Organizational anxiety: applying psychological concepts into organizational theory

Journal of Managerial Psychology - Tập 22 Số 1 - Trang 84-99 - 2007
YehudaBaruch1, RodLambert2
1Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
2School of Allied Health Professions, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Tóm tắt

PurposeThis paper seeks to present a dual‐level framework for developing change management theory, based on the concept of anxiety as an organizational phenomenon and its potential for prevention, recognition and treatment. When encountering crisis, confusion, and difficulties, both individuals and organizations can suffer from anxiety‐related problems. The paper aims to argue that organizational anxiety can be diagnosed and treated in a similar way to those of individuals.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper and examines how individual anxiety can inform analysis of organizational performance in times of change. A model of organizational anxiety is presented. Three case studies are used to examine the validity of the model. The potential for preventive and treatment strategies for organizational anxiety is examined.Research limitations/implicationsThe concepts presented should be examined initially through single case study designs, but developed into the equivalent of a randomized controlled trial across a number of organizations.Practical implicationsRecognition of organizational anxiety is only advantageous if methods of prevention or treatment are possible and available. Preventive strategies include training in threat appraisal and response for senior management teams. Treatment strategies include short‐term consultancies for evaluation of threats and responses; organizational development for organizations where inappropriate responses to threats and opportunities can be recognized, and rethinking/reframing of organizations where an organizational history may be inhibiting progress or development.Originality/valueThis paper presents a new way for organizations to examine their performance in times of change, and adds significantly to the literature on organizational change management.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Bennett, P., Williams, Y., Page, N., Hood, K., Woollard, M. and Vetter, N. (2005), “Associations between organizational and incident factors and emotional distress in emergency ambulance personnel”, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 215‐26.

Benson, G.S., Finegold, D. and Mohrman, S.A. (2004), “You paid for the skills, now keep them: tuition‐reimbursement and voluntary turnover”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 47 No. 3, pp. 315‐31.

Cooper, C.L., Dewe, P.J. and O'Driscoll, M.P. (2002), Organizational Stress: A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Cornelissen, J.P. (2004), “What are we playing at? Theatre, organization and the use of metaphor”, Organization Studies, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 705‐26.

Cumming, S.R. and Harris, L.M. (2001), “The impact of anxiety on the accuracy of diagnostic decision‐making”, Stress and Health, Vol. 17, pp. 281‐6.

Dadds, M.R., Spence, S.H., Holland, D.E., Barrett, P.M. and Laurens, K.R. (1997), “Prevention and early intervention for anxiety disorders: a controlled trial”, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 65 No. 4, pp. 627‐35.

de Board, R. (1978), The Psychoanalysis of Organizations, Tavistock, London.

Freud, S. (1936), The Problem of Anxiety, Norton & Co., New York, NY.

Gabriel, Y. (1992), “Putting the organization on the analyst's couch”, European Management Journal, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 348‐51.

Goldberg, C. (2001), “Cognitive processes in panic disorder: an extension of current models”, Psychological Reports, Vol. 88 No. 1, pp. 139‐59.

Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Buckley, M.R. (2004), “Burnout in organizational life”, Journal of Management, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 859‐79.

Hallam, R. (1992), Counselling for Anxiety Problems, Sage, London.

Hinshelwood, R.D. and Chiesa, M. (2002), “Introduction”, in Hinshelwood, R.D. and Chiesa, M. (Eds), Organisations, Anxieties and Defences: Towards a Psychoanalytic Social Psychology, Whurr, London.

Hirschhorn, L. (1988), The Workplace within: Psychoanalytics of Organizational Life, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Jick, T.D. and Peiperl, M.A. (2003), Managing Change, 2nd ed., Irvin, Boston, MA.

Kelly, J. (1997), “Company doctors called to heal 2,000 businesses a year”, Financial Times, No. 33, 306. 2‐6‐0097.

Kennerley, H. (1995), Managing Anxiety: A Training Manual, Oxford Medical Publications, Oxford.

Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (1995), Organizational Paradoxes: Clinical Approaches to Management, Routledge, London.

Kets De Vries, M.F.R. and Balazs, K. (2005), “Organizations as optical illusions: a clinical perspective on organizational consultation”, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 1‐17.

Korsgaard, M.A., Brodt, E.S. and Whitener, M.E. (2002), “Trust in the face of conflict: the role of managerial trustworthy behavior and organizational context”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87 No. 2, pp. 312‐19.

Kramer, R.M. and Tyler, T.R. (1996), Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Lazarus, R.S. (2000), “Toward better research on stress and coping”, American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 665‐73.

Lazarus, R.S. and Folkman, S. (1984), Stress, Appraisal and Coping, Springer, New York, NY.

Le Fevre, M., Matheny, J. and Kolt, G.S. (2003), “Eustress, distress, and interpretation in occupational stress”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 18 Nos 7/8, pp. 726‐44.

Lewicki, R.J., McAllister, D.J. and Bies, R.J. (1998), “Trust and distrust: new relationship and realities”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 438‐58.

Lewis, J.D. and Weigert, A. (1985), “Trust as a social reality”, Social Forces, Vol. 63 No. 4, pp. 967‐85.

Lovallo, W.R. (1997), Stress and Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions, Sage Publications, London.

Luhmann, N. (1979), Trust and Power, Wiley, Chichester.

Martin, R. (1995), “The effects of prior moves on job relocation stress”, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 68, pp. 49‐56.

Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H. and Schoorman, D.F. (1995), “An integrative model of organizational trust”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 709‐34.

Morgan, G. (1997), Images of Organizations, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Mossholder, K.W., Settoon, R.P., Armanakis, A.A. and Harris, S.G. (2000), “Emotion during organizational transformations: an interactive model of survivor reactions”, Group and Organization Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 220‐43.

Ohman, A. (2000), “Anxiety”, in Fink, G. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Stress, Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

O'Neill, H.M. and Lenn, D.J. (1995), “Voices of survivors: words that downsizing CEOs should hear”, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 23‐34.

Ost, L.G. and Westling, B.E. (1995), “Applied relaxation vs cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of panic disorder”, Behavior Research and Therapy, Vol. 33, pp. 145‐58.

Quick, J.C. and Quick, J.D. (2004), “Healthy, happy, productive work: a leadership challenge”, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 329‐37.

Quick, J.C., Gavin, J.H. and Schein, E. (2000), “The next frontier: Edgar Schein on organizational therapy”, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 31‐44.

Quick, J.C., Quick, J.D., Nelson, D.L. and Hurrell, J.J. Jr (1997), Preventive Stress Management in Organizations, APA, Washington, DC.

Rapee, R.M. (2002), “The development and modification of temperamental risk for anxiety disorders: prevention of a lifetime of anxiety?”, Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 52 No. 10, pp. 947‐57.

Ridsdale, L., Godfrey, E., Chalder, T., Seed, P., King, M., Wallace, P. and Wessely, S. (2001), “Chronic fatigue in general practice: is counselling as good as cognitive behavior therapy? A UK randomised trial”, British Journal General Practice, Vol. 51 No. 462, pp. 19‐24.

Schabracq, M.J. and Cooper, C.L. (2000), “The changing nature of work and stress”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 227‐41.

Shear, M.K. and Weiner, K. (1997), “Psychotherapy for panic disorder”, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 58, Suppl. 2, pp. 38‐43.

Sheehan, D.V. and Harnett‐Sheehan, K. (1996), “The role of SSRIs in panic disorder”, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 57, Suppl. 10, pp. 51‐8.

Staw, B.M., Sutton, R.I. and Pelled, L.H. (1994), “Employee positive emotion and favorable outcomes at the workplace”, Organization Science, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 51‐71.

Tzafrir, S., Harel, G., Baruch, Y. and Dolan, S. (2004), “Antecedents and outcomes of organizational trust: an emergent model and empirical examination”, Personnel Review, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 628‐47.

