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Dr Ian Bradley Ph.D. ABPP - Clinical/Industrial Psychologist
Specializing in psychological problems in the workplace
Services to organizations and individuals include:
- Executive Coaching
- Stress Management
- Organizational Consulting
- Return to Work Hardening
We are working hard, longer and with more pressure than ever before. It's no wonder that stress and burnout in the workplace have reached almost epidemic proportions in North America. As a clinical psychologist specializing in industrial/organizational psychology, I bring a unique background to address psychological problems at work.
Read why time-off for psychological disability might make the problem worse! Go
Read about my approach that combines a thorough assessment of your skills and abilities matched with the job and organizational demands that you face. Go
Why work is stressful
Surveys indicate that we work harder and longer than ever. If we don't have buffers to bolster our esteem, then we're in trouble.
Technology doesn't really help! Despite having myriad computer aids from Blackberries to iphones, these devices often raise our expectations about what can be accomplished. As a result, computers might create more work than they save. Our digital age allows us to tap more information and contact more people than ever before. However, this advancement comes with implicit demands to integrate that knowledge and respond more quickly to bosses, suppliers or clients.
If this inherent challenge of work was not difficult enough, it is all performed in a context of changing markets and job insecurity where triumphs are infrequent and positive effects fleeting. Regrettably, our organizations might not support us in providing relevant training and development, I say relevant because the work needs should drive training whereas training often reflects the current offerings from HR. Furthermore, many organizations actually punish new ways of thinking and conducting business - regrettably, the manager who thinks differently with results that are not immediate is often skating on thin ice.
As a workplace psychologist, I still see many CEOs and senior executives who continue to believe that workers can be bullied or criticized into excellence. In reality, only positive reinforcement - where we set clear targets, measure performance and reward according work - is effective. Criticism of subordinates will never unleash what psychologists call discretionary effort - the kind of effort that gets people to willingly work late or on weekends to get the job done. Punishment gets employees to work - but just enough to avoid the censure. More importantly, choosing to punish rather than reward has an organizational cost - increased stress and burnout in employees.
My interventions can help cope with the pressures through work-hardening procedures that can strengthen the manager's or executive's competence. Since many of my clients are away from work in medical leave, my efforts are geared to actively preparing for an eventual return but returning with different attitudes, and a different work style.
