Like other applied sciences, industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology has consistently been at the forefront of studying real-world issues and bringing them into the classroom. Though Kath etal. (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) identified four important areas of teaching focus in their article, perhaps no other I-O topic is more pressing right now than that of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and will continue to affect the mental well-being of students, and it is critical that we begin to address this subject more directly in our teaching. In this commentary, I briefly discuss how stress is generally covered in I-O courses; provide evidence for why mental health should be more strongly emphasized in our curricula; and in the spirit of the focal article, recommend small, medium, and large changes to incorporate mental health into our undergraduate classrooms.
Stress within I-O psychology and among young adults
To be clear, stress has long been a key topic within the field of I-O psychology. Most I-O textbooks dedicate at least two full chapters to occupational stress and emotions, explaining how job demands and resources can affect employee performance and levels of satisfaction. Additionally, students learn about how leadership styles and organizational culture can influence employees’ sense of belonging and commitment in the workplace, leading to potential problems with absenteeism, turnover, and counterproductive work behaviors. Yet, coverage of these topics tends to be communicated from the viewpoint of future employers or I-O consultants who are primarily concerned with their organization’s bottom line: How do you create a safe and positive work environment in order to keep your workers happy, motivated, and, most importantly, productive? Though this approach has great value to future generations of leaders who want to better understand how psychology influences work behavior, I-O educators should be sure to cover stress using a more immediate and relatable perspective. Specifically, undergraduates would greatly benefit from considering how stress affects their full-time occupational role as students, and I-O educators can help them identify factors that contribute to—and detract from—their mental wellness.
Indeed, mental health among young adults is quickly becoming a national crisis. Between 2008 and 2017, data showed rising rates of mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes among those aged 18–25 years old. Specifically, young adults saw a 63% increase in major depressive episodes; a 71% increase in serious psychological distress; and the highest generational cohort increases in suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts (Twenge etal., Reference Twenge, Cooper, Joiner, Duffy and Binau2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these alarming trends, as people are now faced with incalculable health risks and social-distancing measures that have created a sense of isolation and disrupted normal life. According to recent data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one third of all Americans are now showing clinical signs of depression, anxiety, or both (Fowers & Wan, Reference Fowers and Wan2020). Compared with other age groups, young adults (18–29) are once again reporting the highest rates of anxiety (42%) and depression (36%). These pandemic statistics highlight the importance of weaving mental health throughout the educational fabric of I-O psychology. The next sections identify small, medium, and large ways in which instructors can incorporate and promote student mental health in their undergraduate I-O courses.
Small change: syllabi statements
Developing syllabi can at times feel daunting, as I-O educators ponder what topics to cover, what material to cut, and what assignments to provide in order to best evaluate learning objectives. We are rarely completely satisfied with any of these decisions and undoubtedly make changes over the course of the semester. However, the constants in our syllabi are often the policies we set forth, including how class attendance and participation will be assessed, how grades will be calculated, and how missed exams or late submissions will be handled. One consideration that these areas have in common is that they can be greatly affected by mental health. As such, including a mental health statement directly in your syllabus can create a norm of openness between you and your students and can make them feel cared for in a meaningful way. It is important to remember that students are not emotionless machines that are optimized for learning and performance; they are human beings who are undergoing developmental changes and important social transitions. Instructors must therefore acknowledge the inevitable difficulties their students will face; encourage them to reach out or seek professional help in times of need; and remind them that doing so is a sign of courage and strength, not weakness. Since incorporating such a statement into my syllabus, students have continually expressed their appreciation for it and taken advantage of the provided resources. Faculty across the country who have also implemented these syllabus statements are helping to create a positive shift towards mental health awareness within higher education, which is a much needed and timely change (Flaherty, Reference Flaherty2017).
Statements of diversity and inclusion can have a similarly strong effect. Given their importance to the field of I-O psychology and society at large, educators must ensure that we are practicing what we preach in this area. Although we cannot all be experts in issues of diversity and inclusion, a simple statement on our syllabus can let students know that we value this mission and strive to create an equitable learning space. The statement should identify the educator’s goal of designing a course that serves the needs of all students by presenting material and activities in a manner that is respectful and inclusive of their various identities, skills, and backgrounds. Additionally, it should acknowledge that positive intent does not excuse the negative consequences of biased comments and actions that are carried out by the instructor or other students. The purpose of the statement is not to convince our students (or ourselves) that we are good people who are free of prejudice but rather to make them aware that our best intentions may not always line up with our explicit or implicit actions. By formally acknowledging this possibility in a syllabus, we signal to our students that their experiences in the classroom matter to us and that we want to be held accountable if or when we fail to live up to our egalitarian standards. Furthermore, the statement lets students know that their educators are allies and that they should come speak with us about their experiences and challenges they may be facing. Diversity and inclusion statements can therefore create senses of safety and empowerment in a manner that reduces stress, particularly among members of stigmatized groups who are often under stereotype threat in academic settings (Steele, Reference Steele1997).
