Organizational Psychology

We present our journal’s new edition Issue #2, 2021.

The section «Research in organizational psychology» contains four articles. Theoretical and methodological problems of organizational psychology are raised in an article by St. Petersburg psychologists L. G. Pochebut, V. A. Chiker, N. V. Volkova, S. D. Gurieva «Inconsistency of social-psychological effects of organizational social capital consolidation». The results of the study of resources for overcoming professional stress in pedagogical activity are described in the article by T. Kulikova «Time managementas a determinant of stress resistance among the modern secondary school teachers». The emotional aspects of the professional activity of doctors are discussed in two English-language articles by our foreign colleagues from India — «Impact of emotional intelligence on organizational performance in the health sector during COVID-19: mediating role of psychological resilience» by S. Panigrahi, S. Mohanty — and colleagues from Iran — «Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Training on the Reduction of Burnout in Clinical Specialist Residents» by S. Kalani, P. Azadfallah, H. Oreyzi, R. Azizkhani, P. Adibi.

The «Organizational Psychology in Practice» part contains an article by a team of authors from the Higher School of Economics, attracting the attention of readers to the effectiveness of corporate health-saving programs: «Worksite Wellness Programs as a Part of Corporate Culture: A Research on Attitudes of Employees in Russian Companies» by O. Khoreva, E. Tarasenko, E. Ivanova.

In the “Reviews” we discuss new trends in the labor market with profound psychological implications. This topic is raised in the article “Precarious employment psychology: formation of subject area, main problems and approaches to their study”  by A. Diomin.

In the section “First steps” you will find two articles. Professional vitality became the focus of research in the article by O. Plyushcheva and A. Makhnach “Resilience of a specialist in a helping professionin an organizational environment”. The problem of antisocial creativity is raised by the article “Featuresof malevolent creativity and emotional intelligence in police officers depending on education and length ofservice” by M. Bochkova, V. Shapovalova, N. Meshkova, S. Enikolopov.

New aspects in the process of career self-determination are offered in the «Organizational psychology in dialogues and discussions» part for consideration and discussion in the academic community by a team of authors consisting of N. Karlovskaya, E. Kamneva, E. Morgunov, M. Polevaya, N. Pryazhnikov in their article «The principle of "cyclicality" in career and personal self-determination».

Please, enjoy the reading!

The current paper continues a run of articles prepared by the authors regarding the theory and methodology of studying organizational social capital. Purpose. To analyze the inconsistency of social-psychological effects of consolidation of organizational social capital. Considering a social psychological view, social capital might lead to both positive and negative social-psychological consequences. Methodology. The research methodology is based on a social-psychological model of cognitive organizational social capital developed by the authors and methodological evidence of study in gorganizational social capital. Social capital is a multidimensional construct. Its measurement must be conducted on the basis of the three dimensions, namely structural, cognitive, and relational. Findings. The findings of the methodological research conducted are the following: 1) positive and negative consequences of the consolidation of social capital are called in the literature as “light and dark sides” of social capital. A light side is a positive effect, namely creating a trust-based atmosphere, commitment to the goals, values and group norms, resource exchange, and opportunity for collective interactions. A dark side is negative consequences such as the probability for abuse of trust, enforcement of group norms, particularism, ostracism against non-conformists; 2) a social-psychological antecedent for consolidation of organizational social capital is ultimately ethical behavior of leaders and managers towards staff members; 3) social-psychological processes and effects are the utmost importance of consolidation of social capital. Exceeding the measure of the development of social-psychological processes such as either accelerated group dynamics or frozen statics might lead to negative consequences in their development. Overrunning group cohesion can start the effects of conformity and groupthink, while the high level of trust leads to authority compliance. Breaking down reciprocal norms and justice facilitates the effect of social loafing and reducing organizational identity. Originality. Finding inconsistency, which affects the effectiveness of the consolidation of organizational social capital.

