This is an unfortunately recurrent but legitimate question due to the lack of knowledge of the discipline.
First of all, let us recall that a Psychologist in any specialty must follow a precise curriculum and validate different prerequisites to obtain his title. Indeed, any self-respecting Psychologist must hold a Master’s degree (Bac+5) and have completed a training period of at least 500 hours. The choice of specialty must be made after obtaining the Licence (Bac+3). In fact, Psychologists have a solid and common knowledge base before moving into their preferred field.
So what are the specificities that differentiate the Occupational Psychologist from his counterparts from other specialties? In my opinion, the Psychology of the Work allows us to interact with the Human being on the whole spectrum that represents the Work.
Indeed, if we consider Work as an activity on a continuum, it is possible to divide it into several pieces and observe the Psychologist’s impact:
– Orientation and Recruitment, corresponding to the encounter between the Human and the Work. During this activity, the Occupational Psychologist has many tools at his disposal, such as interviews, personality inventories or cognitive assessments, among others, that will allow him to guide the Human in his journey or to determine the potential for success of the Human in the position for which he is applying.
– Quality of Life and Health at Work, corresponding to the adequacy between Human and Work. During this activity, the Occupational Psychologist will be able to advise company managers on how to design real Quality of Life at Work approaches and thus place the Human being at the heart of the activity. An idea will prevail, that of the adequacy of Work to the Human and not the opposite, then the Occupational Psychologist will favour the search for Performance through Well-Being.
– Training, enabling Humans to maintain and develop their Skills. During this activity, the Occupational Psychologist will support employees to maintain a solid level of Competence and will offer training adapted to their needs.
– Reorientation or Skills Assessment when the Human no longer regains the value of Work in his current position. During this activity, the Occupational Psychologist allows to accompany the Human who wishes to change his professional orientation or simply wishes to change his path.
– The End of Career, to allow Humans to start their new life as future pensioners and leave their professional activity with peace of mind. During this activity, the Occupational Psychologist will prepare for the important change that is the end of a career, because it is necessary to remember that Work still represents nearly half of an individual’s life, so it represents a psychological shock that must be prepared.
Thus, the Occupational Psychologist, through his training, will be able to easily fit into the various activities underlying this spectrum.
Finally, it should be remembered that an Occupational Psychologist is subject to a code of ethics because of his profession and status, so he personally commits himself to work in the interest of the individuals he will meet.