Dr. Steven F. Cronshaw

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Why We Need a Viable Theory of Workplace Adaptation

Adaptation is the explanatory mechanism for evolution of plants and animals described by Charles Darwin’s landmark book The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.  Those characteristics that adaptive for individual organisms are passed on genetically to offspring and, if they produce added survival value in the natural environment, become established in the gene pool of the species.  Adaptation is also the necessary precursor to effective functioning of human beings in their workplaces.  Without successful adaptation of people to their work environments, the establishment and progress of industrial and post-industrial societies would be impossible and humanity would live permanently in pre-industrial societies.

We have far less knowledge about mechanisms by which peoples adapt to their workplaces than we have about how plants and animals adapt to their natural world.  The hegemony that Darwinism has over modern thought about adaptation probably has much to do with this unfortunate state of affairs.  The tendency is to over generalize Darwinist thought to human adaptation in humanity’s culturally constructed environments, including the world of work, has blocked advancement in this understanding of the mechanisms underlying workplace adaptation.

This website is your entry point to new thinking and research about workplace adaptation, its origins, causes and effects on individuals as well as Westernized societies as a whole.  The theory is based on a thought system, i.e., a paradigm, that is nuanced and complex enough in its assumptions to serve as a basis for the study and understanding of the vastly complicated phenomenon of workplace adaptation.  The fundamentals of this paradigm, called functional-perspectivism, are reviewed via materials from conferences and other presentations as well as published and unpublished work.  If you are interested in better understanding the theory of workplace adaptation itself, then click on the links to published papers and unpublished papers on this topic.  If you want to know how workplace adaptability is measured, resources are available on this question.  If you wish to follow up on the ideas presented in this website with Dr. Steven F. Cronshaw, please send an email with your questions or comments.                                

Phone: 960-6785

Mailing Address:

Prince George Campus
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC    V2N 4Z9
CANADA

Office Location:

• Prince George Campus
  University of Northern British Columbia
  TAL 10-4536