies. Women are finding their way into the corporate world. This is another variable because it has direct effect on the output of the workforce. Various non-governmental organizations and human rights groups have come out strongly to fight for the rights of women at the workplace. Employers are forced to ensure that a given percentage of their employees must be of the other gender. This has seen scenario where firms are forced to develop delicate balance between genders to ensure that they work within the limits of the law. To make them more appealing to employers, women have gotten into professions that were originally thought to be a preserve for men. There are women who are engineers, architectures and doctors. This may change the working environment as some stakeholders may take time to understand and appreciate this change.
Some of the changes taking place within the workplace may not easily be understandable to some stakeholders. However, they may need to understand these changes in order to work with them easily. Griffin (2012) says that change is one of the most constant factors. I/O psychology may be important in improving this understanding to various stakeholders.
The easiest ways of increasing employee efficiency
According to Riggio (2007), one of the easiest ways of increasing employee efficiency and performance is to come up with a working program that will be able to integrate all the employees. The program must be feasible and must be in line with the changes taking place within the industry. In order to ensure that this program works efficiently, the following factors should be taken into serious consideration by the concerned individuals and authorities.
Group Processes
The program should clearly state different groups that are involved in performance of various tasks. These groups should be defined by their capacity, age, role within the firm, and various other factors that make them distinct. Each group should have its own objectives that should be realized within a stipulated time. Groups will be assigned tasks depending on the skills, experience and interest in the task at hand.
Research Methods
Research is very important in managing human resource. More often, employers find themselves in very awkward position when they cannot understand needs and changes taking place among their employees. This makes it difficult to manage employees appropriately. The management should therefore, develop a clear research method that will help it understand employees within the organization. The method can take two approaches.
The first approach will be where an employee will know that a research is being conducted on him or her. The second approach will be where the research is conducted without letting the researched know that a research is being conducted on them. Whichever approach is taken, the most important factor to be considered is to ensure that the management has full information about their employees to ease the process of managing them.
Evaluating Employee Performance
Evaluation of the performance of the employees is one of the vital tasks that human resource management should conduct regularly. An organization always has its own expectations of what each individual employee should deliver to the firm within a set timeline. When this expectation is not met, it is a clear indication that the employee is not working within expectations.
Such an employee may be considered redundant, and the best cause of action may be to eliminate him or her from the firm. To determine the performance of an employee, an evaluation should be done on them regularly. This will help in determining those who shall qualify for promotions, and those who whose contract may be terminated due to poor performance.
Employee Training and Development
Employee training and development should always be conducted regularly. The word is changing, and employees need to adapt to these changes in order to be relevant in the current world market. Conducting employee training at regular intervals equips employees with technical skills that will enable them meet market demands. Employee training should be conducted regularly, especially when there is a new trend in the market brought about by technology or other variables.
Job Satisfaction and Worker Stress
Job satisfaction among employees is always a core factor in making employees more productive. There are a number of factors that may make employee feel satisfied. When an employee feels that he or she has successfully completed his or her tasks brings satisfaction. Good remuneration and support from the management also brings satisfaction. Worker stress would arise when there is lack of satisfaction at work. This may be due to wrong assignment of tasks, poor remuneration, and harassments from relevant authorities.
References
Griffin, R. (2012). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations. Mason: Cengage Learning.
Gröschl, S. (2011). Diversity in the workplace: Multi-disciplinary and international perspectives. Farnhamrey: Gower.
Riggio, R. (2007). Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.