Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tina Kiefer
and
Werner R Müller
University of Basel
Rosshofgasse 2
4051 Basel, Switzerland
Tel. +41 61 267 32 24
Fax +41 61 267 27 58
Email: Werner-R.Mueller@unibas.ch
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ABSTRACT
Although change has become the norm rather than the exception, leading organizations
through fundamental change processes still poses a major challenge to management. Emotional
reactions are often viewed as one of the obstacles to successful change. In this paper we re-
conceptualize the emotional experience of change through an identity lens, guided by the question of
how and why organizational changes tend to be experienced emotionally. First we argue that
ongoing organizational changes are experienced emotionally, because they tap into identity-relevant
issues. Second, we view identity as constructed from experiences relating a person to his or her
world. We argue that organizational change alters such relationships that constitute our identity. And
third we assume that as a consequence of such disruptive changes, individuals engage in identity
work in order to incorporate ongoing emotional experiences into a coherent self. We present a study,
analyzing narratives about emotional episodes at work in a context of on-going change. From these
narratives we identify four positive and four negative identity-relevant issues, which are examined
with respect to their relationship to organizational changes and their effects on identity work. Finally,
we discuss how the notion of identity work contributes to the emotional experience of organizational
change.
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The aim of this paper is to investigate, theoretically and empirically, how and why
change and its difficulties has been a priority in the change literature for decades. One stream of this
literature directs our attention to the individual and social nature of humans in order to describe,
explain and overcome difficulties in change such as, for example, resistance (e.g. George & Jones,
2001; Kotter, 1995). Emotional reactions to organizational transformations are viewed as part of the
individual experience of change and thus one factor consider in attempts to understand the change
Research into organizational change has typically dealt with negative reactions to change in
terms of stress, anxiety and loss (Hogan & Overmyer-Day, 1994), with resistance due to an
individual inability or unwillingness to change or a lack of understanding the reasons for change
(Ford, Ford, & McNamara, 2002; Piderit, 2000), or with anger, frustration and guilt in connection
with survivor syndrome after downsizing (e.g. Brockner, Grover, Reed, & Dewitt, 1992).
Withdrawal, low motivation for change and a decrease in performance are seen as key negative
consequences.
Although this research has made a contribution to our understanding of the emotional
experience of organizational change, it also has a number of limitations. As Wolfram Cox (1997)
criticizes, emotional experiences of change are often characterized as problems that need to be
avoided or overcome in order to succeed with implementing change. Reacting emotionally has been
associated with negative attitudes and behaviours (e.g. Nippa, 1996). Such culturally shaped
assumptions about emotions have obscured the individual and social functions that emotions can
serve at work (Kiefer, 2002). In this paper, we view emotions not simply as negative and unwanted
by-products of organizational change, but as forming an inherent part of human experience (e.g.
Greenberg & Rhodes, 1991). We will argue that emotions have vital social and individual functions
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for organizational change processes (Callahan & McCollum, 2002), and are strongly related to the
self (Fogel, 2001). Identity theorists view this self-concept (or identity)1 as woven with threads made
from experiences relating the person to his or her world, defining who and what we are (Kraus,
1996). We assume that the experiences in fundamental and ongoing organizational changes
This paper builds on and informs three bodies of literature, namely the literature on change,
identity and emotions at work. Its contribution lies in the theoretical integration of emotion and
identity concepts to understand the emotional experience of change. This allows overcoming the
notion of emotions as an obstacle and to focus on the individual and social functions in the process of
dealing with ongoing change. The study presented here consists of emotional narratives collected
from employees in ongoing organizational change. It contributes to the field by describing the full
range of positive and negative emotional experiences and by showing how this affects identities of
employees in ongoing change. The theoretical development and the empirical evidence presented in
this paper further have practical implications and offer a fresh view on change management in the
In this section we outline our three main theoretical assumptions about how and why working
in organizational change is experienced emotionally. From these three assumptions we derive three
research questions, which will guide the analysis of the empirical study and the presentation of the
results.
1
In this paper the terms identity and self or self-concept are used interchangeably for sake of simplicity.
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Emotions Relate to Identity
We assume that work situations provoke emotions, because they are important to us. One way
of conceptualizing this is through the notion of identity. Our theoretical framework rests on the
assumption that emotions are central to the experience of the self and vice versa. Emotions are
defined as socio-cultural patterns of experience and behaviour (Gergen, 1999). These patterns are
acquired, validated and acted out in social relationships and closely entrenched in beliefs, norms and
values (Averill, 1980; Harré, 1986). Gordon (1989) views emotion as “a way of defining a situation,
or, more accurately, of defining one’s place in a situation in terms of important values” (p. 166).
group’s position with regard to a situation or event. They serve an important social function, for
example as symbolic displays to others about one’s values, standards and expectations. On the other
hand, they also provide vital clues to one’s self, signalling how a situation is personally relevant
(Gordon, 1989; Hochschild, 1983). Emotions therefore inform the individual about the significance
of the ongoing situation or event according to that person’s values and expectations (e.g. Armon-
Jones, 1986). They do so, because they are part of a social and personal meaning system. Emotions,
such as pride or anger, are not random, but follow a logic or rule, which are culturally acquired
(Fischer, 1991; Lazarus, 1999). For example in Western culture pride is constructed as a
consequence of personally mastering a difficult task in order to achieve a goal (Frese, 1990) and
anger is characterized a “demeaning offence against me and mine” and also relates to ones goals
(Lazarus, 1999, p.217). Self-focused emotions such as guilt or shame on the other hand are
constructed around moral values, ideals and standards (Fischer, 1991; Lazarus, 1999). This means
that according to these theorists all emotions relate to the self, but in very different ways. Although
they view all emotions as relating to the self in one way or another, the extent to which emotional
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experiences may affect the self varies, daily hassles with colleagues may for example not impact on
In summary we argue that emotional experiences have at their core identity-relevant issues.
