Psychological demands icon Psychological demands

Includes the emotional and interpersonal demands of work, and the requirement for organizations to assess and ensure a good fit between workers’ interpersonal and emotional abilities and requirements of the position they hold.

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.” – Lawrence Bossidy, GE

Overview

What are psychological demands?

Psychological demands of any given job are documented and assessed in conjunction with the physical demands of the job. Psychological demands of the job will allow organizations to determine whether any aspect of the job might be a hazard to the worker’s health and well-being. When hazards are identified, organizations can consider ways of minimizing risks through work redesign, analysis of work systems, risk assessment, etc. The assessment of psychological demands should include: assessment of time stressors (including time constraints, quotas, deadlines, machine pacing, etc.); breaks and rest periods; incentive systems (production bonuses, piece work, etc.); job monotony and the repetitive nature of some work; and hours of work (overtime requirements, 12-hour shifts, shift work, etc.).

An organization with a good psychological demands assessment process for its workers would be able to state that:

  • The organization considers existing work systems and allows for work redesign.
  • The organization assesses worker demand and job control issues, such as physical and psychological job demands.
  • The organization assesses the level of job control and autonomy afforded to its workers.
  • The organization monitors the management system to address behaviours that impact workers and the workplace.
  • The organization values worker input, particularly during periods of change and the execution of work.
  • The organization monitors the level of emphasis on production issue.
  • The organization reviews its management accountability system that deals with performance issues and how workers can report errors.
  • The organization emphasizes recruitment, training and promotion practices that aim for the highest level of interpersonal competencies at work.

Interpersonal and emotional competencies refer to skills related to managing emotions and relationships, including effectively solving challenging people problems at work. When there is a strong fit between workers’ psychological skills and strengths and the requirements of the position they hold, physical health complaints and depression are reduced. Workers have greater self-esteem and a more positive self-concept. A strong fit between one’s emotional and interpersonal skills and the job that they do also leads to enhanced performance, job satisfaction and employee retention.

When a workers’ psychological capabilities and the requirements of their position do not match, this may result in job strain. This can cause emotional distress, overthinking, defensiveness, fatigue and grief. For the workplace, this can result in a reduced applicant pool, lack of employee engagement and enjoyment, reduced productivity, greater interpersonal conflict and increased turnover.

FAQs

  • When hiring or promoting an individual, consider interpersonal and emotional skills on top of technical skills and knowledge. Interpersonal and emotional competencies refer to skills related to managing emotions and relationships, including effectively solving challenging people problems at work.
  • Provide opportunities for staff to enhance their emotional intelligence skills. Ensure it is a necessary attribute when hiring, recognizing, rewarding or promoting.
  • When hiring or promoting, involve appropriate staff in the selection process.

  • Provide training and interview guidelines for evaluating an applicant’s potential interpersonal and emotional fit with the specific position, as well as with the overall organization.
  • Orient new workers to the interpersonal and emotional competencies needed for their jobs.
  • Provide training in the interpersonal and emotional skills required for one’s job, particularly in the case of highly-demanding positions.

  • When workers demonstrate effective emotional and interpersonal competencies and skills, provide reinforcement and praise.
  • Perform regular check-ins with workers that are collaborative in nature and include constructive feedback about interpersonal and emotional behaviour.
  • Where appropriate, consider a process that allows staff to explore internal positions that may better match their interpersonal or emotional competencies (e.g. via job-shadowing or career-development discussions).

  • Create detailed job descriptions that clearly describe required interpersonal and emotional competencies.
  • In your job ads and interview process, include information about interpersonal and emotional requirements of jobs.
  • Provide a probationary period of employment for new hires to ensure a mutually acceptable fit and provide further feedback, training and support as needed.
  • Conduct job analyses where, in addition to physical, knowledge or skill requirements, the interpersonal and emotional competencies needed to succeed in a role are identified.

Action

Next steps: Giving consideration to psychological demands in the workplace

A work environment where there is a good fit between employees’ interpersonal and emotional competencies and the requirements of the position they hold.

  • enhanced performance and overall productivity
  • greater job satisfaction
  • increased retention of skilled staff
  • enhanced recruitment success

  • Do issues related to psychological demands present a greater risk to particular groups of employees (e.g. new employees, certain jobs, shift workers, etc.)?
  • What are the strengths in your workplace in terms of considering psychological demands (e.g. what do you do well and what should you continue doing)?
  • What could your workplace do to improve in this area (e.g. what could you do more of and what could you do less of)?
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Psychological Demands is psychosocial factor 5 from CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 – Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. Retrieved from: https://www.csagroup.org/article/cancsa-z1003-13-bnq-9700-803-2013-r2018/. See also Guarding Minds at Work (Samra et al.): Retrieved from https://www.guardingmindsatwork.ca/resources.