5 Tips to become an Organizational Psychologist

If you lead a work team in your company you have surely had to deal at some point with problems with the staff. Yes, this is more common than we would like and that’s why it’s become necessary to hire an organizational psychologist within the company. 

This professional is in charge of studying human behavior to get the most out of each of the project's collaborators. 

This is a complex job that requires many skills, which is why it’s become one of the most attractive and best paid professions today. 

The success or failure of a company depends to a great extent on the emotional stability of its workers and the organizational psychologist will be key to achieve the goals.  

Shall we start now?

What is a professional psychologist?

Psychology is one of the most common professions in the various academic offerings of universities. However, when we hear about an organizational psychologist, questions come to mind. 

Well, that's what we’re here for, to clear up any doubts you may have. 

Organizational psychologists are professionals who study human behavior within organizations. The idea is to improve the behavior of all team members in order to meet the objectives set by the company at the time of its foundation. 

We all know that harmony is a key factor within any group of people. The more friction and negativity there is between people, the more difficult it will be to achieve results because cooperation will be left behind and everyone will go their own way. 

In the past, this type of problem used to be solved by human resources departments. However, as time went by, specialists realized that they needed experts in the field to get the best performance out of each worker. 

In this sense, organizational psychology is a discipline that has gained ground and is essential for the welfare of all organizations. It focuses not only on the individual, but also on the development of the organization to which the person belongs.

Functions of an organizational psychologist

The organizational psychologist has the objective of evaluating, monitoring and supervising the behavior of all the employees of a company according to the organizational context that surrounds them. 

This professional is in charge of empowering all the human capital of the company, since this way there will be more probabilities of achieving the proposed goals. 

Let's see in detail some of the functions of an organizational psychologist: 

1. Psychological support

People suffer from problems all the time and on many occasions, they do not have the support of someone who is a specialist in the matter. 

When personal problems are added to the pressure of work, delays in productivity appear. However, with an organizational psychologist this doesn’t have to happen. 

With this professional, employees will have an ally to improve their interaction with other colleagues and solve all kinds of work-related problems. 

2. Leading activities

On many occasions we find organizational psychologists leading large departments of companies, something that makes all the sense in the world: if they know how to get the maximum potential out of someone, why not let them take on management positions?

3. Psychological treatments

Conflicts are part of the daily life of any organization. On some occasions several people need different treatments to solve those internal problems they have in a specific area. 

Once executed, the results improve in the blink of an eye. 

4. Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is one of the most important intangible indicators of any company. Since it isn’t visible, many managers leave it in the background, but the reality is that it’s fundamental for everyone's well-being. 

How is it determined? Through interviews, reports, observations and surveys that give us the information we need to take the respective actions. 

5. Advising the board

This is one of the most important functions of any organizational psychologist. The board of directors in many occasions is far from the day to day of the workers, so it’s necessary that this professional points out to them the best strategies to relate with the human capital.

6. Efficiency plans

Efficiency doesn’t always go hand in hand with long working hours, in fact, it’s a trend that has gradually changed over time. 

An organizational psychologist has the ability to create productivity and efficiency plans without affecting the health of employees. 

Forget about illnesses, extreme worker fatigue and accidents at work. These professionals are prepared to create tailor-made plans. 

7. Program design

They also have the ability to create programs that target employee promotion and advancement. There’s nothing a human being can long for more than the recognition of his or her peers, especially if this translates into a better job. 

8. Work environment

The work environment is one of the aspects that a human being values most when accepting a job in a company. It’s part of the emotional salary, since nobody wants to work in a negative, toxic and bad vibe environment. 

In this sense, you as an organizational psychologist have the duty to ensure a right environment for everyone to develop their full potential.

9. Ensuring wellness and health

This professional has the power to implement policies that protect the entire team in case of medical emergencies and workplace accidents. 

You will be surprised to know how many companies exist today that do not even have a medical department in their facilities, which represents a great risk for all employees. 

Requirements to become an organizational psychologist

As you can see, an organizational psychologist has the ability to participate in different areas of a company, from human resources to marketing, finance, production and management. 

