I have worked for a few different jobs over the past few years and I have realized there are many factors that come into effect when starting new. I work at an ice cream store in my hometown which is family owned and all the employees are hired by knowing the boss in some way. Based on this week’s topics in chapter 10 of the textbook, it is important to understand all of the ideals that go into play when starting a new job such as social perceptions, perceptual biases, selective perception, and the halo effect. I have experienced all of these perceptions and biases without even realizing that there are psychological effects for each and I am sure now that the majority of people when starting new jobs can relate. Because The Social Psychology of Organizations discusses influencing behavior in the workplace, I believe that these situations and outcomes happen often, no matter what the job option is.
To begin, when I first started this job 5 summers ago, I was eager and had no idea what I was walking into except thinking “how hard can scooping ice cream be?” Turns out, I was wrong, and “scooping ice cream” was the least of my worries. For example, social perception, according to Gruman, “The quality or accuracy of people’s perceptions, therefore, has a major impact on their responses to a given situation” (2016) making me realize, every worker might have a different reply on a situation in the job. When I first started this job, I was wondering why some workers people huffed and puffed when getting a milkshake order, while others ran to the occasion, until I was put in this position. I absolutely hated making milkshakes and was envious of orders that just included soft serves so when customers asked my opinion on what to order, I never told them a milkshake. Next, our staff uses perceptual biases unknowingly on a daily. Shortcut tasks such as having one staff take orders, one ring up the customer, and the other make the orders are valuable.
Selective perception in the workforce is an important topic that fuels many of the conflicts in jobs. When bosses tend to constantly favor one worker or over-pick on another, it can change the overall environment of the organization. According to Catenacci, ” This is stereotyping, and is clearly contrary to human rights legislation. However, given human nature’s tendency to gather things and people into groups and make general impressions, this can occur more often than one might think.” (2017) where I personally experienced this. The new manager automatically took a disliking to my coworker and would always pick on him making him re-mop the same spot over till it was so shiny you could see your reflection only when he specifically mopped. Now realizing this was because the manager stereotyped him as a “punk” because of her annoyance at the hats he wore, the car he drove, and the tattoos on his body. Lastly, the halo effect is similar to selective perception, but as Gruman mentions, has to do with one characteristic, affecting the rest of that perception of the one person. Relating to my manager, once I saw how particular she was with my one co-worker I had the notion that she was a horrible person and did not have many friends, which affected my entire judgment of her even though it may not be true.
Overall, I am sure we have all unknowingly experienced these perceptions and biases in the workforce before knowing the psychological outcomes and explanations for them. Gruman’s interpersonal and communication ideas in organizations should be followed closely to eliminate these damaging effects that occur constantly. Managers and bosses should intervene and have multiple sessions throughout the course of the season to allow for free space or suggestions to communicate better and discuss what is bothering one another to work cohesively.
References
Catenacci, C. (2017, December 7). Workplace organizational behaviour part II: Perception. First Reference Talks. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://blog.firstreference.com/workplace-organizational-behaviour-part-ii-perception/#.YhWSfpDMLpA
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., Coutts, L., Krieger, M. A., Chun-Yan, G. A., & Towson, S. M. J. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp. 51–73). essay, SAGE.
This blog is so relatable! Both individual characteristics and the work environment influence behaviors, satisfaction, and attitudes in the workplace (Gruman et al., 2017, p.256). I know that all too well from working as a resident caregiver for five years at an assisted living home. There were two perceptual biases that negatively affected organizational behavior in the facility I worked at: selective perception and the halo effect.
It was frustrating to work in a facility that did not recognize your hard work and dedication. At every monthly meeting, the executive director would acknowledge and reward the nurses and med techs. They always were the employees of the month. Although it seemed like they did all the hard labor, the RCPs were doing their job while they sat around in the nurses station. Therefore, the ED was participating in selective perception (Gruman et al., 2017, p.257). I also noticed that the halo effect was evident in the workplace. Many of my coworkers were extremely judgmental and would form negative impressions of workers that had tattoos, or were overly nice to residents. This increased social tension.
Although I enjoyed taking care of residents, I could no longer deal with the poor client service, low employee morale, high employee turnover, and excessive absenteeism. According to Gruman et al. (2017), “voluntary turnover and absenteeism increase as job satisfaction decreases” (p.267). I know a lot of my coworkers were not satisfied with their earnings, work hours, lack of management, etc.
Reference
Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology:
Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.