The emotional dimensions of health workers are emerging as a serious issue in academic discourse in the current decade. The World Health Organization (WHO) report under scores the significance of Emotional Stability among health workers as a factor affecting the performance of the health sector organization. Purpose. This study investigates the role of Emotional Intelligence on Performance through Psychological resilience in this pandemic situation of COVID19 in the Health sector Organization in Odisha, India. Method. Taking samples from public and private hospitals in Odisha 103 nurses’ were administered Schutte’s Self Report Emotional Intelligence Scale. The questionnaire has dimensions as Emotional Perception, Facilitating Cognition, Emotional Understanding, and Emotional Management. Findings. Regression analysis showed that the Emotional intelligence of health workers can be a predictive factor of Organization performance in the health industry. The nurses of different hospitals are proficient in taking on new challenges, they are also competent in adapting to any situation, they can recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and also they can treasure good humor during badtimes. Principal component factor analysis showed that emotional perception and understanding as well as facilitating cognition used in regulating the overall performance of the hospital. Value of results. The amount of EI a nurse of a hospital has developed significantly impacts organization performance as a major part of the hospital nurses act as the central pillar of hospitals so they have a sense of understanding and can critically analyze patient behaviors and minimizes issues within the territory. This study going to help the hospital managers for managing the emotions of nurses who work under him / them.

Purpose. This research has pursued aims at evaluating the effects of acceptance and commitment training on reducing burnout in Clinical Specialist Residents, considering the moderating role of personality traits. Design. 202 residents studying emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology completed the Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E) subscales of the Big Five Personality Inventory. Then, they were assigned into two experimental and control groups (four groups, each composed of 18 participants). The E+N- and E-N+ experimental groups received Acceptance and Commitment Training, while the E+N- and E-N+ control groups remained on the waiting list. Findings. The results showed that acceptance and commitment training was effective on reduction of burnout in medical residents. In addition, E+N- residents benefit more from acceptance and commitment training than E-N+ residents. Research limitations. This study needs to be reproduced by other groups of residents to demonstrate the efficacy of this intervention in anything other than this population. We also only examined the effect of Acceptance and Commitment Training on the two combinations E & N (E-N+ & E+N-). Practical implications. The findings of this study indicated that acceptance and commitment training was effective in decreasing the rate of burnout among residents considering the moderating role of their personality traits. Originality. None of the existing studies have examined the effect of acceptance and commitment training on burnout in physicians, in addition most research on burnout reduction among residents has only reported the effects of one or several types of intervention, without examining the role of the moderator variables.

Purpose. The article presents the results of the study of the relationship between the ability to manage the time and stress resistance of the modern teacher. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the professional activity of the teacher is one of the most intense included in the group of professions with large number of stress factors. Problem. On the one hand, the teacher profession, requires emotional sustainability in the process of working with children, colleagues, and parents. On the other hand, the teacher does not know how to manage its working and personal time, which often creates stressful situations and constant tension. Methods. The study involved 67 women teachers at the secondary schools of the city of Tula. The average work experience amounted to 15.64± 8.7 years, and the median experience of 17 years. The criterion for dividing teachers into two equalparts was the median experience of the experience: first group with work experience less than 17 years and second group with work experience more than 17 years. The diagnostic material used the procedure for diagnosing the state of stress by A. Prokhorov; S. Maddie’s “Residence test” (translation and adaptation by D. Leontiev and E. Rasskazova); Test “Self-assessment of stress resistance” by S. Cohen and G. Williamson; S. Kalinin’s questionnaire “Personal competence in time”; questionnaire “Self-organization of activity” by E. Mandrikova. Statistical data processing was carried out in the SPSS Statistics 27 (IBM) program. To establish the tightness of the connection between the test parameters, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used. To reduce the dimension of the original space of the signs and detection of the main factors, the method of the main component was used. Results. The correlation analysis revealed the presence of a positive connection between the following indicators studied: “competence in time”; “planned”; “dedication”; “self-organization”; “stress resistance”; “involvement”;“control”; “risk taking”; “humanity”. As a result of factor analysis, three factors were extracted: 1) theability to control the time, 2) the resistance and 3) stress resistance. The greatest differences between the groups with the experience less than 17 years and more than 17 years were detected by the factors of resistance and stress resistance (p < 0.01). On the factor of the ability to manage the time there is atendency to difference. Implications for practice. The research materials can be used in the work of the psychological service of the educational organization and promote the optimization of working hours of teachers, an increase in the effectiveness of pedagogical activities, as well as serve as a basis for developing additional education programs and advanced training programs.

