September 2021 Newsletter
Member Benefits
The Alliance for Organizational Psychology: Connecting IWOP-P Societies Around the Globe
Sharon Glazer1 & D.J. O’Donnell2
1The University of Baltimore
2Independent Consultant
The Alliance for Organizational Psychology (aka. Alliance) is a federation of industrial, work, organizational, and personnel psychology (IWOP-P) societies, started by the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) Work & Organizational Psychology Division, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the European Association for Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), and the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CSIOP).
The aims of the Alliance are to:
- Advance the science and practice of IWOP-P internationally;
- Develop more effective communication and collaboration among the federated societies;
- Enhance the contributions of IWOP-P to global society through improvements to the quality of work life and the effectiveness of individuals and organizations.
In order to achieve these aims, in 2021, the Alliance established The Big Tent, a term borrowed from the language of the circus where all contributors, participants, and audience are not only watching with excitement for the presentation to unfold, but are, in fact, actively part of the experience. In the case of Alliance’s Big Tent, it is a network of Industrial, Organizational, Work, and Personnel Psychology related societies and associations. People who join this group are typically representatives of their respective societies or associations.
Leadership of organizations that are members of The Big Tent are invited to:
- Share news, content (e.g., blogs) about activities, events, or current issues occurring in your association (e.g., an organizing committee for an international workshop to be held under the auspices of a group of network partners).
- Distribute content to relevant parties in their organization.
- Engage with recent and timely societal topics via open dialogue, questions and/or requests to the community as relevant.
- Ask globally-relevant questions of the community to promote benchmarking.
- Exchange resources and seek advice from The Big Tent community and/or inquire about best practices.
- Participate in various Alliance initiatives.
The Alliance Big Tent committee, chaired by Sharon Glazer and vice-chaired by D.J. O’Donnell, has been inviting leadership representatives from IWOP-P associations around the world to join. We are reaching out, one by one, to leadership to explain who and what we are and to ask them to identify the key person(s) from their association to be part of the listserv. We then invite those individuals to join the listserv. If you are in a leadership role in your IWOP-P related association/society and would like to join The Big Tent, please email Sharon Glazer at sglazer@ubalt.edu with the subject line “Alliance: The Big Tent.”
It is important to note that this is not a listserv for membership of associations, but a listserv for leadership (or designees) of associations to exchange information.
Ultimately, by networking with associations and societies around the globe, we are hoping to simplify information access. The Big Tent serves to support members of each of the associations by being a platform for information exchange, whereby leadership from every society or association that is part of The Big Tent can share information onward to its constituents. Members of associations that have information to share with the community around the world should work through the society/association they are a member of to determine if the content is relevant for sharing with member organizations of The Big Tent.
New Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP) White Paper:
A Swiss Army Knife? How Science Challenges Our Understanding of Mindfulness in the Workplace
Access the White Paper Here:
Aims and Objectives of the White Papers
The aims of the Alliance for Organizational Psychology (AOP) white paper series are to:
- Address globally relevant topics that are of interest to policy and decision-makers
- Highlight key areas where Organizational Psychology can make a substantial contribution to practice
- Feature contributors offering international perspectives and viewpoints
The intended purpose of these White Papers is to share information about the value of Organizational Psychology (OP) and how OP can be used to improve the well-being and performance of people and organizations with non-OP HR and business practitioners and leaders.
Special thank you to the Alliance White Paper Subcommittee members (Angela Carter, Hazel McLaughlin, Maree Roche, and Lynda Zugec) for their efforts and support in making the white paper series a reality.
Do you have a story to share? A membership milestone? Remember to send your updates, information, and correspondence to our Division 1 Communications Officer, Lynda Zugec at lynda.zugec@theworkforceconsultants.com
