Developments in the psychology of work and organizations

Work is ancient, far more ancient than the Psychology of Work and Organizations. The latter, caught between workplace reality and the rise of scientific psychology, is no more than a century old. In this, we present an overview of its beginnings in the 19th century, with the emergence of the first factories, through to the time when technical measures began to be used to assess human capacities. In France, an important turning point was reached in the 1970s. This was when the human relations movement began to make its voice heard, and the humanist project was launched. Around this time, notions linked to the changing social environment began to take root. More recently, the dawn of the 21st century has been marked by neoliberalism, robots and digital technology. The latter bring with them new challenges, not only for researchers, but also for occupational psychologists and organizations.