Vakola, M., Tsaousis, I. and Nikolaou, I. (2004), “The role of emotional intelligence and personality variables on attitudes towards organizational change”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 88‐110.

Van de Loo, E. and Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (2000), “The clinical paradigm: Manfred Kets de Vries' reflections on organizational therapy”, European Management Journal, Vol. 18, pp. 2‐22.

Voyer, J.J., Gould, J.M. and Ford, D.N. (1997), “Systemic creation of organizational anxiety”, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 471‐89.

Whitener, M.E., Brodt, E.S., Korsgaard, A.M. and Werner, M.J. (1998), “Managers as initiators of trust: an exchange relationship framework for understanding managerial trustworthy behavior”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 513‐30.

Wilkinson, J.A. (1996), “Psychology. 6: what's your problem? A consideration of problem solving”, British Journal of Nursing, Vol. 5 No. 19, pp. 1172‐6.

Zung, W.W. and King, R.E. (1983), “Identification and treatment of masked depression in a general medical practice”, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 44 No. 10, pp. 365‐8.

Zung, W.W., Magill, M., Moore, J.T. and George, D.T. (1983), “Recognition and treatment of depression in a family medicine practice”, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 44, pp. 3‐6.

Astrachan, J.H. (1995), “Organizational departures: the impact of separation anxiety as studied in a mergers and acquisitions simulation”, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 31‐50.

Frydenberg, E. and Lewis, R. (2002), “Do managers cope productively?”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 17 No. 8, pp. 640‐54.

Giddens, A. (1990), The Consequences of Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge.

Gladsjo, J.A., Rapaport, M.H., McKinney, R., Auerbach, M., Hahn, T., Rabin, A., Oliver, T., Goddard, A.W. and Charney, D.S. (1998), “SSRIs in the treatment of panic disorder”, Depression and Anxiety, Vol. 8, Suppl. 1, pp. 114‐20.

Klein, K.J., Tosi, H. and Cannella, A.A. Jr (1999), “Multi‐level theory building: benefits, barriers, and new developments”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 243‐8.

Kubler‐Ross, E. (1969), On Death and Dying, Macmillan, Toronto.

McCabe, D. (2004), “‘A land of milk and honey’? Reengineering the ‘past’ and ‘present’ in a call centre”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 827‐56.

Mattila, A.S. and Wirtz, J. (2001), “Congruency of scent and music as a driver of in‐store evaluations and behavior”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77 No. 2, pp. 273‐90.

Menzies Lyth, I. (1988), “Staff support systems: task and anti‐task in adolescent institutions”, Selected Essays Vol. 1: Containing Anxiety in Institutions, Free Association Books, London, pp. 222‐37.

Miller, J.A. (2003), “Organizational anxiety”, Training and Development, Vol. 57 No. 9, pp. 88‐90.

Overell, S. (1998), “Stress arousal ‘good for employees and business’”, People Management, Vol. 4, pp. 17‐20.

Prochaska, J.O., DiClemente, C.C. and Norcross, J.C. (1992), “In search of how people change: applications to addictive behaviors”, American Psychologist, Vol. 47, pp. 1102‐14.

Rickards, T. and Moger, S. (2000), “Creative leadership processes in project team development: an alternative to Tuckman's Stage Model”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 273‐83.

Saks, A.M. (1994), “Moderating effects of self‐efficacy for the relationship between training method and anxiety and stress reactions of newcomers”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 15, pp. 639‐54.

Shadur, K.M.A. (1999), “The relationship between organizational climate and employee perceptions of involvement”, Group and Organization Management, Vol. 24, December, pp. 479‐504.

Stein, M. (2000), “The risk taker as shadow: a psychoanalytic view of the collapse of Barings Bank”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 37 No. 8, pp. 1215‐30.

Wanous, J.P., Reichers, A.E. and Austin, J.T. (2000), “Cynicism about organizational change”, Group and Organization Management, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 132‐53.

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Journal of Managerial Psychology

Tập 22 Số 1

84-99

Thông tin tác giả