History of EAWOP

EAWOP as an organization

EAWOP was founded in 1991, and is based on the philosophy of multiformity. It takes the political, cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe as a point of departure and acknowledges the existence of various intellectual communities that differ in the way they view and approach the problems of W&O psychology. Recognizing the fundamental equality of these intellectual communities, EAWOP tries to open boundaries and establish effective and durable links of co-operation.

The Early Years

EAWOP as an organization emerged from the European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, which was first held in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1983. Right from its launch, the congress was a great success. Many W&O psychologists realized that they dealt with very similar issues in research and practice, and that they could profit from knowledge sharing and collaboration.  Feeling only became stronger as the European Community expanded and the Iron Curtain came down. As the European congress of W&O Psychology was organized by the Sections / Divisions of W&O Psychology of national psychologists’ associations, and their collaboration was overall very productive, the idea was born to build a European association based on the notion of resource sharing (“network of networks”). After a series of round table meetings, EAWOP was established in 1991 at the 5th European Congress for Work & Organizational Psychology in Rouen, France. Robert Roe, who had been the president of the first congress and chair of the round tables, was elected as first President. Karel de Witte was the first Secretary-General and Treasurer.

Througout the 1990s, EAWOP welcomed new members and Constituents from all parts of Europe, particularly from the formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe. 

Although the congress always attracted participants from all over the world, international relations received a strong boost from the collaboration between EAWOP and the Society for Industrial / Organizational Psychology (SIOP, US) which began in 1996. While organizing the European Congress remained an important activity, EAWOP also developed a range of other activities. The national associations involved in EAWOP invited members from other countries to their national conferences. EAWOP also organized special symposia, workshops, and regional meetings on particular themes of European significance. In 1995 EAWOP adopted the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology – formerly published under the title ‘The European Work & Organizational Psychologist’ and co-sponsored by IAAP – as its official journal. 

In 1997, EAWOP saw a change in Statutes and became an association with individual as well as organizational members, called ‘Constituents’. Since that moment EAWOP has gained a General Assembly and a Constituent Council which are both involved in setting EAWOP’s policies.

EAWOP at the Millennium

In 2003, EAWOP signed an agreement of cooperation with the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA). EAWOP and EFPA established a joint Task Force to define the minimum European qualifications for test users in the field of W&O psychology, which were accepted as a basis for further development in the General Assemblies of EAWOP and EFPA in 2005.  

An EAWOP Task Force for the professional qualifications of W&O psychologists worked with the European Network of Organizational Psychologists (ENOP) to update ENOP’s framework and minimum standards for the education of Work and Organisational psychologists (2005). The standards were incorporated into a proposal for a specialist certificate in W&O psychology, as an add-on to EuroPsy, EFPA’s general standard for the qualifications of psychologists in Europe (2007-2009).  

In 2009, EAWOP President Franco Fraccaroli signed an agreement with SIOP’s past president Gary Latham, and International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) Division 1 President José M. Peiró, establishing the Alliance for Organizational Psychology. The Alliance is today a global federation comprising national and regional associations of industrial, work, and organizational psychologists.

EAWOP today

EAWOP continues to grow in terms of number of individual members and constituent members. The European Congress grew from 250 participants in 1983 to 1600 in 2009 and almost 2100 in 2025. The association now spans all European countries and the Congress is attended by participants from every corner of the world.  In line with this, EAWOP continues to increase its scope of activities and services for members.

A noteworthy development was the introduction of the EAWOP Impact Incubator in 2021, designed to engage, inform, and influence policymakers and policymaking across Europe through providing the evidence and insights that are generated from Work and Organizational Psychology research and practice.