I/O Psychology in the Movie Office Space
I/O PSYCHOLOGY IN THE MOVIE OFFICE SPACE Introduction
Most movies are a reflection of society and the type of interpersonal interactions that shape human lives, although they are typically revamped to fit a certain genre. In the movie Office Space, the satirical twist is on the human experience of the work environment. It is a comical depiction of how coworkers interact with each other and how they endure stressful job-related situations that we can all relate to. There are psychological concepts represented in this movie from various fields of psychology. This paper, however, will focus on evaluating and analyzing the following four constructs related to I/O psychology: McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, stress, groupthink, and counterproductive work behaviors. Office space illustrates the everyday lives of office workers who are confined to cubicles, passionless about their jobs, and oppressed by office managers.
The three main characters are software engineers who work for a company called Initech. The main character, Peter Gibbons, is fed up with his mundane job, the harassment from his eight different managers, and the lack of motivation and satisfaction he receives. To help him relax and be at peace with his work life, his friend takes him to a hypnotherapist. He is put into a state of carefree relaxation and his inhibitions are removed.
Before Peter could be brought back to normal, the hypnotherapist suffered a heart attack, leaving peter worry free and intent to live his life doing absolutely nothing. This new lack of inhibition leads him to commit various acts of counterproductive work behavior until finally devising a plan to embezzle money from the company, which he completes with the help of his soon-to-be-fired coworkers, Samir and Michael. Chotchskie’s was an example of a restaurant work setting that was presented through the view of Joanna, a waitress who eventually changes jobs because of her dissatisfaction with the practices of the company and the
Most movies are a reflection of society and the type of interpersonal interactions that shape human lives, although they are typically revamped to fit a certain genre. In the movie Office Space, the satirical twist is on the human experience of the work environment. It is a comical depiction of how coworkers interact with each other and how they endure stressful job-related situations that we can all relate to. There are psychological concepts represented in this movie from various fields of psychology. This paper, however, will focus on evaluating and analyzing the following four constructs related to I/O psychology: McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, stress, groupthink, and counterproductive work behaviors. Office space illustrates the everyday lives of office workers who are confined to cubicles, passionless about their jobs, and oppressed by office managers.
The three main characters are software engineers who work for a company called Initech. The main character, Peter Gibbons, is fed up with his mundane job, the harassment from his eight different managers, and the lack of motivation and satisfaction he receives. To help him relax and be at peace with his work life, his friend takes him to a hypnotherapist. He is put into a state of carefree relaxation and his inhibitions are removed.
Before Peter could be brought back to normal, the hypnotherapist suffered a heart attack, leaving peter worry free and intent to live his life doing absolutely nothing. This new lack of inhibition leads him to commit various acts of counterproductive work behavior until finally devising a plan to embezzle money from the company, which he completes with the help of his soon-to-be-fired coworkers, Samir and Michael. Chotchskie’s was an example of a restaurant work setting that was presented through the view of Joanna, a waitress who eventually changes jobs because of her dissatisfaction with the practices of the company and the
References: Landy, F.J., & Conte, J.M. (2009). Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial organizational psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.