Papers by Almuth McDowall
EWOP in Practice
This article reports on a symposium presented in EAWOP, 2009 that examined work-life balance issu... more This article reports on a symposium presented in EAWOP, 2009 that examined work-life balance issues in different occupational contexts. During a global recession where developing work-life balance policies may not be considered organizational priorities; we argue that the need for systematic research into work-life balance has never been greater. The findings of the four papers included in the symposium suggest that work-life balance initiatives that are firmly grounded in workplace context and that acknowledge diverse approaches to conceptualising and managing the work-home interface will be more successful than those that assume “one size fits all”.
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Sep 28, 2018
The Work Life Balance Bulletin: a DOP Publication
Article in the OP Matters (Division of Occupational Psychology newsletter
Applied Psychology
Derived from the concept of neurodiversity, neurodivergence is an umbrella term for various condi... more Derived from the concept of neurodiversity, neurodivergence is an umbrella term for various conditions such as Autism‐Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), Dyslexia, or Dyspraxia, which affect approximately 22% of the population. Sensory difficulties and overload are a common symptom. The provision of physical workplace adjustments for neurodivergent workers, such as workplace design solutions, has become popular in practice, yet their utility remains unsubstantiated. This review evaluates the evidence for physical workplace adjustments and their link to occupational longevity, performance and health/well‐being in neurodivergent workers. A systematic review (PRISMA guidelines) of studies published in English between 2000 and 2021 focused on these inclusion criteria: adult office workers clinically considered neurodiverse, their families, colleagues, employers, experts and vocational programme staff; at least one physical workplace adjustment; ...
Parents & Carers in Performing Arts, Mar 1, 2019
Department of Organizational Psychology, Jul 3, 2020
Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being, 2020
This chapter critically examines the role of gender in work-life balance research. We contextuali... more This chapter critically examines the role of gender in work-life balance research. We contextualise the focal topic by first summarising the changing nature of work and domestic roles and the influence of demographic and social shifts. We revisit the meaning of ‘work-life balance’ in light of the diverse and sometimes conflicting conceptualisations used by academics and practitioners. A review of the evidence for gender differences in work-life balance needs and experiences is then provided, with a particular focus placed on caring responsibilities. This leads us to consider the policies and practices that are designed to support work-life balance initiatives are then considered, focusing specifically on flexible working, together with the extent to which these are ‘gender neutral’ both in terms of relevance and uptake. The paper is interspersed with relevant case studies to illustrate the points made. The chapter concludes by setting out priorities for research and practice to prom...
Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2017
Purpose Rapid developments in the field of information communication technology (ICT) mean that e... more Purpose Rapid developments in the field of information communication technology (ICT) mean that e-working has become increasingly common and prolonged – the “always-on-culture” potential to enhance work-life balance via increased flexibility in terms of time and location, as well as posing the risk of being “always on” has been identified with potentially serious implications for the health and performance of employees. The authors identify a research agenda as a starting point for reviewing current organisational practice. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss current technological developments as well as prevalent research frameworks and terminology in the domain of work-life balance and beyond to evaluate their fitness for purpose. They also report findings from a survey of 374 employees working within UK businesses about current organisational practice. Findings Over half of the organisations sampled do not have clear policies, guidance or training in place regarding w...
Book synopsis: For a significant portion of psychology students, their reason for choosing an und... more Book synopsis: For a significant portion of psychology students, their reason for choosing an undergraduate degree in psychology is their interest in applied psychology and a desire to use psychological knowledge to help solve personal and social problems. With this in mind, this textbook has been designed to satisfy these needs for applied psychology teaching at all undergraduate levels. Applied Psychology is designed to introduce students to the main areas of applied psychology (Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Educational Psychology, Occupational Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Sports & Exercise Psychology, Counselling Psychology and Teaching Psychology) from UK, European and international perspectives. It also introduces the core psychological knowledge that underpins these applied and professional areas. As a result, students learn core knowledge from the five main areas of psychology, as well as acquiring a thorough grounding in how this knowledge is applied, and the professional issues associated with that application. Highlights include a broad range of teaching and learning features designed to help the student learn and the teacher teach. These include: Focus Points, Colour Illustrations, Activity Boxes, Research Methods, Case Histories, Self-Test and Essay Questions, Learning Outcomes and Section Summaries, a Glossary as well as Links to Journal Articles and Further Reading.
We apply social psychology to our understanding of organizational life, by looking in particular ... more We apply social psychology to our understanding of organizational life, by looking in particular at the relationship between the individual and the organization. From a social psychological perspective, an organization is conceptualised as a collection of roles (some of which may be organised into local teams or workgroups) that are all interconnected in the pursuit of some common goal, attached to which are particular behavioural norms and values (Katz & Kahn, 1964). Organizations impact on individuals through processes of social influence which bind them in some psychological way to organizational interests and pursuits. This binding can be conceptualised as a psychological relationship between individual and organization that can be tenuous or strong depending on the extent to which an individual is a fully integrated organizational member. A tenuous relationship may imply that the individual’s interests outweigh those of the organization, and if these are not being fulfilled by an organization he or she will leave. This type of relationship has been conceptualised as instrumental or transactional (Rousseau, 1995; Chapter 22) in which there is a quid-pro-quo type of reciprocation in which an individual supplies specific services (usually highly circumscribed around time spent in relation to a particular work schedule) in return for extrinsic reward (pay, benefits) and little else. A fully integrated relationship on the other hand presupposes that an individual has internalised the norms and values of the organization as their own to the extent that their interests are mutually bound and synonymous. This type of relationship has been conceptualised as relational as it values the relationship per se: here there is an exchange of services based on intrinsic need fulfilment (Rousseau, 1995). A transactional relationship is built on a largely economic interpretation of the employment contract, whilst core to a relational relationship is a more complex psycho-social interpretation of the employment contract. Both are forms of what Rousseau (1995) calls the ‘psychological contract’ (Chapter 22) and both are dependent on how an individual makes sense of themselves in an organizational context through their perceptions and interpretations. Understanding the mechanisms via which self becomes psychologically (whether transactional or relational) connected to organizational life is pivotal to understanding ‘organizational behaviour’.
International Journal of Police Science & Management, 2018
Evidence-based policing (EBP) is an important strand of the UK’s College of Policing’s Police Edu... more Evidence-based policing (EBP) is an important strand of the UK’s College of Policing’s Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF), itself a component of a professionalisation agenda. This article argues that the two dominant approaches to EBP, experimental criminology and crime science, offer limited scope for the development of a comprehensive knowledge base for policing. Although both approaches share a common commitment to the values of science, each recognizes their limited coverage of policing topics. The fundamental difference between them is what each considers ‘best’ evidence. This article critically examines the generation of evidence by these two approaches and proposes an extension to the range of issues EBP should cover by utilizing a greater plurality of methods to exploit relevant research. Widening the scope of EBP would provide a broader foundational framework for inclusion in the PEQF and offers the potential for identifying gaps in the research, constructing ...
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Papers by Almuth McDowall