SIOP: More Support for Military and Their Families

Task Force Chair Dr. Kristin Saboe says, “The task force is eager to serve those in the military community – veterans, guard/reservists, spouses of military members, and military dependents – to ensure all employers understand the advantage these individuals bring to organizations and educational settings.”

SIOP first launched the predecessor to this volunteer-based initiative in 2011 to provide employment counseling services to military veterans.  The new expansion and relaunch as a task force formalizes and broadens SIOP’s scope to extend its efforts beyond just military veterans to also include those currently serving in the military in active and reserve capacities as well as military spouses and family members.

The MVI Task Force has been charged by SIOP leadership with building collaborations and enacting projects aimed at increasing workplace resources and their dissemination to support those in the military community (e.g. veterans, Guard and Reservists, and military spouses) employed in civilian settings.

The task force will conduct outreach and establish collaborations to obtain information that will help civilian employers improve their interactions with the military community. SIOP volunteers will then translate this information into materials (e.g., information sheets, articles, web postings, and training classes) that will be disseminated to SIOP members, business and human resource leaders, and SIOP’s collaborative partners. SIOP will also develop materials (e.g., training products) to disseminate to civilian business leaders and hiring managers. The MVI Task Force will also encourage SIOP’s members to conduct research on military members, veterans, and military spouses to better understand the employment, health, and work-life needs of these groups.

Talya Bauer, PhD, president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Cameron Professor of Management at Portland State University, commented, “SIOP is thrilled that our new Military and Veterans Initiative will help our 10,000 members increase and expand the impact that we can have supporting our military and veteran population. Our members are eager to continue support of our military and are looking forward to this opportunity for increasing impact in this area. Research and practice have demonstrated that I-O psychologists are uniquely qualified to help service members, military spouses, Reservists and Guardsmen, and their families with their employment, work/life balance and other workplace issues through leveraging ‘Science for a Smarter Workplace.’  We look forward to making additional announcements in the near future about collaborations with key SIOP partners, which are currently under discussion, as well as generating content that we will create to help support the brave men and women and their families who volunteer, protect, and defend our nation.”

SIOP is the premier membership organization for those practicing and teaching I-O psychology. I-O psychology is a dynamic and growing field that encompasses workplace issues at the individual and organizational level. I-O psychologists apply research that improves the well-being and performance of people and the organizations that employ them. While an independent organization with its own governance, SIOP also represents Division 14 of the American Psychological Association and is an organizational affiliate of the Association for Psychological Science.