Now, in order to hold this position, it’s essential to have a degree in psychology in any of the universities that offer the career in the United States as well as in the old continent. 

With the degree, companies will know that you have all the necessary skills to get the most out of each of their workers. 

In addition to this, you can also do a master's degree in occupational risk prevention, organizational psychology or human resources to specialize in everything related to human behavior. 

This will set you apart from the competition and increase your chances of getting a job. 

How much does an organizational psychologist earn? 

There’s no doubt that this is the question everyone asks themselves when they start looking for a new career, and the economic part is one of the most important aspects to make the final decision. 

In this case there’s not much to worry about because psychology has always been a very well paid profession in the United States and Europe. 

Okay, but how much can I earn? I'm sure you are asking yourself this question. Everything will depend on your academic preparation, country and company to which you apply, although there are several averages that you can take into account. 

In the United States, in a medium-sized company you can earn more than 60 thousand dollars a year, although it will be subject to taxes and the state where you work. 

On the other hand, in England the monthly salary can often exceed 40 thousand euros at the end of the year. However, your qualifications are highly valued there, so the more degrees you have, the more likely you are to succeed.

Tips to become an organizational psychologist

Do you want to fulfill your dream of becoming a great organizational psychologist? Well you've come to the right place, and we gathered several experts to give us some recommendations for all those who wish to practice this beautiful career. 

Grab yourself a pen and a piece of paper and find out: 

1. Build from what you master the most

By this we mean specializing in a specific niche. It’s true that it’s often said that psychology is about understanding others, but the reality is that it goes much further. 

No profession enables you to understand someone because each person is a different world themselves. Therefore, the first suggestion is related to focus on the areas you master the most. 

Do you like sports? Maybe you are interested in the psychology of sports organizations, something that is very trendy at the moment. 

2. There’s no such thing as a perfect psychologist

This point is very important. When you start your career, it’s very likely that you have the image of a perfect psychologist who solved all his patients' problems in the blink of an eye and built an incredible reputation thanks to that. 

Well, we’re sorry to tell you that this will not happen with you and not because you don’t have talent, but because each professional will walk a different path. 

So we recommend that you focus on building your own path and leave aside comparisons with others. 

3. Build confidence in your own way

Find a way to build confidence, especially in the early stages, as this can influence your future in the short and medium term. 

You may need to give yourself positive messages or think about the reasons why you started studying. The important thing is that you achieve your objective in order to move forward.

4. Value your work

Valuing your work is not only important for psychologists, but for all occupations. On many occasions we allow bad treatment just because we do not understand that our preparation and effort has a cost and that we should not accept a payment that does not correspond to our services. 

Do you remember the approximate salaries? Well, that should work as a guide to know how much you can charge both for fixed salary and commissions. Start valuing yourself so that others will do the same. 

5. Don't give advice

This is one of the most common mistakes made by novice psychologists. Your job is not to give advice, as that can be done by anyone to some extent. 

The job of an organizational psychologist is to bring out the full potential of each worker by identifying their patterns, motivations and detecting those problems that tie them to a specific situation. 

Therefore, focus on detecting those behaviors that do not help the company's objectives and leave aside attempts to be their confidant.

6. Anticipate possible conflicts

It’s essential that as a psychologist you are attentive to any event that may occur in the future. It’s true that people are unpredictable, but the reality is that a good professional in the area can prevent some situations. 

For that you can rely on intangible indicators that you can detect through reports, interviews and general behaviors. 

When you detect that there is already discomfort in the organization, it’s only a matter of time before problems start to explode. 

7. We are human

Last but not least, remember that we are human, so we can't expect everything to be perfect. 

Organizational psychologists have a great responsibility, yes, but that doesn't mean we should take everything so seriously. It’s time to value all points of view to help the company achieve its objectives. 

Today we wanted to give you all the information you need about what it means to be an organizational psychologist. There’s no doubt that it’s a branch of psychology that will continue to grow, so if you’re planning to study this, this is your moment. 

Do you think you need an organizational psychologist in your company? We'll read you in the comments.