Workplace Psychology Overview

Principles

Definition

Workplace psychology is a field of applied psychology that investigates human behavior, cognition, and emotions within organizational settings. It examines factors influencing individual and group performance, motivation, well-being, and interpersonal dynamics with the aim of enhancing workplace effectiveness and fostering healthy work environments.

Ontological type

Core Theories

Interventions and Practices

Research Methods

Key developments

Key Figures

Psychological Contracts & Fit era

Charles A. O’Reilly [1] is associated with Stanford University [3] and the University of California, Berkeley [4] during this era. His key contributions include Building organizational commitment: A multifirm study [7] and PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A PROFILE COMPARISON APPROACH TO ASSESSING PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT [6], which advanced the profile-based view of fit and linked cross-firm commitment to retention in this era. David F. Caldwell [2] is affiliated with Santa Clara University [5] during this era. Caldwell helped shape the era through the 1991 profile comparison paper [6], illustrating a profile-based approach to assessing person–organization fit within diverse organizations and highlighting how culture and socialization modulate perceptions of fit and retention.

Resource-Based Positive Psychology era

Arnold B. Bakker [1] is a prominent scholar associated with Erasmus University Rotterdam [3] and University College London [4] during the Resource-Based Positive Psychology era. His key contribution in this era centers on the 2004 paper Using the job demands‐resources model to predict burnout and performance [6], which helped establish a resource‑based framework for understanding how job demands and job resources shape burnout and performance in organizations. Evangelia Demerouti [2] is a leading scholar linked with Radboud University Nijmegen [5] and Erasmus University Rotterdam [3] during this era. Her key contributions in this era arise from the 2004 paper Using the job demands‑resources model to predict burnout and performance [6], showing how the interplay of demands and resources informs engagement and resilience and thereby guiding workplace development.

Multilevel Thriving Framework era

Susan J. Ashford [1] is associated with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [3] and Boston College [4] during this era. Her key contributions in this era include cultivating holding environments for precarious and personalized work identities, as described in the 2018 paper Agony and Ecstasy in the Gig Economy: Cultivating Holding Environments for Precarious and Personalized Work Identities [7], which helped explain why supportive climates matter for thriving. Cort W. Rudolph [2] is affiliated with University of Groningen [5] and Wayne State University [6] during this era. His contribution in this era includes the meta-analysis Thriving at Work: A meta-analysis [8], which synthesizes multilevel thriving evidence and informs cross‑level intervention targets.