Work Smart Workshop Highlights How Organizations Can Positively Impact Workplace Culture

The May 24 Work Smart workshop Workplace Mistreatment: Science and Solutions was well received by an audience including SIOP members and non-members eager to learn more about eradicating workplace mistreatment.  It was anchored by Dr. Shannon Taylor, professor of Management, University of Central Florida, and Dr. Kimberly Young-McLear, a Coast Guard veteran and survivor of workplace bullying and retaliation who prominently testified before congress about misuse of power.

Shannon addressed the state of the science of workplace mistreatment by beginning with what workplace mistreatment looks like, ranging from incivility (i.e., low intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm) to bullying and abusive supervision. He then established how those who experience harm from workplace mistreatment are more likely to harm others within and beyond the workplace. His remarks concluded with implications for leadership and examples of small-scale and large-scale interventions to combat workplace mistreatment. One attendee summarized the collective reaction to Shannon’s presentation with this comment: “Helpful to tease out addressing symptoms and addressing cause. Clear expert in this area.”

In fireside chat format, Kim shared her story, emphasized the importance of policies that discourage workplace mistreatment and retaliation, and critiqued traditional conceptualizations of ROI that highlight the cost of handling instances of workplace mistreatment.  A breakout session honored Kim’s systems engineering background by offering attendees an opportunity to deepen their connections to one another while applying systems thinking to workplace mistreatment. One participant summarized how the audience felt by remarking, “Kim is such an inspiration for being the simultaneously calm and fierce clarion voice for basic human dignity.”

Participant responses to the workshop were overwhelmingly positive. 100% indicated that the workshop was worth their time and that they would recommend it to others.  A representative comment was, “It was nice to have the research piece and then the personal, applied piece - well done!”  You can purchase the recording, as well as all the materials that were shared here.  (Please note that breakout sessions were not recorded for confidentiality purposes). And even if you were able to attend, this is a workshop you will benefit from revisiting!

Thank you to Kim and Shannon for so graciously sharing their time and expertise during this powerful workshop. We also thank our benefactor, Code Signal, for its support of the SIOP Work Smart Series.  For more information about sponsoring this SIOP learning channel, please contact Susan Rogers at srogers@siop.org.  If you have questions or ideas for the Work Smart Series Team, please email WorkSmart@siop.org.

Save the Date:

The next Work Smart experience The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employee Psychological Safety will take place virtually on Wednesday, August 23. Experts including Dr. Charles Handler and Dr. Filipa de Almeida will join forces during this highly interactive workshop to share their academic and applied expertise on the underexplored intersection of artificial intelligence and psychological safety.

Dr. Handler is an I-O psychologist, SIOP Fellow, technologist, and futurist, as well as host of the Science 4-Hire podcast.

Dr. de Almeida is a social psychologist whose research focuses on the effects of social power and on the perception of artificially intelligent agents. She is a coauthor of How Humans Judge Machines.

We hope you and your network will join us on August 23 for this in-depth exploration of psychological safety and its linkages to developments in artificial intelligence. This event is open to both SIOP members and nonmembers. Details and a registration link will be posted here. We encourage you to register even if you’re unable to attend the live event. All registrants will have ongoing access to the workshop recording and resources even if they are unable to join the virtual experience.