1.1 Thelmportar "Pressure to keep costs low and profits high,to do more in less time,and to fulfill numerous life roles,including that of a parent,a spouse,a friend,(a student!!),a worker,can all make cutting corners tempting"This "corner cutting"leads to what the researchers call "compromised" work:work that is not illegal or unethical, but that still undermines the core values of a trade or a profession-the lawyer who creates opportunities for billing extra hours,the plumber who uses inferior. cheaper materials for a repair. Martin Luther King.Jr.,captured the essence of good work eloquently:"If a man is called to be a street sweeper,he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted,Beethoven composed music,or American 1-0 psychologist David Morris screened applicants in Shakespeare wrote poetry.He should sweep streets so well that all heaven and earth will pause to say,Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well"(King.1956). Consider the role of an I-O psychologist who worked in Irag to hire and train the new Iraqi police force.David Morris is an 1-O psychologist who had been helping cities and states in the United States select police officers until September 2004.He decided to trade "his comfortable house in Alexandria,Virginia for a bunk bed in the converted office of Baghdad's former police training facility"(Dingfelder,2005,p.34).Every day, Morris and his staff of 15 administered various tests to up to 300 candidates for possible hire.He and his staff could have earned as much if not more money screening appli- cants for the Philadelphia,or Atlanta,or Dallas police force.But instead,they did such screening in Baghdad to help with the restoration of civil order to Iraq.This is good work as well The interesting aspect of "good"and "bad"work is that the individual worker and the employer together have the power to define good work or to transform good work into bad and vice versa.A disreputable accounting firm can cheat and mislead clients and the public, thus engaging in bad work:that same firm and its employees could be doing good work if they are helping people to manage their money and protect their retirement plans.Good work is not simply the province of politicians or soldiers or relief workers. Gardner describes the depressing consequences of settling for"bad"work: We resign ourselves to our fate.It is difficult to quit one's job,let alone one's whole profession. and few in midlife...have the fortitude to do so.As a result....few feel in a position 30 where they can perform good work.(Gardner.2002.p.B7) The study of work by I-O psychologists and students (you!)is potentially 'good work" because it enables individuals to develop and use skills,and to use them for the benefit of someone other than simply themselves.I-O psychologists have also broadened their focus of study to consider the experience of work.Since the mid-1990s there has been a rapid and substantial increase in I-O research related to the feelings that workers bring to and take from the workplace.In addition,there has been a dramatic increase in research directed toward work-life balance issues.Thus,I-O psychology has recognized that the"experience" of work is more complex than simply tasks and productivity and accidents.You will see the results of this research in Chapter 9. Scanned by CamScannerScanned by CamScanner