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Wanted: Psychologist to ease pressure of working at SEC

By Otis Bilodeau
Bloomberg News

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WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a new job opening designed to help prevent employee burnout: an "organizational psychologist."

The post, which pays between $101,000 and $147,978 annually, aims to "improve employee attitudes and satisfaction related to employee retention, job satisfaction, burnout, conflict and stress," according to a listing on the SEC's Web site.

"The position was created to help the agency attract and retain employees of the highest caliber," said SEC spokesman John Nester.

The top U.S. securities regulator has faced an onslaught of corporate scandals since the collapse of Enron in 2001. Chairman William Donaldson replaced Harvey Pitt in February 2003, and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer criticized the SEC for failing to detect misconduct in the $7.6 trillion mutual-fund industry.

Congress has more than doubled the SEC's budget since 2002, allowing the agency to raise salaries and hire about 740 new employees. Yet lawmakers say its pace of hiring is too slow, and the SEC returned $120 million from its 2003 budget because of delays in recruiting.

That all adds up to a dream job for the "organizational psychologist," sought by the SEC, said Alicia Grandey, a Penn State University assistant professor who researches workplace stress.

"If you picked up a textbook on organizational psychology, that's what would be in the text," she said, referring to the SEC's job description.

The SEC isn't the only government agency to turn to the specialized field, Grandey said. About six years ago, she considered applying for a job as the FBI's organizational psychologist.

"We did have somebody in that position at one time, maybe a few years ago," said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. "I'm not sure if he's still around."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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