Research activities
The field of work and organizational psychology deals with the analysis and design of working conditions,
... with work-related stress and strain, with the analysis of work organizations and their specific effects on organizational members, as well as with the different forms of competence development in profit and non-profit organizations.
In the context of basic research, A&O psychology is concerned with the development of analytical methods and the development of design criteria, with the systematic investigation of the effects of specific working conditions on the behavior and experience of those directly affected and with the development of theories to explain work behavior.
In the area of application, design concepts are developed in various work areas, sectors and organizations and proposals are drawn up to improve the working conditions for the employees concerned and to increase the efficiency of the organization. Observation and survey methods are used and further developed for this purpose. All operational levels are included in the investigations.
In order to be able to review and assess the effects of the proposed measures, various evaluation measures and procedures are used and further developed as appropriate.
Key topics of our research are:
- Cognition, cognitive modeling and simulation of complex, interacting systems
- Human reliability and system robustness (resilience)
- Healthy leadership and organizational efficiency
- Mental and physical stress and strain
- Efficient and safe design of work systems, work equipment and working conditions
- Ergonomic product and production design
- Work organization, knowledge processing, competence and qualification
- Effects of technological, organizational & regulatory changes on people
- Development of vocational training and further education programs as part of personnel development
- Safety management, safety-related system evaluation
- Incident and accident analysis and behavior modification
- Psychological and organizational aspects of the effectiveness of management systems
- Psychological design of regulatory systems and social developments
- Cultural aspects of work organization
- Age-appropriate design of products and processes