THE OFFICE SHRINK - Who fulfills the role in your organization?

(Click for AUDIO VERSION)

Are there any Industrial-Organizational Psychologists out there anymore? After looking over the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the numbers don't look very promising. Pity; It's a useful profession aimed at studying human behavior in relation to the work environment and making recommendations for improving productivity. I'm afraid the position has diminished and defaulted to individual managers who are not properly trained to be office shrinks.

I am not such a psychologist by training but I have an appreciation of the work involved and understand the fundamentals. Bottom-line, the Office Shrink considers such things as worker intelligence level, motivation and attitude towards their job. From these observations, the office shrink will formulate a style of management, either autocratic or allow more worker freedom and participation in the decision making process. See "The Three Theories of Management" (X, Y and Z) in my PAPER.

Whether you are looking at your workers collectively or individually, these analysis tips will help. Perhaps the best place to start is to analyze in-house Employee Evaluation Forms which, in theory, should be performed on a regular basis. Here is a SAMPLE. Where such forms do not exist, the Office Shrink will be forced to evaluate workers based on nothing more than interviews and personal observations.

For each individual, the Office Shrink needs to consider:

Intelligence:
- What formal education does the worker have and what were his/her grades?
- What training certificates does the worker possess?
- What is the skill set of the worker?
- What is the IQ of the worker?
- What is the level of the worker's intellectual curiosity? Is he/she apathetic or do they ask questions, read trade related publications, participate in groups, volunteer to help, etc.?

What motivates the worker?
- Job security?
- Money?
- Recognition/praise?
- Special attention?
- Personal/professional integrity?
- Other

How does worker respond to:
- Criticism (Good/Bad)
- Praise (Good/Bad)
- What are the "likes" of the worker, incl. hobbies (develop a listing)
- What are the "dislikes" of the worker, incl. hobbies (develop a listing)

Senses; How acute are the senses of the worker (sharp/dull)? Such analysis may provide some insight in adjusting the physical environment.
- Sight
- Sound
- Smell
- Touch (incl. sense of temperature)
- Taste
- 6th senses - intuitiveness, reaction to clutter, etc.

Attitude about job:
- Professional vs. ambivalent vs. wishes he/she were elsewhere.
- Output - Very industrious vs. minimum effort vs. sub-par performance.
- Discipline - Consider work space, personal appearance, and approach to work; Clean, organized, methodical, punctual versus sloppy, tardy, many errors in workmanship.

Socialization skills:
- Communications skills - communicates well? (oral and written)
- Interpersonal relationships - Extroverted versus introverted.
- Courtesy - refined versus crude

From this analysis, the Office Shrink will understand a few things; first, the personality types in his work force (A, B, C, and D); (see "Personality Types"). More importantly, the shrink will form an opinion on the workers collectively in terms of their capabilities and note patterns of personality traits. From this, the shrink will determine two things: a suitable approach to management and how to manipulate the Corporate Culture to suit his needs.

If the Office Shrink perceives the workers as people possessing low intelligence and motivation, most likely the shrink will recommend more supervision until the problem is rectified (aka, "micromanagement"). However, if the workers are perceived as intelligent, take initiative, and produce superior results, he will be more inclined to recommend worker freedom and empowerment.

The Office Shrink may also recommend modifications to the corporate culture, such as dress, protocol, ethics, office layout, ergonomics, paint and lighting, possibly even adjustments to sound and smell which may affect the focus of workers.

As I said, I have considerable respect for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists. In the absence of such a person, the manager must assume the role. Unfortunately, without proper training the manager makes decisions based on his rudimentary perceptions of the situation. The smart manager though has no problem playing the role of Office Shrink. With a little education and/or consulting assistance he can take charge of his area of responsibility and run it like a fine watch.

For more information on these management concepts, see my e-book entitled,
"THE BRYCE IS RIGHT! - Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture" If you also need consulting assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Keep the Faith!

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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm

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Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.