The purpose of the paper is to identify the attitudes towards corporate health promotion programs in workplace as part of corporate culture of employees in companies operating in the territory of Russia, as well as to give an idea of the changes required for design and further development of corporate wellness programs to increase its relevance. Methodology. The article is based on a quantitative sociological study conducted in November 2019 — April 2020. The respondents in which were 5,178 full-time employees of eight Russian medium and large companies of following branches of the Russian economy: energy, industry, pharmaceuticals, light and food industries, telecommunications, and IT. All respondents had access to corporate wellness programs. Findings. Respondents are interested in health maintaining. Even though there are pronounced branches’ differences in preferences in corporate health programs assessment, employees in companies of all branches highly appreciate sports events and voluntary health insurance programs provision. Respondents are less satisfied with educational, awareness-raising activities, measures to prevent harmful habits and injuries. However, with a low level of satisfaction, they are not interested in this part of corporate health promotion programs and do not propose to strengthen existing corporate health promotion programs with educational and educational activities. This fact may indicate an in sufficient level of preparation and implementation of such events. The value of results. As part of the research, the authors for the first time have introduced the comparative analysis of employees’ proposals to supplement the existing corporate health promotion practices in companies by branches. This analysis identifies areas for the further development of corporate health promotion programs in the workplace.

Purpose. The problem of precarious employment, the scope of which is steadily expandingin different countries of the world, is discussed. The purpose of this paper is to determine the contentof precarious employment, identify problems and approaches to their psychological study. The reviewactively uses interdisciplinary knowledge. Findings. Multidimensional interpretations of precariousemployment are analyzed, which include not only the type of employment (non-standard), but alsothe conditions of employment and its subjective components. The main subject area is considered:the influence of precarious employment on the health and psychological well-being of a person. The transition from the study of precarious employment to the study of careers in conditions of precariousemployment is recorded, the concepts of “career complexity”, “discontinuous occupational trajectory”,“employment strain” are revealed. The necessity of analyzing the social contexts of precariousemployment is justified. Conclusions. The analysis of the literature made it possible to identifythe directions of the evolution of ideas about precarious employment and ways of studying it. It isnecessary to develop a definition and concept of precarious employment which more fully presents its psychological components. The progress in this direction will allow taking into account the interaction between manifest and latent precarity in the development of complex psychodiagnostic tools. It isconcluded that it is necessary to study the psychological prerequisites and mechanisms of adaptation to unstable forms of employment. The value of the results. In Russian science, the psychology of precarious employment is clearly insufficiently studied. The review will contribute to the development of organizational psychology and labor market psychology, as well as increase the importance of psychological research on employment in Russia, especially in the context of the global threat of COVID-19, which is rapidly transforming labor relations.

