The I-O Psychologists' Career Coach, Fluency in the Multinational Corporation, & #SIOP24
In the latest episode of Department 12, I sit down with the Ellie Hoekman—an I-O psychology enthusiast turned career coach—to explore the paths that lead Ellie from a rejected quantitative psychology applicant to a fervent advocate and professional in the I-O psychology space. Ellie also shares her advice for I-O students, recent graduates, and faculty members.
Click here to listen or subscribe to Department 12 wherever you get your podcasts.
Baby, Don’t You Wanna Go?
If you find yourself in Chicago this week—for any old reason—look me up at SIOP 2024. Whether you attend these sessions or not, if you see me, please stop and say hello. I don’t get a chance to meet with readers and audience members very often.
Award: Serving and Engaging With Purpose
Friday, April 19th | 8:00 AM | Hyatt Grand Hall H
I-O Podcasts: Extending I-O Topics To Mainstream Audiences
Friday, April 19th | 10:30 AM | Zoom Room 2
Okay people, in my never-ending quest to experiment with new formats and confuse the hell out of my long-suffering readers…let’s ask the Evidence-Based Magic 8-Ball, EBM8 (pronounced “E.B. Mate”), some of our burning workplace questions.
Dear EBM8,
I work for a multi-national based in Singapore. Our official corporate language is Chinese. I’ve been trying to learn Chinese this year, but it’s so hard! If I want to make a career with this company, do I really need to buckle down and learn this language?
Sincerely,
Rosetta Stoned
Signs point to yes.
Dear Rosetta,
There’s plenty of good reasons to learn your company’s lingua franca. For one thing, being fluent in the language of your senior leaders will allow you to communicate your ideas more often and more clearly than your less-fluent peers. For another, it will probably help you get promoted. And finally, you’ll always be able to ask where the bathroom is at HQ—which is surprisingly important at the worst possible times.
Remember the DuoLingo app you downloaded last year? It’s probably still on your phone. Get crackin’. Or else maybe look for a role in a new org where English is the official language. They aren’t rare.
Best,
EBM8
Dear EBM8,
I’m a sleazy boss who plans to ask my employees to do my dirty work for me. Will many comply?
Sincerely,
Dirty Deeds Delegator
As I see it, yes.
Dear Dirty,
In a sample of 110 employees interviewed for a qualitative study, roughly a third admitted to complying with their supervisor’s unethical request. That’s not a representative sample, but it suggests compliance with supervisor unethical requests is not rare.
Also, don’t do that thing. It sucks.
Worst,
EBM8
Dear EBM8,
I recently saw a very compelling meme about how it’s better to rule by fear than respect. I figure if that’s true for Game of Thrones, it’s probably also true for the Accounts Payable Department. What do you think, loser?
With Sincere Intimidation,
Director Dread
My sources say no.
Dear Dread,
Fear is associated with lower task performance, reduced citizenship behaviors, and increased counter-productive work behaviors.
Trash this idea and start watching Ted Lasso.
Mild Regards,
EBM8
Dear EBM8,
As an I-O psychologist, I’m 100% a college-educated white-collar worker and so were both of my parents. I’m more comfortable with, and interested in, studying the kinds of workers and jobs I’m familiar with. Can I just ignore the skilled trades, please?
Love,
Narrow Nelly
Concentrate and ask again.
Dear Nelly,
If you choose to ignore the trades, you’ll have plenty of company. Most I-O psychologists don’t seem to give much of a damn about the kinds of jobs that 35 million Americans do every day.
I’m not sure if journals won’t print articles about skilled labor or researchers don’t submit them to begin with—or both. Probably tenure committees or journal publishers are somehow to blame. They’re the most common faces we find behind the rubber masks in this particular Scooby Doo farce.
With Snark,
EBM8
That’s it for this issue. Don’t forget to say hello if you see me at SIOP.