Executives' experience of envy: A phenomenological study
Toback, S., Halling, S., Halverson, J., Loerch, D., McNabb, M., Reisberg, J. (Seattle University)
Although there is a growing literature on the place and problems of envy in the workplace, qualitative research on this topic is very limited. Prior research has documented numerous negative effects of envy in this arena such as reductions in organization-based self-esteem, social undermining, and employee disengagement. In this study we investigate the experiences of a dozen executives in for-profit and non-profit organizations through in-depth interviews. Our basic assumption is that envy is a part of ordinary human experience, and that a deeper understanding of the experience of envy in the workplace can shed light on the general structure of envy.
Methodologically we have drawn both on the dialogal phenomenological approach and Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method. Inspired by the dialogal tradition, we started by discussing our own descriptions of experiences of envy and agreeing on our approach to the topic. As we proceeded into the analysis phase, we used the Giorgi method for analyzing the transcripts of our initial and follow up interviews. This analysis was done in dyads where researchers familiar with the Giorgi method were teamed up with those new to it. The analyses were then were discussed in our group meetings, leading to a richer articulation of our findings.
Our findings indicate that envy occurs in a context of comparison that highlights an existentially based sense of lack. Envy involves the belief that the envied person is treated better and/or is luckier than the envier, and reveals a longing for a fair and just world in the midst of disorientation. Ways of living with envy include avoidance, minimizing and reconceptualizing envy as a motivating factor. Taking these findings into consideration could foster healthier work climates. We believe that our research can inform Human Resource practice, coaching and development programs within organizations, and research on envy in general.
Although there is a growing literature on the place and problems of envy in the workplace, qualitative research on this topic is very limited. Prior research has documented numerous negative effects of envy in this arena such as reductions in organization-based self-esteem, social undermining, and employee disengagement. In this study we investigate the experiences of a dozen executives in for-profit and non-profit organizations through in-depth interviews. Our basic assumption is that envy is a part of ordinary human experience, and that a deeper understanding of the experience of envy in the workplace can shed light on the general structure of envy.
Methodologically we have drawn both on the dialogal phenomenological approach and Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method. Inspired by the dialogal tradition, we started by discussing our own descriptions of experiences of envy and agreeing on our approach to the topic. As we proceeded into the analysis phase, we used the Giorgi method for analyzing the transcripts of our initial and follow up interviews. This analysis was done in dyads where researchers familiar with the Giorgi method were teamed up with those new to it. The analyses were then were discussed in our group meetings, leading to a richer articulation of our findings.
Our findings indicate that envy occurs in a context of comparison that highlights an existentially based sense of lack. Envy involves the belief that the envied person is treated better and/or is luckier than the envier, and reveals a longing for a fair and just world in the midst of disorientation. Ways of living with envy include avoidance, minimizing and reconceptualizing envy as a motivating factor. Taking these findings into consideration could foster healthier work climates. We believe that our research can inform Human Resource practice, coaching and development programs within organizations, and research on envy in general.
Phenomenology of the nocturnal being-in-the-world as depicted in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut: beyond psychological blindness
Grabherr, C., and Thiboutot, C. (Université du Québec à Montréal)
To understand the psychological blindness phenomenon, as portrayed by Bill in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, we believe that a phenomenology of his nocturnal life, inspired by the poetic language of light and darkness in Bachelard’s Flam of a Candle, is best suited. It would thus be about describing what appears in Bill’s sight from the moment he’s confronted to his wife’s inwardness that, contrary to him, have no hesitation in sharing her fantasmatic world. The ways in which we share our secrets or express hidden feelings can, as its depicted in the movie, have important consequences on a couple’s balance. Plunged in a nocturnal odyssey that is as troubling as it is disconcerting, Bill seems to be living a constant tension between life and death instincts, expressing a deep questioning about our relation to self and other, as well as the complexity of gaining access of one’s interiority when sight is filled with illusions. Self-blindness as a defense from unbearable truth is the daily lot for the psychotherapist who is experiencing a patient’s denudation. Thus, we’ll demonstrate that interpreting a movie such as Eyes Wide Shut is appropriate in order to shed light on the therapist’s work as it allows encountering the universality of the human condition through the singularity of a story. In this perspective, we’ll be focusing on how, through a phenomenological approach of a Kubrickian night, we can answer to these questions: what does it mean to be seen when the mask falls? Is it even possible to be revealed in full light to the detriment of some protective shadows? In a world flooded with “artificial lighting” (Bachelard, 1961), is it necessary to close one’s eyes in order to gain better sight, as Junichiro Tanizaki suggested in his well-known essay In Praise Of Shadows (1977)? And finally, what kind of psychological experience can bring us to become more lucid about our own existence?
Keywords: psychological blindness, nocturnal being-in-the-world, phenomenology approach of movies, psychotherapy.
References
Bachelard, G. (1961). La flamme d’une chandelle (7e éd. 1984). Paris : Presses Universitaires de France.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). L’oeil et l’esprit. Paris : Les Éditions Gallimard.
Tanizaki, J. (1933). L’éloge de l’ombre (éd.1977). Publications Orientalistes de France
To understand the psychological blindness phenomenon, as portrayed by Bill in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, we believe that a phenomenology of his nocturnal life, inspired by the poetic language of light and darkness in Bachelard’s Flam of a Candle, is best suited. It would thus be about describing what appears in Bill’s sight from the moment he’s confronted to his wife’s inwardness that, contrary to him, have no hesitation in sharing her fantasmatic world. The ways in which we share our secrets or express hidden feelings can, as its depicted in the movie, have important consequences on a couple’s balance. Plunged in a nocturnal odyssey that is as troubling as it is disconcerting, Bill seems to be living a constant tension between life and death instincts, expressing a deep questioning about our relation to self and other, as well as the complexity of gaining access of one’s interiority when sight is filled with illusions. Self-blindness as a defense from unbearable truth is the daily lot for the psychotherapist who is experiencing a patient’s denudation. Thus, we’ll demonstrate that interpreting a movie such as Eyes Wide Shut is appropriate in order to shed light on the therapist’s work as it allows encountering the universality of the human condition through the singularity of a story. In this perspective, we’ll be focusing on how, through a phenomenological approach of a Kubrickian night, we can answer to these questions: what does it mean to be seen when the mask falls? Is it even possible to be revealed in full light to the detriment of some protective shadows? In a world flooded with “artificial lighting” (Bachelard, 1961), is it necessary to close one’s eyes in order to gain better sight, as Junichiro Tanizaki suggested in his well-known essay In Praise Of Shadows (1977)? And finally, what kind of psychological experience can bring us to become more lucid about our own existence?
Keywords: psychological blindness, nocturnal being-in-the-world, phenomenology approach of movies, psychotherapy.
References
Bachelard, G. (1961). La flamme d’une chandelle (7e éd. 1984). Paris : Presses Universitaires de France.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). L’oeil et l’esprit. Paris : Les Éditions Gallimard.
Tanizaki, J. (1933). L’éloge de l’ombre (éd.1977). Publications Orientalistes de France