Prosocial I-O: Quo Vadis
New Futures for Graduates in I-O Psychology

The Industrial PsychologistOctober, 2009 v. 47, 2, P113-116
Stuart Carr
Massey University

Jeff Godbout is a graduate student from University of Baltimore. He speaks on the heels of an international symposium on “humanitarian work psychology” (HWP), hosted by Adrian Furnham at University College London. HWP is a new branch of work psychology that focuses on how organizations (a) mediate between human workers and the social good (anything from climate change to community action) and (b) foster what the International Labour Organization (ILO) calls “decent work” with (c) local stakeholders (what the UN terms “alignment”). Starting with a marketing degree, Jeff worked in commercial real estate then moved into management consulting. In 2006, he began a master’s in I-O at Baltimore, specializing in international business relations and cross-cultural issues. A global trip piqued his interest in the contributions I-O psychology can make in noncorporate work. Today he is an I-O intern with the Global Task Force for Humanitarian Work Psychology, which was set up at the London meeting precisely to promote HWP. Jeff is helping to build capacity for HWP, specifically among students via multimedia channels. Internet, intranet, and a travelling career roadshow will help in charting new future careers for I-O graduates.

Please tell us a little about your understanding of the project.
This project is all about providing students interested in pursuing HWP as a career with clear examples, pathways, and connections that enable them to see a way forward. The focus is worldwide; we want to connect with graduates in all corners of the globe, including lower, middle, and higher income countries. Working with Professor Jane Klobas at the University of Bocconi in Milan, and Lori Thompson at North Carolina, we are geared toward connectivity with a wider future career audience through four specific avenues: (a) Facebook, (b) intranet (“Povio”), (c) a Web site ( and (d) a presentation series. Although there is overlap between 1 through 4, each strand in the nexus has a different purpose and contribution.
Facebook will be used as a tool to connect with the incoming generation of I-O psychologists. With its vast audience, it will play a key role in communicating current events and projects to anyone interested in joining the Humanitarian Work Psychology organization.
The intranet (Povio) was started by Dr. Carr but is now being updated. Povio is an internal e-mail and document-sharing system allowing those interested in and working on specific projects to communicate through a more personal, direct manner compared to Facebook.
The Web site will share our message to organizations and others interested in learning more. It will also be a hub for all contacts, projects, and research related to HWP.
The presentation series is designed to be a human touch in the multimedia process. Working with universities, personal presentations and meetings with college students will help increase awareness of how I-O psychology is needed in humanitarian work and offers a genuine alternative and complement to services in corporate consultancy and HRM. Students will have an opportunity to ask specific questions and learn what opportunities exist based on their interests and the experiences of others already working in the nonprofit international domain. The series will be presented in both higher and lower income countries, setting the scene for potential career-enhancing exchanges not only between economies but also between sectors (e.g., profit and nonprofit). This will play a key role in helping promote the growth of HWP and its prosocial goals.

Does the psychology of work and organization play a role in the project?
Definitely, because the project is trying to create a system that will educate, motive, and integrate interested students, while in effect also developing quite literally an organization (albeit loosely coupled) of like-minded people. Research in areas such as organizational development, motivation, and virtual environments will all be particularly helpful. For instance, research in organizational development and motivation can offer information on cross-cultural and diversity issues, organizational structuring, and member motivation. Understanding the relationship between media channels and users is also very important for this project. So research on virtual environments is obviously relevant, too.

What kinds of impact would you like to see from this project?
First of all I would like to see global interest, support, and community grow not only within I-O psychology but throughout other disciplines, humanitarian aid organizations, human rights advocates, and policy analysts...basically anyone that has a presence or interest in humanitarian work. Secondly, we will hopefully see an increased awareness and community among I-O students around the world by motivating them to start getting more involved and in turn increase the number of humanitarian work research and applied projects exponentially over the coming years. If nothing else, this project should increase awareness that I-O psychology has a place in the humanitarian arenas by showing students “that” and “how” an I-O degree has potential that complements—and potentially intertwines with—more traditional career paths (as in my own case, above).

How can I-O psychologists get behind the project?
This project needs those involved in relevant projects and organizations like the Global Task Force on Humanitarian Work Psychology and similar organizations to take time to join the different networks described above and to share their past, present, and future career learning. I-O psychologists in general will hopefully take the time to learn more and find ways to get involved, whether it is directly contributing to projects such as SmartAid, a virtual training and online support resource for volunteers in the field (Atkins & Thompson, 2009), or simply spreading the word that I-O psychology has a presence in humanitarian work. There will be opportunities for I-O psychologists to take advantage of unique partnerships in research via new networks created by the project, for example, more collaboration between psychologists in low, medium, and higher income countries. Universities too can play a vital role, for example, by offering professors funding towards I-O humanitarian work-related projects and student courses on the topic (we are currently exploring options for video-linked seminars).

What else can the profession do in the future?
The UN Compact with Business (Berry, Reichman, & Schein, 2008) suggests clearly that a more humanistic approach can be “incorporated” into our profession. This does not mean that I-O as we know it will change. Nor does it mean that we should focus solely on humanitarian work. Instead we can view our profession from a new and different vantage point—one that includes humanitarian goals but does not exclude and even perhaps partly builds on the commercial and economic. The profession can also play a huge role in promoting contributions from those outside the mainstream, through helping to increase representation by students, academics, and practitioners from lower income countries. Such processes of alignment and inclusion can be facilitated through exchange programs; internships; collaborative research projects; funding opportunities for students, practitioners, and academics involved in HWP; and the list goes on. Please contact Jeff Godbout with any funding opportunities or project ideas. For those ready to get their hands dirty, we will be posting field projects revolving around topics of personal interest such as aid and development, aid organization structuring, policy development, and other human rights issues. For everyone else, I would simply ask that they review their interests and try to find a way to connect and contribute!

References

Atkins, S. G., & Thompson, L. F. (2009, June).SmartAid Pilot Test Site Assessment.International Symposium on Humanitarian Work Psychology, London, UK.
Berry, M. O., Reichman, W., & Schein V. E. (2008). The United Nations Global Compact needs I-O psychology participation. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 45(4), 33–37.

To find out more information on this topic and how to get involved or just share your thoughts, please use the following:

Web site:
Facebook: Friend—HWP Network
Povio: E-mail with the subject of your e-mail “Subscribe Povio”
Contact Jeff Godbout: or (301) 300-7463