Psychological demands

Overview

What are psychological demands?

Psychological demands of any given job are documented and assessed along with the job’s physical demands. Psychological demands of the job help organizations determine whether any aspect of the job might be hazardous to the worker’s health and well-being. When hazards are identified, organizations can consider ways of minimizing risks through work redesign, analysis of work systems, risk assessment, etc. The assessment of psychological demands should include: assessment of time stressors (including time constraints, quotas, deadlines, machine pacing, etc.); breaks and rest periods; incentive systems (production bonuses, piece work, etc.); job monotony and the repetitive nature of some work; and hours of work (overtime requirements, 12-hour shifts, shift work, etc.).

An organization with a good psychological demands assessment process for its workers can state:

  • It considers existing work systems and allows for work redesign.
  • It assesses worker demand and job control issues, such as physical and psychological job demands.
  • It assesses the level of job control and autonomy provided to its workers.
  • It monitors the management system to address behaviours that affect workers and the workplace.
  • It values worker input, particularly during periods of change and the execution of work.
  • It monitors the level of emphasis on production issues.
  • It reviews its management accountability system that addresses performance issues and how workers can report errors.
  • It emphasizes recruitment, training and promotion practices that aim for the highest level of interpersonal competencies at work.

Why is attention to psychological demands important?

Interpersonal and emotional competencies are skills related to managing emotions and relationships, including effectively solving challenging people problems at work. When there is a strong fit between workers’ psychological skills and strengths and the requirements of the position they hold, physical health complaints and depression are reduced. Additionally, workers have greater self-esteem and a more positive self-concept. A strong fit between one’s emotional and interpersonal skills and position also leads to enhanced performance, job satisfaction and employee retention.

When a worker’s psychological capabilities and the requirements of their position do not match, this may result in job strain. This can cause emotional distress, overthinking, defensiveness, fatigue and grief. For the workplace, this can result in a reduced applicant pool, lack of employee engagement, reduced productivity, greater interpersonal conflict and increased turnover.

FAQs

  • When hiring or promoting an individual, consider interpersonal and emotional skills on top of technical skills and knowledge. Interpersonal and emotional competencies refer to skills related to managing emotions and relationships, including effectively solving challenging people problems at work.
  • Provide opportunities for staff to enhance their emotional intelligence skills. Ensure it is a necessary attribute when hiring, recognizing, rewarding or promoting.
  • When hiring or promoting, involve appropriate staff in the selection process.

  • Provide training and interview guidelines for evaluating an applicant’s potential interpersonal and emotional fit for the specific position, as well as with the overall organization.
  • Orient new workers on the interpersonal and emotional competencies needed for their jobs.
  • Provide training in the interpersonal and emotional skills needed for one’s job, especially in the case of highly demanding positions (emergency response workers, senior care attendant, fire fighter, police officers, etc.).

  • Provide reinforcement and praise when workers show effective emotional and interpersonal competencies and skills.
  • Perform regular check-ins with workers who are collaborative and include constructive feedback about interpersonal and emotional behaviour.
  • Where appropriate, consider a process that allows staff to explore internal positions that may better match their interpersonal or emotional competencies (via job-shadowing or career-development discussions).

  • Create detailed job descriptions that clearly describe needed interpersonal and emotional competencies.
  • Include information about interpersonal and emotional requirements in your job ads and interview process.
  • Provide a probationary period of employment for new hires to ensure a mutually acceptable fit and provide further feedback, training and support, as needed.
  • Conduct job analyses to identify, in addition to physical, knowledge or skill requirements, the interpersonal and emotional competencies needed to succeed in the role.

Action

Next steps: Considering psychological demands in the workplace

Objective

A work environment where there is a good fit between employees’ interpersonal and emotional competencies and the requirements of the position they hold.

Benefits

  • Enhanced performance and overall productivity
  • Greater job satisfaction and engagement
  • Increased retention of staff
  • Enhanced recruitment success

Reflection Questions

  • Do issues related to psychological demands present a greater risk to certain groups of employees (new employees, certain jobs, shift workers, young workers, etc.)?
  • What are the strengths in your workplace in terms of considering psychological demands? (What do you do well and what should you continue doing?).
  • What could your workplace do to improve in this area? (What could you do more of and what could you do less of?).