Psychology in the Workplace

What Psychology?
Whose version?
How do I apply it?
Is it easy?
Is it quick?
Do I need to know Why?
I only have a few minutes, so . . .

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What Psychology?

A Useful one
One that your workers know and use
One that your bosses know and use
One that you know and use
One that few acknowledge - at least in public
One that holds promise of understanding

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Whose Psychology?

Alfie Kohn

Not Stimulus-Response Behaviourism
Not Externally Driven
Not Pop Psychology

William Glasser, M. D.

Choice Theory
Internally Driven
Contra-Everything except experience

Neil Davies

Recognized `success' in the classroom
Replicating the success found elsewhere

Sherlock Holmes (loosely)

"Once you have eliminated all the plausible causes, what's left, however implausible, . . .."
Break the mold and think differently.

No one KNOWS the `How?' of psychology

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Alfie Kohn

Rewards and Punishment

Same coin, different sides
Attempt to exert control from outside
Destructive of Quality performance
Destructive of Quality workers
Destructive of Quality workplace

Competition is highly over-rated

Need Collaboration and Cooperation

Abolish Incentives

" ... do everything in your power to help them put money out of their minds."
"...decouple the task from the compensation."

Reevaluate Evaluation

Use only to foster continuous improvement
Decouple from compensation.

Create Conditions for Authentic Motivation

WATCH
LISTEN
TALK
THINK

Collaboration

For most tasks, better
Especially if there is a degree of complexity
Especially if it requires a degree of ingenuity
Decouple from compensation.

Genuine commitment to teamwork is tough to find

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Work Content

Meaningful work

"If you want people motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do." -Herzberg
Am I making a difference?
Opportunity to learn new skills
Experience variation in tasks
Acquire and demonstrate competence
Do I like what I am doing?

Work Design

Can Minimize monotony

The manager can help do it or ...

The worker will find a way to break monotony

Large scale social transformation

e.g., Cooperatives (San Francisco Garbage Collectors)

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Worker Choice

Managers limit worker choice

Threat of Punishment
Promise of Rewards
Insistence on being in control

Effects of Lack of Choice

Burnout

Worker feels controlled & powerless

Stress-related disorders

insufficient control of the work situations

Creativity Killers

lack of freedom

lack of control over one's own ideas and work

Resist change

"People don't resist change; they resist being changed." - Scholtes

Absenteeism

Not a problem where workers exercise choice over substantive issues in the worksite

Who are the autocrats in the hierarchy?

Those with autocratic bosses most likely.

Participative Management

Self-determination

Democracy

Downside

Incentives to participate
Threat to managers & current structure
Changes in basic fabric of workplace

Attitudes, Relationships, Culture

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William Glasser, M. D.

Choice Theory

Response to Failure of 'THE BOSS' knows best.

Behaviour is about CHOICES to satisfy individual needs

Behaviour is not Stimulus-Response.

A Stimulus is merely Information

Formerly called Control Theory

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Psychology in the Workplace

Intrinsic Motivation

Heart & Soul of a Quality Workplace
I cannot motivate anyone else!
You cannot motivate me!
Rewards or Punishments are

Equally Damaging Attempts to CONTROL from OUTSIDE

CUES - not COMMANDS

Quality

I'll know it when I see it.
Definitions are endless - get past the semantics
QUALITY WORLD

Storehouse of Memories - The `Good Stuff'
A Personal Standard for Comparison
Where you would be IF ONLY . . .
A NATURAL Source of Intrinsic Motivation

Envision a QUALITY WORKPLACE

Quality Managers
Quality Workers
Quality Customers
Quality Suppliers
Quality Products & Services

EACH must be in the OTHER'S QUALITY WORLD

All Envision a Quality Workplace.
All Share that Vision with each other
All must Learn and Grow
Allow time - Have patience
Take Risks for each other

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Total Behaviour

4 Deeply Intertwined Elements

Feeling

Physiology

Thinking

Activity

Needs Satisfaction Key

Needs - Another view
Physiological - Survival
Psychological

Love + Belonging
Power + Recognition
Freedom
Fun

Humans choose to satisfy needs

Instigators of Creativity - Carefully Structured Work

NEEDS

Fun
Freedom
Power & Recognition
Love & Belonging
Survival

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What Can I do?

