Member Spotlight: Winny Shen

Name
Winny Shen

Position/Employer
Associate Professor of Organization Studies at Schulich School of Business, York University

How long have you been a SIOP member? Approximately 15 years (I attended my first SIOP Annual Conference in my last year of undergraduate studies)

What roles have you had within SIOP?
SIOP Conference Chair-in-Training, Hebl Grant Subcommittee, Small Grants Committee, Education and Training Committee

Interest Area(s)
Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Occupational Health Psychology

What sparked your interest in I-O psychology?
I loved psychology but knew that I didn't want to be a clinician. However, I did want a way to apply psychology practically. I came to know about I-O psychology after serving as a research assistant for a management professor.

What role do you see I-O psychology playing in the future of work?
I think I-O psychology can play a huge role in the future of work. I think I-O psychologists should play key roles in evaluating emerging trends in work, but that we can also draw upon our existing theories and knowledge to help decision makers envision what the future of work could be.

Which of the Top 10 Work Trends for 2022 do you most strongly relate to and how can I-O psychology practitioners, educators, and students impact this trend?
Trend #2: Ensuring Inclusive Environments and Cultures. I think we begin by diversifying our own profession, which SIOP is already taking steps to do. A diverse complement of I-O psychologists and our own learnings in creating an inclusive profession then positions us to help organizations achieve the same.

What advice would you give to students or early practitioners?
Be bold! Ask the hard questions, even if you know it will be a long and winding road to try to answer them!

What is one of your favorite SIOP Annual Conference memories/highlights?
My future graduate school cohort mate (and roommate!) and I attended the annual conference together before we started our new program (but after we had briefly met each other when we visited). We had no idea what a professional conference would be like and had to make a quick trip to the mall as we did not have the right "attire" (i.e., we realized that flip flops wouldn't cut it).

Please share one non-I-O-related bit of information about yourself.
One of my new hobbies is sewing, which has helped me realize that working with my hands and focusing on "concrete" things can be a nice complement to my very "abstract" job as a professor. I now love making handmade gifts for friends and family.

Is there anything you would like to add?
I am so grateful to the friends and community that SIOP has provided to me over the years and hope to continue the tradition by putting on a great conference when I become Conference Chair next year! Hope to see both old and new faces in Boston!

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