Sorry for cross posting.
Below you will find information about a special "individual and organizational health" theme track we are conducting at Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology conference this April. I hope you can join us.
Best,
<st1:personname w:st="on">Peter Chen</st1:personname>
The annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) conference will
be changing from a 2 ½-day format to a 3-day format in 2008. As part of this change, a
new feature has been added to the conference that will allow for a deep dive into critical
themes that affect a broad range of SIOP members. In addition to a large number of peerreviewed
concurrent sessions spanning a host of topics that traditionally make up SIOP,
there will be two such "theme tracks," one of which will occur on Thursday (April 10),
which is described below.
SIOP 2008 Thursday Theme Track: Individual-Organizational Health
Carrie A. Bulger, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Quinnipiac</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Peter Y. Chen, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Colorado</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
<st1:personname w:st="on">Christopher J. L. Cunningham</st1:personname>, <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Tennessee</st1:placename> at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Chattanooga</st1:city></st1:place>
Leslie B. Hammer, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Portland</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
John Kello, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:personname w:st="on">David</st1:personname>son</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Autumn D. Krauss, Kronos Inc.
<st1:personname w:st="on">Julie Sampson</st1:personname>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Colorado</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
and
Paul E. Spector, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">University of South</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">Florida</st1:state></st1:place>
Industrial and Organizational Psychology has a long history of being concerned
with individual well-being in terms of performance and attitudes toward the job and
organization. Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) also notes that
quality of work life is a major concern that IO psychologists encounter in their
professional work. In his presidential address to SIOP in 1988, Dr. Daniel Ilgen also
reminded IO psychologists that individual and occupational health is a timeless concern
for obvious humanitarian and utilitarian reasons. However, we have only recently begun
to broaden our perspectives on well-being to examine the joint optimization of individual
and organizational health. To highlight the importance and challenges of individual and
organizational health, SIOP President Lois Tetrick and the Thursday Track Committee
have worked over past months to develop six unique sessions with the focus on cuttingedge
research and practice aimed at optimizing well-being for organizations and
employees.
A brief summary of the Thursday theme track is presented below.
<st1:place w:st="on">I.</st1:place> Individual-Organizational Health.
Drs. Daniel C. Ganster and James C. Quick, will deliver the keynote speech by first
addressing how we have failed in individual health research, and what we must do to
make a difference in the lives of workers. Then, four positive advances (positive health,
leadership, mood, emotions, and interventions/prevention) that will help create a positive
organizational health future will be presented. This session will set the stage for SIOP's
2008 Thursday theme track entitled: Individual-Organizational Health.
II. Individual-Organizational Health: Consequences of mergers, acquisitions, and
downsizing.
Dr. Wayne F. Cascio will address the effects of mergers, acquisitions, and layoffs on the
health and well-being of individuals and organizations. He will describe how these
increasingly common organizational processes operate and how their negative effects can
be minimized.
III. Individual-Organizational Health: Leading for Health
Both Drs. Joel B. Bennett, and E. Kevin Kelloway will consider research findings that
help to identify best practices leaders may adopt to foster individual and organizational
health, to note how consultants might work with organizations to encourage the use of
such practices, and to pose unanswered questions about leaders and health.
IV. Individual-Organizational Health: Selecting for Health and Safety
Panelists, Drs. Frank J. Landy, Robert R. Sinclair, Eugene F. Stone-Romero, and a
mystery panelist will discuss and/or debate the effectiveness and appropriateness of
using traditional selection procedures (e.g., personality assessment) to predict health
outcomes by screening out individuals who are prone to accidents, injuries, and illnesses
at work. The panelists will consider this practice from multiple perspectives including
from organizational, ethical, legal, and practical viewpoints.
V. Individual-Organizational Health: Integrating Health into Work-Nonwork
Research and Practice
Panelists from different backgrounds including Drs. Tammy Allen, Jeffrey H.
Greenhaus, Christine Dickson, and Phyllis Moen will discuss new and developing
applications and challenges of work-nonwork research and practice that emphasize
individual and organizational health-related issues. The panelists will also each have a
brief opportunity to share their current efforts pertaining to work-nonwork issues and
health.
VI. Individual-Organizational Health: Tale of Academic Practitioner Collaboration
in Occupational Safety
At the end of the theme track, Dr. <st1:personname w:st="on">David</st1:personname> A. Hofmann, describes the collaborative
relationship between a safety-oriented consulting firm and himself. The presentation will
highlight how the relationship came about and several collaborative projects undertaken
(e.g., development of assessment tools, training interventions). The presentation will
conclude with views on what each party has gained through the relationship.
The Thursday theme track committee responsible for organizing this event includes:
Peter Y. Chen (Chair), Carrie A. Bulger, <st1:personname w:st="on">Christopher J. L. Cunningham</st1:personname>, Leslie B.
Hammer, John Kello, Autumn D. Krauss, and Paul E. Spector. <st1:personname w:st="on">Julie Sampson</st1:personname>
assisted compiling all the meeting minutes and email exchanges, and coordinating
conference calls. Most of the committee members will serve as moderators throughout
the day.