Medium change: course assignments
Beyond simple—but powerful—statements, educators can also consider supplementing or replacing some of their course assignments. Industrial and organizational psychology students are commonly asked to conduct job analyses, review case studies that are related to employment discrimination, and present on effective leaders and organizations. These educational experiences are valuable in that they often generate greater interest in the field of I-O psychology; however, they do not directly focus on stress. One assignment that does focus on stress and has been shown to improve both physical and mental health is expressive writing (Pennebaker, Reference Pennebaker1997). Students often believe that they are too busy to think about how they are feeling during a busy semester, which can potentially cause them to overlook early warning signs of anxiety or depression and engage in maladaptive coping mechanisms (e.g., alcohol/drug abuse, eating disorders). Expressive writing, or journaling, provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their mental state, leading to better recognition, understanding, and expression of their emotional needs. Students can also come to appreciate the more positive aspects of their role as students (e.g., intellectual growth, peer connections) and become aware of how emotional contagion can occur when negative influences are present in their lives. Furthermore, this assignment can encourage them to reframe their stressors as opportunities, practice self-compassion when things go wrong in their lives, and demonstrate daily gratitude, all of which have been shown to increase optimism and happiness (Sanderson, Reference Sanderson2019).
Second, we can set aside specific days in our class calendar for mental health assignments. Allowing students to complete an activity that reduces their stress during normal class meeting times would be most equitable, but this assignment could also be done over a weekend to allow for more flexibility and less disruption to course material, if necessary. Moreover, it may be wise to schedule these mental health days near midterm and final exams to help students reduce the stress of these predictable triggers. Activities could come in the form of physical exercise such as going for a walk or run, competing in a socially distant sport, or taking a virtual yoga or dance class through online platforms. Alternatively, educators can offer less athletic options such as going to a museum exhibit, reading a book, completing a puzzle, watching a show, and listening to a favorite playlist. Or, educators can emphasize the importance of social connections to mental health by suggesting that students grab coffee with a friend, play a game with their roommate, write a letter to a significant other, or video chat with a loved one. The possibilities are endless, as long as students are encouraged to fully engage in activities they find enjoyable and believe can distract them from their current stress. To ensure completion and connection to the course, educators can ask students to share the activity they chose and have them point out I-O principles that they observed or experienced during their participation. In summary, providing short-term assignments that require students to pause, breathe, and reflect can help them develop better habits that will benefit their mental health in the long term.
Large change: personal learning
Certainly, I-O psychologists should not be expected to play the role of mental health experts in the classroom; colleges and universities typically have trained clinicians and counselors who can provide professional advice on such issues. However, educators should not shy away from acquiring more knowledge to effectively communicate the importance of mental well-being to their students. Depending on each instructor’s individual level of comfort and familiarity with the topic, this may feel like an intimidating and arduous journey, but we can take small steps forward by educating ourselves on connected areas of study, such as through reading popular books about perseverance. For example, Mindset (Dweck, Reference Dweck2006) addresses the power of thinking about talents and abilities as entities that can be developed and grown rather than fixed. Grit (Duckworth, Reference Duckworth2016) demonstrates how passion and commitment to one’s long-term goals can help people overcome obstacles along the challenging path to success. These evidence-based texts can therefore expose us to effective strategies that we can share with our students to help them persist in the face of difficulty and cope with their stress more effectively. They may also lead to previously unexplored areas of research which can, in turn, inspire us to formulate new empirical questions about mental health in our own work.
Finally, educators can seek to form networks with other like-minded individuals who are also invested in mental health awareness. This can be done informally through conversations with peers or more formally through conference meetings and presentations. Additionally, professional websites like that of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (SToP), and the Association for Psychological Science (APS) have rich caches of shared resources. Some institutions (e.g., Providence College, Georgetown University) also offer grant programs for psychology and nonpsychology faculty members who are committed to learning and teaching about academic resilience. Through cohort discussions, faculty are able to generate innovative ideas on how to infuse course curriculum with experiences that promote student health and well-being. This may come in the form of specific class assignments, guest speakers, campus activities, or local field trips. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach to these fellowships can create exciting opportunities for collaborations and reveal the influence of mental health across different fields of study.
Conclusion
To conclude, I-O educators play an important role in advocating for mental health awareness given their interest in stress. This commentary covered a wide range of opportunities to consider and provided potential resources that can provide a wealth of information. As applied scientists, we must commit to increasing our comfort level in this critical area so we can best guide our students through the uncertain postpandemic world that awaits them.
