Three New Reads

Work may have changed, but it continues nonetheless. Three new white papers are now available to keep you up to date on the latest in I-O research.

The SIOP International Affairs Committee has produced the first paper, Be the Eyes: Training Employees to Recognize Industry-Relevant Indicators of Sex Trafficking. Authors Maura J. Mills, Leanne M. Tortez, and Robert Blanton discuss ways to teach employees how to identify critical signs of trafficking in their places of work. Despite advances in sexual harassment training, the training and resources for identifying and stopping sex trafficking have lagged behind. This white paper gives managers in the trucking, hospitality, convenience, and other industries a set of resources they can use to start the process.

The second paper is courtesy of the Hot Topics HR/Business Subcommittee. Algorithmic Justice, authored by Georgi P. Yankov, Breanna Wexler, Sarah Haidar, Sukesh Kumar, Jimmy Zheng, and Ann Li, discusses evidence that big data and machine learning, although boons to business, could perpetuate biases and thus may violate workplace antidiscrimination laws. The paper discusses not only the problem of bias but also possible solutions and mitigation techniques.

The third paper comes not from a SIOP committee but from an allied organization, the Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP). An especially timely piece in the time of Covid-19 and the resulting work changes and disruptions, The Work–Family Interface Around the World: Implications and Recommendations for Policy and Practice was written by Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, Karen Korabik, Donna S. Lero, Lynda Zugec, Leslie B. Hammer, and Barbara Beham. The stated purpose of the paper is “to provide workers, their families, and policy makers in organizations and governments with insights, advice, and recommendations for policies and practices that will ease the strain of working parents in different parts of the globe.”

Check out other SIOP white papers on a variety of topics, available on the SIOP website at https://0-www-siop-org.library.alliant.edu/Research-Publications/SIOP-White-Papers. SIOP also partners with SHRM on HR-focused papers found at https://0-www-siop-org.library.alliant.edu/Research-Publications/SIOP-SHRM-White-Papers. Find other Alliance white papers at https://0-www-siop-org.library.alliant.edu/Membership/Allied-Organizations