As I/O Psychologists, most of the time I anticipate being brought in to “fix” whatever the issues or the perceived issue is. To say whether I will be siding with employees or the company is difficult to say in that each company will have different issues stemming from different areas that must be addressed. In my current role, our line staff are in face to face contact with our customers. If these staff are not happy, the patients and family members can be affected which is how your reputation in the community gets molded. So in this regard, I am more interested on the happiness of the employees while at the same time making sure their happiness is geared toward the goals of the organization. It’s a very thin line I feel I have to walk, but is also an element of personal reward I have for my current position.

An increasing number of organizations are finding they must maintain established ethical values, social values, and personal belief systems (O’Donohue & Nelson, 2009). Employees are expecting more and more from their employers; expecting them to operate in a more ethical manner and one that is socially accepted. As companies realize this, I believe you will see a gradual shift in companies behaving this way versus looking only out for the bottom line.

Generation Y most certainly has these expectations and I can foresee the need for organizations to operate this way increasing.

Reference

O’Donohue, W., Nelson, L. (2009). The role of ethical values in an expanded psychological contract. Journal of Business Ethics 90:251-263.