Sixth day of Christmas digested: Farsighted Freya

Farsighted Freya likes to look ahead, and at the big picture. Ideally she has a senior role, or at least an advisory one, helping shape strategy in her organisation. Here are some ways she could influence company policy for the better.

Periods of organisational change can have critical effects on employee engagement, which can make the difference between a successful change and one that flounders. Evidence suggests that those who feel they've received the least from the organisation to date are, paradoxically, most suspicious that the change could improve their conditions. Freya could use this as an indicator as to which organisation areas will be less easier to get buy-in from.

Organisations involve a dance between form (directing efforts towards outcomes) and freedom (for individuals to discover, explore and modify activities). When employees are given the latitude to self-manage their work, it's tempting to want to balance this out by monitoring them. This turns out to be a terrible approach, eliciting push-back and counterproductive behaviour from workers who find this intrusive....so warn Freya off it. Perhaps she wants to go the whole hog, and move her organisation towards a non-hierarchical structure. Exciting stuff, but what are the pitfalls? Recent research explores this.

One way in which an organisation finds form is through developing and maintaining an identity - design and aesthetic at Apple, say, or ethical and community-oriented at the cooperative. Freya might be interested in a recent study exploring how identity is formed both by what is remembered and what is forgotten – sometimes deliberately.

Gift: a whistle. Simply to remind her that the long-term health of organisations depends on the willingness of its members to speak out about unsavoury practices. This isn't always easy, so some insights into the conditions that facilitate whistle-blowing may help her shape organisational policy in that direction.

Fifth day of Christmas digested: Existential Eric

Today is dedicated to Existential Eric, who is asking himself the question: what do I want to be? Maybe the Eric in your life is still at school, or someone arriving at a turning point later in life.,, either way, give them the gift of guidance to make their decisions a little easier.

Is leadership for Eric?

The best leaders often emerge from a match between their background and that of the group that they lead (and this year's New Psychology of Leadership is definitely giftable on that front). But there is consistent research linking individual traits to leadership effectiveness, a recent study even suggesting that these can be identified at school age.

Give a Warning: if your Eric is bullish about getting ahead and being in charge, you might want to give them a bit of farsighted wisdom: evidence suggests that people who make their way into management roles and then implode often possess a set of antagonistic traits summarised as 'moving against' others. Eric would need to discover how to manage his behaviours in order to manage others - or he's setting himself up for a fall.

Give Encouragement: conversely, if your Eric is cautious and preoccupied with their impact on others, there is actually evidence that they may be fit for leadership. You are more likely to be perceived as a good leader if you are prone to feelings of guilt - but not shame, the difference being that guilt is accompanied by an urge to take action (rather than hide in your room). Not only that, the guilt-prone are rated as actually being better leaders in both experimental and workplace situations.

Where to go

Where indeed! Your Eric might take a moment to consider following the family way: family firms have unique features that make them perform differently and form particular cultures.

They might want to do the opposite: pack their bags and see the world. The army is one time-honoured route for this, but it's worth their considering whether they will make it past training; recent research looks at the risk factors, which are complex but throw up some ideas, such as forming clear routines, and not joining up simply due to lack of options elsewhere. They should be aware, however, that military training appears to affect personality, damping down the flourishing of agreeableness that normally accompanies the movement into adulthood.

They might want to try something random: the 'happiest place on earth', where they will get to learn about customer-delighting techniques that are getting rolled out in more and more organisations, or they might want to take a grittier job that exposes them to all walks of life: that was one of the appeals reported by sex shop workers in this article on 'dirty work' occupations

Ultimately though, evidence again and again points at the importance of getting a job that you want. Intrinsic motivation - enjoying your work - leads to better managerial performance, and for all types of workers being involved with work that interests you leads to better performance, much more so than traditionally understood. Even training outcomes are influenced by being in your job of choice.

Finally, if your Eric is at a waypoint in later life and trying to figure out directions, he could do worse than consider his alternative self: who he could have been had he made other decisions. This seems a promising way to inform life decisions and crystallise understanding about your own strengths and weaknesses.

