PSY 2114 Lecture 8

Why is our work/ career so important

-Large part of our life
-Spend time and money working towards a career
-Determines our quality of life and lifestyle

What do we look for in a job?

Monetary and non-monetary incentives?

What are monetary incentives?

Pay, benefits, bonuses, pension

What are non-monetary incentives?

-Mission of organization
-Autonomy in decision-making
-Feeling of competence
-Feeling relatedness

Mission of organization

Workers are more productive when they perceive
work to be meaningful – can derive meaning from
mission of organization

What are the 3 dimensions of the self-determination theory?

Autonomy, competence and relatedness

Autonomy in decision-making

Feeling that you have influence in
company decisions that affect your work

Autonomy in your work, not always
monitored

Opportunity to make own decisions in
work

Feeling of competence

Feeling that you are applying talents, skills or knowledge successfully (not overqualified)

Social recognition of work (by superiors)

Feelings of relatedness

Identifying with other workers, feeling connected to the organization

Can be related to whether you perceive company treats you fairly (ex-salary and promotions)

What do emerging adults care about in a long-term job?

Look forward to each day
Pays a lot of money
Makes best use of my talents and abilities
Low stress

Meaning-mission fit

Describes that better alignment between people’s personal intentions and their company’s mission leads to better job satisfaction and emotional well-being

____ is a key element of a person’s sense of identity and self-efficacy

Occupation

What is influenced by occupation?

Where you live
What friends you make
What clothes you wear

T or F: Work isn't a major social role and influence on adult life

False

What are the three perspectives developed by Hance on what young adults will get from working?

working to achieve social influence
working to achieve personal fulfillment
working because of economic reality

Why do people modify their occupational goals?

Interests have changed
Occupation was a poor fit
Didn't get the chance to pursue the needed education
Lack of essential skills
Age, race or sex discrimination

Reality Shock

Situation in which what you learn in the
classroom does not always transfer directly
into the “real world” and does not represent
all you need to know.

Mentor

A person who is part teacher, sponsor, model,
and counsellor who facilitates on-the-job
learning to help a new hire do the work
required in his or her present role and to
prepare for future roles
Seen with with people new to a position

Developmental Coach

Individual who helps a person focus on
their goals, motivations, and aspirations to
help them achieve focus and apply them
appropriately
Seen with people who have work experience

What do mentors gain from helping a young workers?

It is one way to achieve Erikson’s phase of generativity

What is the caveat regarding having a mentor or coach?

The quality of the coach or mentor really matters?

Job satisfaction

Positive feeling that results from an appraisal of one’s work.

Psychological capital theory

Notion that having a positive outlook improves processes and outcomes.

How does job satisfaction evolve over young and middle adulthood?

given sufficient time, most people eventually find a job
where they are reasonably happy

Opposite is true with blue collar jobs

What influences job satisfaction over time?

The accumulation of experience, changing context,
and the stage of one’s career development

Alienation

A situation in which workers feel they are doing is meaningless and their efforts are devalued, or when they do not see the connection between what they do and the final product.

Burnout

The depletion of a person’s energy and motivation, the loss of occupational idealism, and the feeling of being exploited.

A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that negatively affects self-esteem

What sector is most likely to experience burnout?

The helping sector such as police, teaching, social work, health care, and for those in the military

What effects do burnout have on the brain

highly stressed workers are much less able to regulate negative emotions, resulting from weakened connections between the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex.

Such structural changes probably underlie episodes of poorer judgment and emotional outbursts seen in highly stressed people.

Passion

A strong inclination toward an activity that individuals like (or even love), that they value (and thus find important), and in which they invest time and energy

What are the two kinds of passion?

obsessive (internal urge to always be engaged an think about activity, leading to conflict)

harmonious (Freely choose when to be engaged in activity and is in harmony with other aspects of the person's life)

What is the best way to lower burnout?

intervention programs that focus on both the organization and the employee

What occupation still has some of the lowest participation rates of women? (in the US)

the skilled trades (electricians, plumbers, carpenters)

What is the biggest difference across generations amongst women entering the work force?

the progressive increase in opportunities for employment choice

What percent of workers in business, finance, sciences and engineering are women?

20%

Why do female professionals tend to leave their job?

-Organizations reward and idealize masculine
values (ex-individuality, sufficient, individual contribution)

-Females tend to prefer organizations that
value relationships, interdependence and collaboration

-Females may feel disconnected

Why does women's occupational development tend to be discontinuous?

Maternity leave (1 year- 18 months)

Gender discrimination

Denying a job to someone solely on the
basis of whether the person is a man or a
woman.

What trend does gender discrimination take on the corporate ladder?

Gets worse the higher up you go

Glass ceiling

level to which women may rise but cannot go
beyond in a company

Not just women, other marginalized groups

Glass cliff

women are offered more risky leadership opportunities, more opportunity for failure

Seen when company is performing poorly finacially

What percentage of all occupations show a gender-based wage gap?

98%

What two considerations are important when discussing the wage gap?

Women often leave job to raise children
Take lower paying jobs in the first place

T or F: There is a universal definition of harassment

False

age discrimination

Denying a job or a promotion to a person
solely on the basis of age.

boomerang employees

Individuals who terminate employment at
one point in time but return to work in the
same organization at a future time.
Usually, return as contract workers, therefore don't get benefits.

When is bone mass highest and skeleton is at peak development for men?

20 years old

When is bone mass highest and skeleton is at peak development for women?

18 years old

What two things can be done throughout adulthood to reduce the chances of chronic disease in later life?

Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly

How are wrinkles caused?

changes in the structure of the skin and its connective and supporting tissues as well as by the cumulative
effects of damage from exposure to sunlight and cigarette smoke

When does Bone mass change for women?

First few years after menopause there is a rapid loss of bone mass

osteoporosis

Disease in which bones become porous and
extremely easy to break.
Look like honey combs

Which sex is osteoporosis more common in?

Women

Low bone mass (even at peak time)

Insufficient calcium and vitamin D in childhood and
young adulthood

Decrease in estrogen from menopause

What can be done to prevent osteoporosis

Calcium and vitamin D supplements
Bone density screen tests (DXA test)
Weight-bearing exercise

What is the best prevention for osteoporosis?

Starting young before waiting till risk/already diagnosed

dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) test

Test of bone mineral density (BMD) at the
hip and spine.

What does a score of -1 mean on a DXA test

The greater the negative number, the more severe the osteoporosis

What is the most commonly used and highly effective medication intervention for osteoporosis?

bisphosphonates

What do bisphosphonates do?

They slow the bone breakdown process by helping to maintain bone density during menopause

Can have serious side effects if used over a long time

selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs)

Compounds that are not estrogens, but have estrogen-like effects on some tissues and estrogen-blocking effects on other issues.

What is the newest class of medications for osteoperosis?

RANK ligand inhibitors

osteoarthritis

Most common form of arthritis, a disease
marked by gradual onset of bone damage with progression of pain and disability
together with minor signs of inflammation
from wear and tear.

rheumatoid arthritis

The more destructive disease of the joints develops slowly; it typically affects different joints and causes different types of pain than osteoarthritis does.

What can done to manage osteoarthritis?

certain steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs, rest, nonstressful exercises that focus on range of motion, diet, and a variety of homeopathic remedies.

What can be done to manage rheumatoid arthritis?

aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Advil or Aleve.

Newer treatments include disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs

T or F: Osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis all have genetic components

False, only osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have genetic components

T or F: The peak of fertility isn't the same for men and women?

False, for both sexes it is 20's

climacteric

Loss of ability to bear children

Biological process during which women pass from their reproductive to nonreproductive years.

menopause

Point at which menstruation stops.

perimenopause

Individually varying time of transition from
regular menstruation to menopause.

menopausal hormone therapy
(MHT)

Therapy in which women take low doses
of estrogen, which is often combined
with progestin (a synthetic form of
progesterone).

What is a downside of hormone replacement therapy?

Might cause side effects like breast cancer, controversial results

What are some physical and psychological changes of menopause?

Irregular and then cessation of period

Decreases in estrogen, progesterone

Changes to productive organs, sexual functioning and interests

Hot flashes, night sweats, moods, difficulty concentrating etc

Headaches, sleep problems and mood changes

What is the significance of the decline in estrogen?

Increased risk of Osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, stress, urinary incontinence, weight gain, memory loss
Risk of heart attack becomes similar to men 10 years after menopause

What is the significance of the changes to the female reproductive system after menopause?

Important effects on sexual activity, such as an increased possibility of painful intercourse and a longer time and more stimulation needed to reach orgasm

What is the most important ingredient for sexual activity for both men and women?

a strong relationship with a partner

What is the male equivalent of menopause?

There isn't one!
Although experience similar symptoms due to rapid decline in testosterone

Describe Males reproductive abilities at older ages

Still fertile

Possible to have sexual
dysfunction

Some new research
suggesting increased risk
for mental illness,
schizophrenia, autism (but
not clear – more research
needed)

T or F: the eggs carried in the ovaries of older females are viable

False

Stress involves both _______ and _____ aspects

Physiological and psychological

What does prolonged exposure to stress have a damaging influence on?

The sympathetic nervous system (which
controls such things as heart rate, respiration, perspiration, blood flow, muscle strength, and mental activity)

Weakens the immune system

What effect does stress have at the cellular level?

shortens telomeres

What hormone plays a different role in women than men for stress?

Oxytocin

What approach do men opt to for stress?

"fight or flight"

What approach do women opt to for stress?

“tend and befriend”

stress and coping paradigm

Framework that views stress not as an environmental stimulus or as a response, but as the interaction of a thinking person and an event.

primary appraisal

Process that categorizes events into three
groups based on the significance they have
for one’s well-being: irrelevant, benign or
positive, and stressful.

secondary appraisal

Process that evaluates one’s perceived ability to cope with harm, threat, or challenge.

reappraisal

Process of making a new primary or secondary appraisal resulting from changes in
the situation.

coping

Attempt to deal with stressful events.

T or F:Coping is automatic, not learned

False, it is learned

What common saying can be applied to coping?

"practice makes perfect"

What are the two most important ways people cope?

Problem-focused coping
Emotion-focused coping

Problem-focused coping

Attempts to tackle a problem head-on.
Ex-Spending more time studying to cope with failing a prior test

Emotion-focused coping

Dealing with one’s feelings about a stressful
event.
Ex-Expressing anger over failing exam

What factors determine how well we cope?

-Health and energy levels
-Positive attitude
-Problem solving skills
-Social support
-Financial resources

What is the most effective way to cope with stress

Various relaxation techniques such as yoga, mediation, etc

What is one of the most serious consequences of chronic stress?

Increased levels of LDL cholesterol

What are some of the physical effects stress causes?

Increased susceptibility to viral infections, increased risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension, and impaired memory and cognition

post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD)

An anxiety disorder that can develop after
exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in
which grave physical harm occurred or was
threatened.