Description:
Bergman and Jean's (2016) focal article decries the limited research attention of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists on “workers”—that is, employees such as wage earners, frontline workers, and contractors, who do not fill professional, managerial, or executive positions. We agree. In addition to the scientific and moral benefits of studying workers, there is a practical imperative. An academic discipline that comes across as being disinterested in workers may leave itself open to charges of being the “handmaiden” of management (Hulin, 2002, p. 12). Moreover, such an academic discipline may be ill prepared to provide evidence-based contributions to important societal debates on topics such as income inequality and immigration.