Fourth day of Christmas digested: Datahead Devani

Datahead Devani is the person in your life who is technical and loves it. Whether it be gadgets and the internet or science and facts, she loves to get involved. Here are some ways to help her help her organisation,

Give her tips on the impact of their organisation's communication tools. Perhaps she could check out this research examining telephone waiting time factors, and see whether their current set-up is solid? How about internet policy? Evidence suggests that 'cyber-loafing' peaks at certain periods, especially when people aren't getting enough sleep. One example is after the switch to summer time, as people struggle to adjust to the new hours. Perhaps smart teams might elect to employ one of the various programs that limits internet access during these 'risk periods'?

Introduce her to Occupational Psychology. Ok, we're biased here! But research suggests that the work done in our field is pretty solid; for example, experimental work tends to hold up well when examined in real-world situations. We can be proud of the scientific rigour that tends to exist underneath our work, and Devani can too. As we've documented, assessment tests have become more sophisticated and powerful in recent years, so being the go-to person in the organisation on this front could be useful. See also the BPS' resource on psychological testing, which contains research, advice and information on accreditation in the UK.

A gift? A camera. This lovely piece of research outlines the ways in which visual research in organisations democratises understanding, uncovers blind spots and gives a fuller understanding of how things are done, and could be done. Just ask her to turn off that superfluous digital 'click' sound while she's at it - she might actually be savvy enough to find it buried in the Settings somewhere.

Third day of Christmas digested: Caring Carl

Ah, Caring Carl. Maybe he works as a team leader, or perhaps he's simply a motivated member of a team. He certainly has ideas about how to improve the quality of the workplace. Why not give him a few more? These come with an evidence base behind them.

Getting better outcomes from the team. Simply put, a team that is willing to listen to other perspectives and to not take disagreements personally is going to reach better outcomes. On the first, research shows that the diversity within a team only translates to more creative outcomes if team members are prepared to feed that diverse input through their own positions. On the second, we now understand better that rare trick of how to transform conflict from a disabling to an enabling event: groups whose members feel free to speak out without being vilified can keep conflicts focused on task rather than relationship, allowing problems to be robustly interrogated and leading to better outcomes.

Pay attention when there is a change-up to team composition.  If Carl is in charge of the team, he should know that the emotional responses new starters have to their supervisor has a significant effect on their transition into the team. Making an effort to give support and make them feel in good hands is critical. More generally, when individuals find themselves working with a highly talented individual it's easy to feel intimidated and under pressure to perform comparably - especially once you've started to become familiar to each other but before you've developed an Us over I mentality. Being aware of that emotional component makes it easier to get past it, by recognising what lies behind tensions and acting as a spur to get the team on the same page sooner rather than later.

Finally Carl might want to be vocal about whether the managerial set-up works for his team. Specifically, evidence suggests that job outcomes and experiences can suffer when managers regularly work remotely. If it appears that this is a problem for his team, perhaps he would like to have a word, with this study as backup.

A gift for Carl? How about a book of (workplace appropriate) jokes? A compelling model has been drawn suggesting that even minor incidents of humour in the workplace lead to virtuous spirals that can lift mood and create a better working environment. Here, I'll start you off: what's orange and sounds like a parrot?

Second day of Christmas digested: Busy Boris

Yesterday we had some thoughts and gifts for Ambitious Anne, someone intending to make a success of themselves. Today, it's Busy Boris. Boris is the person who has already climbed their way into a position of responsibility. And you know what? Sometimes, it doesn't seem so great for them.

Sure, they appear to be willingly putting those extra hours into work. But are they addicted to it? Fascinating research on the New Zealand film industry (you know the one) suggests that the social addiction model developed around substance use can be extended to the social patterns that occur around work, especially when the availability of that work is uncertain and arrives in short bursts. If there is a problem with managing the impact of work on their life, raising awareness is an important first step.

 If you are a spouse or partner of a Boris in an unhappy place, you might want to suggest a move to other pastures. After all, it appears that a partner's perception of the problems that work causes has a powerful influence over and above the workers own perceptions. You can help them to make the hard decision. But assuming it hasn't come to that, how can we help keep Boris on the up?

Firstly, he would do well to keep his team onside. Your Boris is probably lovely, but it's possible they've leant towards treating subordinates instrumentally in order to get on. If they are seen to be 'in it for themselves', things can roll on without too much turbulence until team members perceive that they are being left on the outside, at which point things are likely to deteriorate. And if they make a big thing about running a caring workplace but don't walk their own talk, their stock is likely to fall very quickly. On the positive side, if they do it right, Boris can have a positive impact on his subordinates through a role in their coaching. How to get involved - alongside the coach and the individual themselves - without being a third wheel? Here's how.

