Foundations and Future of Well-Being

This chapter begins by exploring subjective well-being and its origins dating back to ancient thinkers such as Aristotle. It discusses two main forms of subjective well-being; eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. The chapter then delves into the roles of personality, emotional intelligence, positive emotions, economics and religion in influencing subjective well-being. Measures of well-being are discussed as well as the notion of the Hedonic Treadmill and how it operates with the Set-point Theory of happiness. In addition, this chapter also presents the latest research from neuroscience and discusses how neuroscience potentially challenges personality and set-point theories. A few practical steps for subjective well-being are also discussed. Overall, this chapter covers the historical and contemporary theories of subjective well-being and explores a new positive direction on the association of personality, health and subjective well-being.

Sexual Identities in the Workplace

The global progression of human rights advocating for marginalized communities, especially LGBTQ, has seen tremendous change over the past several decades, including the conditions for disclosure of sexual identity in the workplace. The decision-making process of disclosure and the necessity for others to know is key to understanding how best to support and address the potential organizational trauma that may result. Not all disclosure of minority identity is negative and the availability of positive policy development within organizations can assist in smooth transitions toward more equal inclusion and dispel previous heteronormative and heterosexist ideologies. Through increased knowledge about the LGBTQ community and case analysis, a cross cultural lens will be utilized from Brazil, Turkey and the U.S.; prominent sexual identity disclosure perspectives for numerous occupations, as well as recommendations for systemic awareness and change will be offered.

Organizations and Exposure to Trauma at a Collective Level

Organizational trauma is a contemporary construct that highlights long-lasting negative psychological consequences of various internal and external events that overwhelm the capacity of people in organizational settings. This chapter proposes that a typology of “potentially traumatic events” (PTEs) and the taxonomy of these events' attributes can be developed by conducting a comprehensive literature review. The search of databases for the period of 1995-2016 revealed 81 articles on which inductive qualitative content analysis was conducted. Analysis brought three PTEs: “events resulting from organizational processes”; “adverse experiences in trauma-prone occupations/sectors”, and “catastrophic events caused by economic/social/environmental conditions”. These events' attributes appeared distinctive under three themes: “features of traumatic events”;“human behaviours”;“internal and external organizational environment”. As the final step, the proposed taxonomy was applied to real traumatic business cases happened in 2015 and early 2016 so that the taxonomic model was tested.

The Potential of Spirituality for the Treatment of Organizational Trauma

The spiritual approach in dealing with organizational trauma is still relatively uncommon in business management literature. This chapter attempts to show the complexity of the problem through getting over the traditional framework of managerial psychology as defined by modern Western thought. Inspired by the holistic concept of man, the author transcends the usual managerial horizon and introduces a new perspective, which touches on the problem of the meaning of work within the context of the purpose of human life. The description of traumatic experiences in an organization is connected with feelings of guilt, the crisis of the concept of justice, the problem of forgiveness, and finding the inner energy to overcome the trauma and huge disappointment. Organizational trauma may develop into a personal and organizational crisis. This chapter tackles the potential of spirituality (human faith and hope) that gives a new meaning to life and work. Spirituality is connected with some religious systems. It can be instrumental in finding an appropriate treatment.

Understanding the Core of Psychological Trauma

This chapter examines the usefulness of the conceptualization of trauma in contemporary French theory for a better understanding of the core of organizational trauma. Starting with a short historical background, it investigates the contribution from contemporary French authors to current knowledge on psychotraumatology. The current position of the most influential contemporary French authors is that stress and trauma do not necessarily fit into the same concept. The French clinical description of psychological trauma is based on the concept of frozen fright in the face of death (effroi de la mort) and the repetition syndrome (syndrome de répétition). This may have implications for the analysis of what constitutes an organizational trauma since these clinically relevant but largely unknown theories shed another light on the currently used concepts in mainstream literature. The aim of this chapter is also to bridge conceptual gaps, understanding critical differences in clinical practice and offering a more integrative view of psychological trauma.

An Organizational Trauma Intervention

The aim of this chapter is to describe a trauma experienced among blue collar employees at the XYZ car factory in Turkey. Demonstrations led to a halt of production after the representative union signed higher salary at another factory. After the consensus among the parties the production was restarted. However, the trauma and its symptoms emerged. Conflicts and polarization rose among the workers and the employer decided to conduct an intervention program. This study focuses on the pre-intervention, pilot intervention and main intervention programs. Descriptive quotations related to the trauma and the implications of the intervention program are discussed in the light of a theoretical framework. In the present paper, a brief background of the automotive industry and labor unions will be presented. The theoretical perspective is put forward, the implemented program is described, and the descriptive findings are presented then the findings and implications are discussed.

Impact of Organizational Trauma on Workplace Behavior and Performance

Research suggests, according to Branch, Ramsay, and Barker (2013), that a significant number of people are exposed to persistent abusive treatment within the workplace, with the majority of studies within Europe indicating that between 10% and 15% of the workforce are exposed to workplace bullying (Zapf, Escartin, Einarsen, Hoel, & Vartia, 2011), with North American research reporting similar prevalence rates. This is a significant, ongoing dilemma for researchers and practitioners, for which an agreed resolution would be useful because of legal and policy implications. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is on the impact of organizational trauma on workplace behavior and performance based on workplace bullying. The chapter is based on a case study regarding a program that is funded by the Department of Education within a community college in the State of California. The community college is one of four community colleges under the same community college district.

The Role of Leaders in Facilitating Healing After Organizational Trauma

Effective 21st century organizations build cultures that adapt to an unpredictable and changing environment. However, organizational change can be traumatic. This chapter endeavors to make a contribution to knowledge about organizational trauma and leader behaviors - specifically what leaders can do when there are signs of trauma in the organization due to organizational change. Trauma is a psychosocial response to a perceived or actual event beyond one's control that results in personal feelings of overwhelming helplessness. Moreover, this chapter will examine how leader behaviors influence employee engagement and professional identity. The chapter provides background information about employee engagement in general and its positioning inside a broader framework called work-related well-being. The authors also link professional identity to the trauma of organizational change.

Embracing Organizational Trauma

Organizational trauma is traditionally associated with negative effects on organizational behavior and performance. In this chapter the authors seek to answer the question how organizational trauma, and in particular near-death experiences, can positively influence organizational culture in the long term. In doing so, the authors briefly review the recent literature on organizational trauma and near death experiences, and discuss how these negative traumatic experiences can turn into prosocial organizational behaviour. The authors then present three case studies to illustrate how an organization can manage to incorporate near death experiences into its organizational culture in a positive way.

Definitions, Typologies, and Processes Involved in Organizational Trauma

The phenomenon of organizational trauma (OT) is mentioned by an increasing number of researchers. However, there is a large heterogeneity of definitions and practices related to this notion. In view of developing a more consensual understanding of OT, this paper reviews the existing literature with regard to the subject focusing on three key elements: its definition, typology and the processes involved. For each element, the existing models are reviewed and an integrated conceptualization is introduced, providing a basis for further empirical research and enabling comparisons between existing studies. As such, the paper contributes to the consensus that is necessary to advance the research with regard to this subject.