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Like other applied sciences, industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology has consistently been at the forefront of studying real-world issues and bringing them into the classroom. Though Kath etal. (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) identified four important areas of teaching focus in their article, perhaps no other I-O topic is more pressing right now than that of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and will continue to affect the mental well-being of students, and it is critical that we begin to address this subject more directly in our teaching. In this commentary, I briefly discuss how stress is generally covered in I-O courses; provide evidence for why mental health should be more strongly emphasized in our curricula; and in the spirit of the focal article, recommend small, medium, and large changes to incorporate mental health into our undergraduate classrooms.
Stress within I-O psychology and among young adults
To be clear, stress has long been a key topic within the field of I-O psychology. Most I-O textbooks dedicate at least two full chapters to occupational stress and emotions, explaining how job demands and resources can affect employee performance and levels of satisfaction. Additionally, students learn about how leadership styles and organizational culture can influence employees’ sense of belonging and commitment in the workplace, leading to potential problems with absenteeism, turnover, and counterproductive work behaviors. Yet, coverage of these topics tends to be communicated from the viewpoint of future employers or I-O consultants who are primarily concerned with their organization’s bottom line: How do you create a safe and positive work environment in order to keep your workers happy, motivated, and, most importantly, productive? Though this approach has great value to future generations of leaders who want to better understand how psychology influences work behavior, I-O educators should be sure to cover stress using a more immediate and relatable perspective. Specifically, undergraduates would greatly benefit from considering how stress affects their full-time occupational role as students, and I-O educators can help them identify factors that contribute to—and detract from—their mental wellness.
Indeed, mental health among young adults is quickly becoming a national crisis. Between 2008 and 2017, data showed rising rates of mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes among those aged 18–25 years old. Specifically, young adults saw a 63% increase in major depressive episodes; a 71% increase in serious psychological distress; and the highest generational cohort increases in suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts (Twenge etal., Reference Twenge, Cooper, Joiner, Duffy and Binau2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these alarming trends, as people are now faced with incalculable health risks and social-distancing measures that have created a sense of isolation and disrupted normal life. According to recent data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one third of all Americans are now showing clinical signs of depression, anxiety, or both (Fowers & Wan, Reference Fowers and Wan2020). Compared with other age groups, young adults (18–29) are once again reporting the highest rates of anxiety (42%) and depression (36%). These pandemic statistics highlight the importance of weaving mental health throughout the educational fabric of I-O psychology. The next sections identify small, medium, and large ways in which instructors can incorporate and promote student mental health in their undergraduate I-O courses.
Small change: syllabi statements
Developing syllabi can at times feel daunting, as I-O educators ponder what topics to cover, what material to cut, and what assignments to provide in order to best evaluate learning objectives. We are rarely completely satisfied with any of these decisions and undoubtedly make changes over the course of the semester. However, the constants in our syllabi are often the policies we set forth, including how class attendance and participation will be assessed, how grades will be calculated, and how missed exams or late submissions will be handled. One consideration that these areas have in common is that they can be greatly affected by mental health. As such, including a mental health statement directly in your syllabus can create a norm of openness between you and your students and can make them feel cared for in a meaningful way. It is important to remember that students are not emotionless machines that are optimized for learning and performance; they are human beings who are undergoing developmental changes and important social transitions. Instructors must therefore acknowledge the inevitable difficulties their students will face; encourage them to reach out or seek professional help in times of need; and remind them that doing so is a sign of courage and strength, not weakness. Since incorporating such a statement into my syllabus, students have continually expressed their appreciation for it and taken advantage of the provided resources. Faculty across the country who have also implemented these syllabus statements are helping to create a positive shift towards mental health awareness within higher education, which is a much needed and timely change (Flaherty, Reference Flaherty2017).
Statements of diversity and inclusion can have a similarly strong effect. Given their importance to the field of I-O psychology and society at large, educators must ensure that we are practicing what we preach in this area. Although we cannot all be experts in issues of diversity and inclusion, a simple statement on our syllabus can let students know that we value this mission and strive to create an equitable learning space. The statement should identify the educator’s goal of designing a course that serves the needs of all students by presenting material and activities in a manner that is respectful and inclusive of their various identities, skills, and backgrounds. Additionally, it should acknowledge that positive intent does not excuse the negative consequences of biased comments and actions that are carried out by the instructor or other students. The purpose of the statement is not to convince our students (or ourselves) that we are good people who are free of prejudice but rather to make them aware that our best intentions may not always line up with our explicit or implicit actions. By formally acknowledging this possibility in a syllabus, we signal to our students that their experiences in the classroom matter to us and that we want to be held accountable if or when we fail to live up to our egalitarian standards. Furthermore, the statement lets students know that their educators are allies and that they should come speak with us about their experiences and challenges they may be facing. Diversity and inclusion statements can therefore create senses of safety and empowerment in a manner that reduces stress, particularly among members of stigmatized groups who are often under stereotype threat in academic settings (Steele, Reference Steele1997).
