Reflections on publishing ‘Work Psychology’, 8th edition

It’s been five years since the last update. How did you approach making updates to reflect what’s changed in the last five years?

“Funnily enough, they were waiting for the previous edition of the book to be published when I first joined WPG, which was five and a bit years ago, so this book really has influenced my work time at WPG!” shares Jordan. 

In the Individual Differences chapter, much of the content remains relevant today, particularly concerning personality and personality measures, notably the Big Five model. The most significant change was the addition of content on neurodiversity, which hadn’t been previously covered. Even though it’s not a new area, it’s a more dominant focus in research and practice than before. 

An internal Wine and Wisdom learning session from Professor Nancy Doyle had a significant impact on incorporating neurodiversity in this chapter. “I actually saw Nancy recently and told her she inspired the whole section of the chapter.”

“I also focused on giving things a general update, making sure everything was still relevant, and adding in new case studies,” adds Jordan. AI, for example, had to be a focus. “Although we talk about AI a lot in assessment, we don’t in individual differences, so we looked at whether AI can take account of unique human personality differences.”

For Emma’s chapter on selection and assessment, a similar approach of adding in the latest research was a key first step. “We added in quite a bit on technological advances, such as AI. This area is developing so quickly, so we made sure we emphasised the importance of work psychologists continuing to determine the appropriateness of emerging tools.”

The chapter was restructured significantly. “One of the discussions we had was whether or not to take out a section on references, given the lack of validity evidence. Eventually, we decided to keep in a brief section, especially as students coming through now may not have heard some of this evidence before, so it’s important that it’s referenced.”

A lot has happened since the 7th edition! What stuck out to you as the biggest changes in the world of work psychology?

“It’s interesting to see how perceptions on hot topics change, and what things stay consistent”, starts Jordan. 

In the last edition, emotional intelligence was a major topic for inclusion, but now the relevance of EI seems to vary depending on the type of organisation you’re in, or your role. This time around, AI and neurodiversity took centre stage. 

What are the key points to highlight from your respective chapters?

For selection, Emma’s key points were: 

• There is a need to balance the use and weight of different evaluation criteria in different contexts. “It’s important to recognise that different criteria will be more or less important depending on the context, so that needs to be taken into account when decision making.”
• The continually evolving advancements in technology and the impact they will have on selection and assessment. “It’s important that we see AI as an opportunity, while also being aware of the challenges it can bring.”
• There is now much more emphasis on applicants’ reactions to a selection process. “Which is a really positive thing – as work psychologists, we need to make best use of applicants’ feedback to improve our recruitment processes.”

For individual differences, Jordan’s key points were: 

• The neurodiversity movement is rapidly changing. “It’s not just about accommodations, we need to understand better how to support individuals in order to maximise potential and performance at work”
• The evolving world of work impacts how employees perform. “Specifically, thinking about how different environments suit some more than others. Some people prefer to work from home, while others prefer an office environment. How should employers and employees navigate that?”
• Personality measures remain relevant. “Now the focus is on how they’re used and whether they can predict later work performance”

And finally, how does it feel to have published chapters in the Work Psychology book?

“Wild, I literally remember downloading it for my MSc. It’s a very strange experience,” shares Jordan. Emma adds, “I’m really excited to show my son, he can recognise names now, so when I get a physical copy, he will be very excited to see my name in there!”

For both Emma and Jordan, they recognise that all of this has been a team effort, with many more members of the team involved in getting the latest version published. 

To find out more about the book and to download an e-book version, you can access it here.