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10 Tips on Psychology in the Workplace by Phillippa Morassi (Manager: Marketing)

Tuesday, 2 July 2013 | Van Rooyen, Karin

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1. Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory: People have unconscious drives, desires and motivations. If you can bring these to the conscious mind, you will be able to understand your colleagues and team members more effectively.
2. Frankl’s Existential Theory: People are constantly searching for meaning in their lives. Work is a large part of our lives, and people generally wish to feel that what they do matters.
3. Adler’s Individual Psychology: People strive for perfection in their lives, in different ways, and regarding various aspects of their lives. It is important to note that some individuals are more driven than others in a working environment.
4. Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualisation: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs show that each person is on a journey towards self-actualisation and is operating according to a specific set of needs. If you can understand which stage they are working through, you can help them to grow.
5. Erikson’s Stages of Life: Depending on their age, people are generally functioning within a specific stage in their lives. This stage determines what drives them, and what makes them feel valued.
6. Bandura’s Observational Learning: People learn from imitating models in their lives. It is important to be aware of the type of model you are providing to them in the workplace.
7. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning: People learn from positive and negative reinforcement. Behaviour modification is therefore possible through a system of positive and negative rewards.
8. Jung’s Theory of Personality: People in general are either introverted or extraverted, and usually select a job role in line with their basic personality type. You need to decide how to work with each individual based on their personality type.
9. Roger’s Actualising Tendency: Among the many things that humans value, the greatest is positive regard. Unfortunately, we usually place conditions of worth on ourselves to feel valued. The biggest challenge is to strive for unconditional positive regard and self-acceptance.
10. A Systems Approach: A person can only be understood as part of his overall system, which includes all facets of his life and environment. Each part of the system is interconnected and influences the other parts in a circular fashion.