Professional resilience is a multi-component construct that can change under one or an other influence, and the study of its structure (levels, factors, individual and organizational characteristics) will make it possible to choose the most accurate tools that contribute to its maintenance and development. The purpose of the study: to study the features and characteristics of the resilience of a specialist in the organizational environment on the example of specialists of a socially-oriented organization. Research design. As part of the study of the resilience of specialists, we performed an empirical study conducted in three stages. The total sample of the study was 217 people. The article presents the results of a factor analysis conducted at the second and third stages of the study on a sample of 166 people who are specialists and interns of an organization that provides information and psychological support on issues related to cancer, stroke, palliative care and child prematurity: specialists (N = 106, men — 7.5%, women — 92.5%, average age — 36.7), interns (N = 60, men — 8.3%, women — 91.7%, averageage — 36.0). To implement the tasks set, we used the methods of questionnaires, testing, and written surveys. The results of the study showed the relationship between general and professional resilience of a person, as well as the fact that subjective assessments of the resilience of labor subjects do not have a direct connection with objective indicators of resilience and, to a greater extent, are related to the socio-psychological atmosphere in the team and the duration of work in the organization. Indifferent groups of specialists of the organization, there are notice able differences in how the systemof assessments of the resilience, socio-psychological well-being of the organizational environment isbuilt, as well as what supports the motivation to work in it. It was also found that the external locus of control, emotionally-oriented and avoiding coping strategies indicate a reduced level of resilience, which can be taken into account when selecting specialists for places with difficult working conditions. Research perspective. The conducted research can be used to study the characteristics of the specialist’s resilience in the organizational environment and to choose the directions of its support, correction or development. We plan to use the results obtained in the development of programs aimed at forming the resilience of labor subjects who carry out their professional activities within the framework of socially oriented organizations.

The problem of deviant behavior of internal affairs officers remains relevant, and its causes are explained by many authors by professional deformation related to the specifics and service life. Studies of adolescent deviant behavior and aggressive communication between employees in businesss how that malevolent creativity and low emotional intelligence can play an important role in thiscase. Purpose. The aim of the study was to study the features of malevolent creativity and emotional intelligence of police officers of different levels of education and service experience. Methodology.The sample consisted of students of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (N = 59; 34 of them are men; 48 with higher education; with service experience up to five years (n = 35) and over five years inclusive (n = 18) and cadets of second and third year of study (n = 26). We used the aggression questionnaires of A. Bass and M. Perry, the self-assessment questionnaires “EmIn”, “Mac-IV”, “NEO-FFI” and the questionnaire “Behavioral features of malevolent creativity” adapted from the Russian sample. Hypotheses about differences in the levels of malevolent creativityand emotional intelligence were tested: 1) between police officers with higher education and cadets; 2) between police officers with different service experience. Findings. The results obtained partially confirmed the hypotheses: there were no significant differences in the level of malevolent creativity between all subsamples; samples of police officers (both with higher education and with different service experience) significantly differed from cadets with higher values of understanding emotions. Also, the sub-sample of ATS employees with more than years of service experience significantly differedin low values of the Big Five “Cooperation” trait compared to those who served for less than five years,and ATS employees with secondary education are less hostile compared to employees with higher education. The following features of malevolent creativity were identified: hostility was the predictor for the cadets, and “Cooperation” was the predictor for the rest of the subsamples. Conclusions aredrawn that the Big Five trait “Cooperation” is important in the deviant behavior of police officers, and “professional five aggression”, detected in the framework of the diagnosis of professional personal deformity of police officers, may have a more complex nature: it may be a consequence of personaltraits and hostility (the cognitive component of aggression). The values of the results. The revealedcontribution of predictors to the behavior that characterizes professional aggression should be taken into account when professional psychological selection and monitoring of psychological characteristics of cadets of higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and employees of internalaffairs bodies.

In the context of career (personal, life and professional) self-determination “cycles” understood as repetitive actions oriented towards their completeness (success, efficiency). and — the ordering of the activities of specialists (psychologists, teachers, coaches), helping a person in solving the problems of life, professional and personal self-determination. The relationship between thec ontent and procedural aspects of the cycles is analysed and their relationship is shown. The specifics of cycles at different stages of personal career development are highlighted, as well as — the specifics of the principle of cyclicality, in relation to different tasks of professional orientation (informationreference, psychodiagnostic, moral-emotional support of the client, assistance in specific elections and career planning). The possibilities of «cycles» are considered as «units of analysis» of certain aspects of personal and professional self-determination.