How can organisations best face the challenges of economic pressures, changing ways and preferences of working, and increasing multiculturalism? You might think the answer lies in a better understanding of strategy, marketing, or accounting. However, for occupational psychologists, the answer is simple: understand and invest in people.

People are at the heart of all organisations. After all, what is an organisation? It’s a collective of people working, often interdependently, on shared objectives towards a common end.

Occupational psychologists (also called work, business, or organisational psychologists) focus on understanding people; and how they think, feel, and behave. Occupational psychologists are distinctive as a discipline in that we take a scientific approach to this understanding. This means that they apply theories, use scientific methods to collect and analyse data, and ultimately engage in evidence-based practice, working with and learning from organisations and the people within to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

While occupational psychology has been relevant since people began engaging in work, its importance as a discipline is only growing. Managers and practitioners are increasingly realising how much influence people’s wellbeing has on their productivity. They are keen to understand and capitalise on the potential benefits of diversity and to address the challenges it brings. And their interest in hybrid working and how people interact with and communicate via different forms of technologies is at an all-time high. These are all things that occupational psychologists can help with!

A master’s degree in occupational psychology is a varied course that combines learning practical skills (how to interact with organisations, how to present, how to work in a team), with learning about the key topics that practitioners need to know about: how to select the best people, how to train people effectively, how to enhance employee wellbeing, and so on. Lectures typically draw on theories and the latest research evidence but always involve a practical component, such as case studies, discussions, consultancy role plays, and so on.

A core point of differentiation between a master’s in occupational psychology and some associated topics, such as human resource management, is the focus on scientific rigour. To this end, occupational psychology degrees invest in teaching their students the most robust, sophisticated, and cutting-edge methods of data collection and analysis. This is a big attraction for employers.

Students who are interested in this type of course should have a background in psychology or a related discipline. Those who have already studied psychology have a ‘leg up’ in the sense that they will already understand the psychological approach to research methods and data analysis. But these are skills that can be taught, so courses are usually also open to those with other backgrounds, such as people who have studied management or communications. Those in charge of admissions for such courses will typically be keen to know that prospective students from non-psychology backgrounds have some experience in statistical analysis or research design (which might be evidenced, for example, by having done a research dissertation or having taken courses in quantitative methods). This is to make sure that students will progress without issue through all elements of the course.

Students who do a master’s course in occupational psychology are very attractive to employers, who know that a master’s degree in this topic guarantees a gold standard in terms of knowledge and skills around people management.

Many students become consultants, sometimes in specialist psychology consultancies, and often in more general business consultancies. These students usually work for someone else’s consultancy company when they graduate but typically set up their own businesses in the future, often employing others, such as newly graduated occupational psychologists.

As organisations continue to develop and change and people work in different ways and often for longer, they will increasingly need people with the knowledge and skills to understand these challenges and guide managers to enable them to thrive in uncertain conditions. Those people are occupational psychologists.

 The writer is a professor of organisational psychology and head of the work psychology group Sheffield University Management School, The University of Sheffield, UK