Introduction
Psychological assessment of people in the workplace allows employers to increase productivity and income. Personality testing helps employees choose a career path and show high performance. Psychological assessments are able to index the level of competence, personal skills, role in the team and the rates of employee satisfaction. Psychological testing is a successful risk management policy, protecting employers from underperforming employees. Despite its effectiveness, psychological assessment can violate legal and ethical aspects, leading to loss of business reputation.
Teamwork Skills
One of the most popular methods of psychological assessment in organizational psychology is the testing of teamwork skills. Employees have different functionalities, knowledge and skills, and it is important for the employer that the whole team works efficiently. While an organization is interested in the overall effectiveness of the team, it is important to focus on the performance of individuals within the crew as well. Certain types of people are more easily assimilated into teams than others, and these are the candidates that employers are more likely to choose as their employees.
Organizational psychologists have explored those knowledge, skills, abilities and personality parameters that are important for teamwork. Key interpersonal skills required for teamwork include conflict resolution abilities, self-management skills, goal setting capacities, planning abilities, self-coordination, and compassion (Salas & Tannenbaum, 2020). The most appropriate psychological assessment method is the Belbin test. The scientist identified eight main roles that team members can take on (Lynch et al., 2018). According to the results of the Belbin test, it is possible to form a successful group of employees and improve the psychological climate in the team (Rahmani et al., 2020). A team in which roles are correctly distributed is likely to demonstrate high performance due to well-established communication.
Ethical Considerations in Psychological Assessment
Psychological skills tests are effective; however, they can have ethical and legal negative consequences. One of the main concerns is confidentiality, since secure systems for storing personal data may not be established in organizations. The question of the fairness of the assessment and its relevance for use in organizational decisions often raises. The problem of testing openness and the possibility of employee discrimination should be taken into account by employers.
Confidentiality
The data of psychological testing is stored in the employee’s personal file. Employees may feel tense because it is unknown who has access to this personal information. Such records may become available electronically as many companies currently prefer web-based human resource management systems. It is becoming possible to penetrate the internal system of the company, which means that the threat to the security of personal data is growing.
In terms of invasion of privacy, there are more and less ethically problematic methods of psychological testing. Most applicants are comfortable with detailed questions during a job interview unless the questions are about their personal lives. However, personality tests, such as testing teamwork skills, may appear to applicants as a violation of the right to privacy. Organizations must develop new database security methods to ensure privacy for their employees and ensure that participants do not perceive psychological testing as a violation of their rights.
Fairness of the Assessment
The issue of fairness is a priority in any type of testing in organizational psychology. Recognition of candidate selection methods as fair or unfair may affect the motivation of employees when passing the test. The employer and the employee may have different ideas about the fairness of the assessment. For example, a company must apply special conditions for testing employees with disabilities, which may seem unfair to both the candidate and other applicants. Taking into account a combination of factors and making an organizational decision not solely on the basis of testing is a solution to this ethical question.
Openness of the Testing
Employers are increasingly turning to organizational psychology to improve business performance, which obliges them to be open about policies. There is a growing need for public disclosure of the exact tests used. This trend has been accelerated by the ease of finding information on the Internet. Publicly posting the organization’s assessment methods, for example, by explicitly stating the use of the Belbin test in assessing teamwork skills, makes this information available to the candidates. This tendency will lead to the fact that the test will be quickly compromised, and its results will no longer be relevant. The challenge is to find ways to meet the legitimate needs of stakeholders and ensure the integrity of the evaluation program.
Legal Issues
A company must be guided by employment laws that prohibit discrimination and ensure equal employment opportunities when conducting psychological tests. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2019), decisions based on race, gender, age, or disability, not on the employee’s working qualities are discriminatory. It is illegal to use tests and screening procedures that can create adverse effects. Businesses need to prove that psychological testing is directly related to work tasks and serves to increase the efficiency of the workflow and employee comfort.
Organizational decisions based on psychological assessment can become a tool of discrimination. It should be taken into account that candidates and employees may initially be at different social levels. For example, for a candidate, the language of testing may be non-native, as a result of which they may misinterpret the questions of the questionnaire. Stress during the test can affect the reliability of the results, organizational decisions in this case will be discriminatory. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires qualified individuals with disabilities to be given equal opportunity in all aspects of employment (ADA, 2022). Difficulties can be caused by psychological testing of persons with disabilities. For example, standard Belbin testing is poorly applicable to visually impaired individuals. Reading the material aloud can adversely affect the perception of the test materials, making the assessment result irrelevant. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities, as long as this does not create undue hardship. To use psychological assessment effectively, companies must develop adaptive test methods that are suitable for all candidates.
Those attempting to conduct individual business valuations should consider the laws applicable in their jurisdiction. Legal issues governing psychological assessments affect this area both positively and negatively. When precedents arise, better laws are formed to protect the rights of all parties involved. The negative impact resulting from legal issues is causing public doubts about the accuracy and validity of psychological tests, which hinders the development of this area.
Conclusion
Psychological testing can be an efficient method in organizational decisions. However, the emerging opportunities for violation of the rights of employees and candidates cause the society to doubt the ethics, legality and effectiveness of psychological testing for the work environment. To overcome these challenges, an organization must have an open policy to protect personal data and provide equal opportunity to all employees. Subject to these considerations, psychological assessment is beneficial to all parties involved.
References
ADA. (2022). The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Review Laws, Regulations & Standards. Web.
Lynch, D. S., Lynch, M. J., & Clemens, C. M. (2018). Belbin Team Roles: Assessing behavioral interaction to improve communication. In The Handbook of Communication Training (pp. 308-320). Routledge.
NCSL. (2019). Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace. Labor and Employment. Web.
Rahmani, F., Scott-Young, C., Tadayon, A. & van der Walt, J.D. (2022). Team composition in relational contracting (RC) in large infrastructure projects: A Belbin’s team roles model approach. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 29(5), pp. 2027-2046. Web.
Salas, E., & Tannenbaum, S. (2020). Teams that Work: The Seven Drivers of Team Effectiveness. Oxford University Press.