Are robots really coming for our jobs? Even I-O jobs? Tara Behrend, associate professor in the Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication at George Washington University and one of the coeditors of Workforce Readiness and the Future of Work, addresses this question in a 5-minute video that was recorded live at the Top 10 Trends IGNITE session during the 2019 Annual Conference, held last April at the Gaylord National Resort.

The Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) is seeking applicants for its 2020-2021 Early Career Work and Family Fellowships. The goal of the program is to help promising young scholars establish career successes, integrate them within the WFRN research community, and guide translation of their research to inform the work of decision-makers.  Fellows receive 2020 membership in the WFRN, conference registration, and $500 to attend an Early Career Fellowship Preconference (June 23, 2020) and the 2020 WFRN Conference (June 24-27, 2020) in New York City). To be eligible, candidates must have received their doctorate in 2016 or later and have yet to progress into tenured or secure senior level positions.  Information about the program can be found via this link, or apply directly here.  The deadline for applications is October 1, 2019. Questions about the program can be addressed to the program director, Lindsey Trimble O’Connor at lindsey.oconnor@csuci.edu. 

The 2019 conference in National Harbor, Maryland scored better than most conferences in recent memory, receiving generally positive reviews.  Most respondents expressed that they plan to attend next year’s conference in Austin, Texas. Anthony Boyce and his committee have put together a comprehensive report that is now available on the SIOP website. See what other conference attendees thought about the 2019 event. You can access the full report here.

September is Smarter Workplace Awareness Month, an opportunity to recognize and share the many ways I-O psychology can improve the workplace for employees and employers alike. Each week this month, SIOP will publish member-created content about the topics that are important in the world of work, as uncovered in the 2019 SIOP Top 10 Trends.

Technology, which dominates so many conversations, is the focus of this week’s offerings. They include an interview on technology in the workplace and a white paper on AI in talent assessment and selection.

More than 18.5 million people in the US live in deep poverty. This is a state in which an individual household’s annual income falls below 50% of the poverty line.  That means more than 18.5 million people in one of the wealthiest countries in the world are subsisting on $3,000 or less per person.

Several decades worth of psychological research document the associations between poverty and indicators of behavioral, mental, and physical health.