What does psychology of labor study?

Work created man. Perhaps someone would disagree with this, calling this statement materialistic and irrelevant, but challenging the truth that work plays one of the leading, dominant roles in our lives is difficult. Some in work activity see a way for self-assertion and career building, others work for money and a better life, yet others see in labor the opportunity for self-expression and self-improvement. Finally, working in a team is a way of socializing and "surviving" in the modern world.

Since labor activity occupies a very large part of our life, it is important that its direction, organization and structure correspond to the psychological features of the personality, character, temperament and level of claims, finally. In addition, a very important issue is the correct organization of work and the arrangement of the workplace, which has a serious impact on increasing productivity and reducing energy and labor costs. These issues are dealt with by a separate branch of psychology, which studies the psychological aspects of work activity and the attitude of a person to work. The subject of labor psychology is a person in working conditions, becoming a professional, motivating and adapting to work, professional orientation and psychological features that unfold in various fields of activity.

This direction in psychology emerged in the early XX century, when the rapid growth of industrial production required an increase in productivity and labor intensity. Some owners of factories and factories did this by prolonging the working day and increasing the amount of work, while others thought about alternative methods, creating more comfortable conditions, scientific organization of activities, improving the skills of workers, introducing various social incentives. This gave results, and the productivity of labor at such enterprises has increased significantly. It became clear that psychology and work are two concepts closely related to each other.

The psychology of work has several directions. One of them is associated with vocational guidance. Each person has a set of individual characteristics, professional abilities, which show his inclination to this or that activity. To identify these abilities and help people determine the choice of profession, special tests have been developed.

Labor psychology also deals with the study of various external conditions affecting the working capacity of a person: the intensity and duration of work, its monotony and severity, the mode of labor activity. Special techniques developed by specialists in psychology measure the degree of fatigue and reduced efficiency, which helps create optimal conditions for work. This area of science is closely related to the physiological characteristics of man. Another important task of labor psychology is security. The study of the psychological causes of emergencies in the workplace helps in the development of special tools and recommendations, as well as training and exercise systems that develop the psychological qualities of workers and help to prevent emergencies at hazardous enterprises.

The psychology of labor is also concerned with isolating and studying the psychological characteristics necessary for a particular profession. A qualitative description of important professional characteristics is called a professionogram. Its compilation is under the jurisdiction of another branch of science - the psychology of professions.

Work psychology, like management psychology, are very important subjects for study not only by psychologists, but also by enterprise managers, in order to increase the effectiveness of their employees, as well as school teachers who need to help their students determine their future profession and know, How to identify their professional inclinations.