DE-PROGRAMMING

Select area of competence

Enable worker to experience success

Coach
Allow time & space
Model desired behaviours
Stay realistic, hopeful
Constancy of Purpose

CHANGE view of QUALITY WORLD

Demonstrate Quality Work

Help worker install Quality Work, Managers, Workers, Customers, Suppliers, Products & Services in his/her Quality World

Include Continuous Self-Improvement & Self-Evaluation

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Leadership

A lost Art?
Too hard to do?
No money in it?
No time for it?
People-Centered
Principle-Centered
About Trust and Trustworthiness

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Role of the Leader

Facilitate Achievement

Based on Knowledge
Focus on the System

Engage Workers

Discuss Quality & Cost of Work
LISTEN
Form Common Agenda

Model the Work - Increase workers' sense of control over work
Eliminate inspectors
Teach & Model Continuous Improvement
Oh yes,

Work hard
Do Quality work

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The BOSS

Sets Task & Standards - No discussion

Tell (not show) how to work - neither accept or ask for input

Inspects (personally or using an inspector) - workers try to pass inspection

Workers Resist <=> Bosses Coerce

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For the Worker as a `Friend'

Share

Who I am
What I stand for
What I will ask workers to do
What I will not ask workers to do
What I will do for them
What I will not do for them

AVOID

Criticising friend's behaviour
Asking too much
Coercion

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Manager's Role

Maintain Constancy of Purpose
Maintain Continuity of Organization
Ensure that the worker has a future
Work ON the system - while the worker works in the system.

Extend the Favorable Environment

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Glasser's Conditions for Quality

Warm, Supportive Work Environment

filled with trust and trustworthiness

Workers are asked to do only useful work

Workers enhance usefulness of the work

Everyone puts forth best efforts
Workers learn to judge & improve Quality
All feel good about work

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What can Instigate Creativity?

An Unsatisfied Need?

The need to move from what I have to what I want?

The need to move from the real world where I am to my Quality World where I belong?

A Carrot or stick?

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Working It Out Together

No Criticism
Non-coercive Supervision
Counselling & Problem Solving

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Banish Criticism

WDEP

What do you want?
What are you doing?
Is what you are doing working?
What do you plan to do about it now?

Honest Self-Evaluation

Based on Cooperation and Trust

No Fault - No Criticism

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Non-Coercive Supervision

LISTEN
When you Talk

Explain your Purpose - to Lead not Boss
Solicit Ideas in really useful areas

Workers Share in Development then Agree

Work Methods
Profit sharing Methods

Together, WE Can Do It.

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Counselling & Problem Solving

Leader Helps Workers
Typical Role with a twist

More Problems are brought to the leader
More Problems are solved by the workers
W-D-E-P
Cooperative Environment - Mutual Help

Counselling - Know your limits
There is an outside world

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Neil Davies Experiences

Applied in Norfolk & Suffolk classrooms

Reality Therapy & Choice Theory - WDEP
Responsibility & Attitudinal shift
Open Discussion
Children take the techniques home
Cooperation, not competitiveness
Transformed thinking
Demonstrated success, but ...

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How to Avoid Failure ... perhaps

Get me into your Quality World

Care enough and Share enough

Put you into my Quality World

Nurture the Spark
Take Risks
Take Time

Work at keeping both in place
Add continuous self-improvement
Banish Criticism
Banish Contingent Rewards

Over time

Change the structure
Change the culture

Over even more time

Change society - the Outside World

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Some More Psychology

Dr. Deming and Choice Theory

MANDATORY COMPONENTS

Constancy of Purpose
New Philosophy
Cease Dependence on Mass Inspection
Improve Every Process
Institute Training
Institute Leadership of People
Drive Out Fear
Break Down Barriers
Eliminate Exhortations
Eliminate Arbitrary Numerical Targets
Permit Pride of Workmanship
Encourage Education
Top Management Commitment & Action

Omitted, but perhaps a natural result

4. End Lowest Tender Contracts

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At the very least, Choice Theory is an excellent addition to our understanding of Psychology - part of the Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge

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Psychology in the Workplace

Small Group Work

How does your experience reinforce or refute the theory and practice presented today?
What are your reactions and ideas?
What would you like to share with the larger group?

» Yes, but ...

» Perhaps, however ...

» A way ahead

Revised 23 July 1999