By: Anaiya Patel

Have you ever wondered what an IO psychologist does? Meet Ashley Wilson, an Industrial Organizational (IO) psychologist. If you’re asking, “What exactly is that?” you’re about to find out.

IO psychology is all about studying human behavior in the workplace. Ashley explains, “It’s a study of human behavior in the workplace essentially. So wherever humans are, we pretty much touch that area. We look at the human factors in terms of what makes people tick or productive or how they function in the work environment.”

Think of it like the connection between the mind and the body. If one struggles, the other does too. Businesses and employees work the same way; they depend on each other. IO psychologists focus on improving employees’ experiences so the business can thrive. As Ashley puts it, “Things like job satisfaction, how are they feeling about their jobs and how does it work? We work to improve it so ultimately it makes their lives better, their work lives better, and then it also makes the workplace better because you have more productive employees.”

You might wonder how this differs from Human Resources (HR). HR provides training and assessments, but IO psychologists design and build those tools using research and data. Ashley says, “HR typically is beholden to the business. They work under the business functions. We’re scientists and researchers who use rigorous psychometrics to help create the tools HR uses.”

IO psychologists work everywhere, including the military and government. Ashley explains, “Considering the business interest over human interest, we are more focused on the people aspect. If you’re an IO consultant, you can work internally with a company or with firms outside the company. Working externally gives us more flexibility to really focus on the human aspect and get buy-in for what we’re trying to recommend in terms of building up or lifting up employees.”

When Ashley graduated, she worked at Ivy Planning Group, a consulting firm that provided DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) services to different companies and industries. She worked on the research team, analyzing data from clients to understand employee experiences through surveys and assessments.

Instead of going into academia, Ashley chose the industry side for more practical, hands-on work. Her goal is to uplift morale and create inclusive environments. “Creating a workplace with diverse thinking and diverse experiences can lead to highly innovative teams,” she says. “Different backgrounds bring different perspectives. And we don’t work on an individual basis.” IO psychologists usually work on a macro level, focusing on groups rather than individuals. The best part? The field is so broad that if you get tired of one area, you can pivot to another.

Most people don’t know much about IO psychology. At first glance, it might seem like therapy, but it’s much more complex. Ashley gives an example: “Say a company is experiencing a lot of turnover or trying to recruit more minorities, but they don’t stay. We take data from the organization, sometimes the whole company, sometimes just departments, and look at factors like performance scores or engagement surveys. Then we base our work on that.”

Through surveys and data analysis, IO psychologists identify areas for improvement. This benefits both employees and the company because better work-life balance means happier workers and stronger businesses.

Ashley even worked on leadership assessments for executives. She collected feedback from team members about strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Sometimes she included open-ended questions for deeper insights. After analyzing the data, she gave recommendations to help leaders grow.

At the end of the day, IO psychologists aim to show companies the return on investment (ROI) of improving employee experiences. They work in small groups, brainstorm solutions, and help businesses and people succeed together.