Medium change: course assignments
Beyond simple—but powerful—statements, educators can also consider supplementing or replacing some of their course assignments. Industrial and organizational psychology students are commonly asked to conduct job analyses, review case studies that are related to employment discrimination, and present on effective leaders and organizations. These educational experiences are valuable in that they often generate greater interest in the field of I-O psychology; however, they do not directly focus on stress. One assignment that does focus on stress and has been shown to improve both physical and mental health is expressive writing (Pennebaker, Reference Pennebaker1997). Students often believe that they are too busy to think about how they are feeling during a busy semester, which can potentially cause them to overlook early warning signs of anxiety or depression and engage in maladaptive coping mechanisms (e.g., alcohol/drug abuse, eating disorders). Expressive writing, or journaling, provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their mental state, leading to better recognition, understanding, and expression of their emotional needs. Students can also come to appreciate the more positive aspects of their role as students (e.g., intellectual growth, peer connections) and become aware of how emotional contagion can occur when negative influences are present in their lives. Furthermore, this assignment can encourage them to reframe their stressors as opportunities, practice self-compassion when things go wrong in their lives, and demonstrate daily gratitude, all of which have been shown to increase optimism and happiness (Sanderson, Reference Sanderson2019).
Second, we can set aside specific days in our class calendar for mental health assignments. Allowing students to complete an activity that reduces their stress during normal class meeting times would be most equitable, but this assignment could also be done over a weekend to allow for more flexibility and less disruption to course material, if necessary. Moreover, it may be wise to schedule these mental health days near midterm and final exams to help students reduce the stress of these predictable triggers. Activities could come in the form of physical exercise such as going for a walk or run, competing in a socially distant sport, or taking a virtual yoga or dance class through online platforms. Alternatively, educators can offer less athletic options such as going to a museum exhibit, reading a book, completing a puzzle, watching a show, and listening to a favorite playlist. Or, educators can emphasize the importance of social connections to mental health by suggesting that students grab coffee with a friend, play a game with their roommate, write a letter to a significant other, or video chat with a loved one. The possibilities are endless, as long as students are encouraged to fully engage in activities they find enjoyable and believe can distract them from their current stress. To ensure completion and connection to the course, educators can ask students to share the activity they chose and have them point out I-O principles that they observed or experienced during their participation. In summary, providing short-term assignments that require students to pause, breathe, and reflect can help them develop better habits that will benefit their mental health in the long term.
Large change: personal learning
Certainly, I-O psychologists should not be expected to play the role of mental health experts in the classroom; colleges and universities typically have trained clinicians and counselors who can provide professional advice on such issues. However, educators should not shy away from acquiring more knowledge to effectively communicate the importance of mental well-being to their students. Depending on each instructor’s individual level of comfort and familiarity with the topic, this may feel like an intimidating and arduous journey, but we can take small steps forward by educating ourselves on connected areas of study, such as through reading popular books about perseverance. For example, Mindset (Dweck, Reference Dweck2006) addresses the power of thinking about talents and abilities as entities that can be developed and grown rather than fixed. Grit (Duckworth, Reference Duckworth2016) demonstrates how passion and commitment to one’s long-term goals can help people overcome obstacles along the challenging path to success. These evidence-based texts can therefore expose us to effective strategies that we can share with our students to help them persist in the face of difficulty and cope with their stress more effectively. They may also lead to previously unexplored areas of research which can, in turn, inspire us to formulate new empirical questions about mental health in our own work.
Finally, educators can seek to form networks with other like-minded individuals who are also invested in mental health awareness. This can be done informally through conversations with peers or more formally through conference meetings and presentations. Additionally, professional websites like that of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (SToP), and the Association for Psychological Science (APS) have rich caches of shared resources. Some institutions (e.g., Providence College, Georgetown University) also offer grant programs for psychology and nonpsychology faculty members who are committed to learning and teaching about academic resilience. Through cohort discussions, faculty are able to generate innovative ideas on how to infuse course curriculum with experiences that promote student health and well-being. This may come in the form of specific class assignments, guest speakers, campus activities, or local field trips. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary approach to these fellowships can create exciting opportunities for collaborations and reveal the influence of mental health across different fields of study.
Conclusion
To conclude, I-O educators play an important role in advocating for mental health awareness given their interest in stress. This commentary covered a wide range of opportunities to consider and provided potential resources that can provide a wealth of information. As applied scientists, we must commit to increasing our comfort level in this critical area so we can best guide our students through the uncertain postpandemic world that awaits them.