Community Psychology

"We know from psychological and sociological studies that specific work characteristics, such as a lack of autonomy and complexity at work, can shape the personality of workers in a negative way, for instance by lowering intellectual flexibility and personal initiative. Adam Smith argued in 1776 that the division of labor, resulting in highly-specialized and repetitive work tasks, comes with detrimental psychosocial effects for the workers."

Research: The Industrial Revolution Left Psychological Scars That Can Still Be Seen Today, Harvard Business Review, Martin Obschonka, March 26, 2018

Human psychology that affects our ability to thrive in personal, family, and work community

Middle-class Anxiety

"Middle-class anxiety has been driven by several factors: increasing instability in incomes, a sense among many Americans that they are failing to keep up with the gains of previous generations, and an increasing gap between themselves and the very rich."

Middle Class, but Feeling Economically Insecure, The New York Times, Patricia Cohen, Apr 10, 2015

Image credit: Contexts

Anxiety-related Concepts

Our communities are affected by today's standards of working, and we all learn various tools for thriving in life. Some common psychological concepts to recognize are:

Victimhood
Competing in the Rat Race
Feeling valued
Feeding the ego
Fair compensation
Equity

Climbing in Acadia National Park

Survey Fatigue

Our employees can become apathetic about speaking up, filling out surveys, and communicating with leadership. Management needs to show that things are changing because of the feedback received, in order to continue to receive feedback.

From Brian Snodgrass, VP Product & Technology at Terryberry. See Employee Engagement.

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"For the more affluent young adults of this “Peter Pan Generation”—those with a college fund, a parent-subsidized, unpaid internship, or an SAT coach, the freedom to delay marriage and childbearing, experiment with flexible career paths, and pursue higher education grants them the luxury to define adulthood in their own terms. But working-class men and women have to figure out what it means to be a worthy adult in a world of disappearing jobs, soaring education costs, shrinking social support networks, and fragile families."

Working Class Growing Pains, Contexts: Sociology for the Public, Jennifer M. Silva, May 21, 2014

Image credit: Contexts

"Religion is for people who're afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who've already been there." Vine Deloria Jr.

Native American Facebook group

I have a deep understanding of many psychological concepts that affect our individual and community health from the following coursework:

Psychology 101
Environmental Ethics
Education Psychology
Senior Professional in Human Resources

Davidson Mesa, Louisville, CO

Solving Problems

"Working-class employees are more likely to face stressful work conditions involving mandatory overtime, low autonomy, variable work shifts, time-pressured productivity targets, and unpaid family leave than their middle-class counterparts."

Workplace Policies and Mental Health among Working-Class, New Parents, Perry-Jenkins et al, National Institute of Health, November 10, 2016

I am excited about the amount of data available that we can use to make progress towards solving problems.

As commuting is a large issue in Salt Lake City, please see Commuter Stewardship Program for an example of an idea I put together to influence culture change.

Image credit: SDOT

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