Maybe work is particularly stressful - some of our loved ones exist on the front-lines of society, or are stuck in toxic work situations. The evidence suggests that if you experience violence in your work, ruminative thoughts are likely to worsen the effects these have upon your psychological health. Ideally they should speak to a counsellor or therapist, but in the meantime you might help them find ways to take their mind off the incident.

OK, but Christmas is coming up and I want something concrete, something to give. No problem, here are two suggestions:

• A sitting cushion.  There is a current vogue for research into mind-body techniques like meditation or focused breathing, which generally agree that these have positive effects on stress reduction. 
• Alternatively how about running shoes - I recommend barefoot ones. Evidence suggests that workplace burnout and generalised depression can feed each other in a vicious cycle - but that exercise can be effective in breaking that cycle, through its benefits to sleep, decreasing stress, and making you feel better about yourself.

First day of Christmas digested: Ambitious Anne

Our first post is dedicated to that person you know who is really fixed on getting ahead. We'll call them Ambitious Anne, though you'll know them by their own name. First, ambitious? Well, good for Anne. Longitudinal research suggests that possessing ambition in spades is an asset over the lifespan of an individual. It influences expected areas such as life attainments - more prestigious jobs, leading to higher income - but also longer life and higher life satisfaction.

If your Anne is a woman, she might be interested in some of the research on career progression and gender we've been covering at the digest. Experimental research has suggested that perceiving that you live in a male-scarce environment may influence women to focus more on how they can personally ensure financial stability and a legacy for themselves, a possible explanation for why US states with fewer men see women taking higher-earning positions. Perhaps an environment not overflowing with men presents a better hot-house for incubating ambition?

Also, help Anne by warding off some false advice: there isn't evidence that she needs to play tough in order to get ahead in business. A large analysis confirms that low agreebleness is correlated with better pay, but also that the effect is driven by males in the sample. And even if your Anne is a man, I wouldn't recommend them to toughen up, as other measures like life satisfaction better correlate with high agreeableness, not low. One thing we can recommend to an ambitious fella is that if he is looking to reach managerial roles in a stereotypically male environment, such as construction, he should be aware that he is likely to be held to less forgiving standards than would a female counterpart: the stereotypical attribution is that 'he has no excuse for failure'

Sticking with gender factors, Anne might want to scrutinise her future, because as a woman it's possible that opportunities she's offered will be especially precarious. Michelle Ryan's body of research has identified the presence of a glass cliff, with a long way to fall, that makes it important to consider the risks as well as the benefits of a big promotion. She may also want to recognise (not accept, as it's not acceptable) that dominant behaviour on her part may be attributed to her temperament, rather than as a tool she uses to get the job done. This attribution bias has been robustly observed, although it disappears for black women in the US, whose minority of a minority status appears to make them an anomaly with fewer norms to violate. Of course, black leaders have other perception issues to contend with, with subordinates viewing their failures as exemplifying incompetence, and their successes as due to the conditional utility of traits that are stereotypical of their race, rather than pertaining to their leadership skill.

Finally, ambitious people tend to be keen to learn from their mistakes and self-improve. So a caution to Anne would be that too much focus on 'learning from failure' can make us unhappy. Instead, an approach that mixes focus on the losses with a 'restorative' strategy, filling your mind with new demands, seems to preserve the insights from mistakes but allow the negative mood to resolve quickly, allowing you to move onto new things.

On top of all that advice, any specific gifts for Anne? How about a mentor? Consult our round-up of when mentoring is most effective. Go on, it's our round....

Introducing the eight days of Christmas digested

It's that time of the year where we start to reflect back on what we've done over the past twelve months - the good, the bad and the unclassifiable. It's also the time when many of us scrabble to find gifts for Christmas, Hanuka or your preferred celebration. So to help the Occupational Digest to reminisce - and help you out if you're short-handed - we present The Eight Days of Christmas Digested.

Today and every day leading up to the 25th, we'll offer you a post aimed at a particular type of person. A Christmas wish-list, if you will.