As meanings conveyed by specific emotions are socially shared, they inform us about how we (and
others) interpret a situation and how we view our own position within it. Returning to our guiding
they tap into identity-relevant issues. What kinds of issues are experienced in the context of ongoing
organizational change remains to be empirically explored, and leads us to research question 1: What
organizational change?
Our second assumption is concerned with the relationship between identity and organizational
change. Identity answers the question “Who am I?” (Thoits, 1991). Identity is viewed as reflexive
and relational: reflexive as it focuses on a person’s perception of (and relation to) him or herself, and
relational as the self-concept is constructed in relation to the social world which provides for the
categories and values needed to understand oneself. The relationship to one’s context constitutes the
material from which the self is constructed over time (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Gergen & Gergen,
1988). Identity theorists too view this process as closely linked to the experience and expression of
Work is one life domain in Western culture that provides for such identity-relevant
relationships (which includes social relationships and relationships with “objects” such as “work”)
(Albert, Ashforth, & Dutton, 2000; Kahn, 1990). This means work can help people to understand
themselves and their lives as meaningful. Not only can the work setting be a field for social
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integration through interactions and social recognition, it is also a potential field for developing a
sense of agency and competence (Hui & Lee, 2000). According to Müller & Widmer (1998)
identities at work are constituted by the relationships of the individual to the organization as a
collectivity, to the work activity and to the effects of this activity as well as to the superiors and
colleagues. At the same time, these categories have proven to be affected by organizational changes
relationships at work, and – as argued in the previous section - such challenges are experienced
emotionally. Returning to our guiding question of how and why organizational change is emotional
we formulate assumption 2: Ongoing organizational change alters and dissolves the relationships,
which allow the person to define and identify him- or herself at work. Yet, working in an
empirically explored, how organizational change is considered a relevant context. This leads us to
research question 2: How are identity-relevant issues seen to relate to ongoing organizational
changes?
In this section we highlight the role of identity as a constructive process in dealing with the
Some authors argue that because many relational settings have become heterogeneous and
unstable, the self is best understood as a patchwork of multiple identities (e.g. Hall & du Gay, 1996).
The notion of identity as an accomplished inner structure - which might be reflected and questioned
in times of individual crisis - is increasingly replaced by the idea of a succession of diverse and
maybe contradicting individual experiences and roles (Hall et al., 1996; Keupp, 1988). This requires
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a lifelong everyday process of constructing and maintaining our self (Keupp et al., 1999). Keupp et
al. therefore re-conceptualize identity from a stable pattern to a continuous process which they label
“identity work”. It describes the effort an individual makes to maintain a sense of continuity and a
plausible thread in his or her life.2 Past, present and future experiences are “integrated” into a picture
How does the concept of identity work add to our understanding of how and why
organizational changes are emotional? Identity work offers one way of analyzing how individuals
experience, deal with and accommodate to changes. We argued earlier that change challenges
identities and that these challenges are experienced emotionally, the emotions informing us about
identity-relevant issues. With Keupp et al. (1999), we further argue that dealing with identity-
Based on ten years of research into identity constructions and identity developments, Keupp
et al. develop four criteria, which characterize identity work: Acknowledgement, authenticity,
Acknowledgement means to locate oneself within the social context at work by experiencing
attention, respect, appreciation and self-esteem. Keupp et al. describe three sub-dimensions:
Attention from others (feeling perceived as human being by others), recognition in the sense of
appreciation and positive affect and self-appreciation. Feeling integrated into a social network and
feeling of “being true to one self” at work, feeling authentic, whole and genuine. Authenticity is
2
Note that the terms “identity work” and “effort” used by Keupp et al. are somewhat misleading as they imply a
conscious process that requires hard work and concentration. Rather, the opposite is the case. The authors describe this
process as an everyday, nearly casual process, which generally does not involve conscious work.
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This concept has been developed in unawareness of the organizational behaviour literature, yet many facets of it remind
us of previous work in OB, especially in the field of organization-based self-esteem (Hui & Lee, 2000; McAllister &
Bigley, 2002) as well as engagement with work (Kahn, 1990).
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understood as a subjectively acceptable correspondence between situational behaviour and self-
concept, which means that the individual recognizes itself in its actions at work. Coherence relates to
a feeling of purpose in working life. It means understanding the world in which we work
(comprehensibility), and being able to manage it (manageability), and perceiving that one’s own
activities at work make sense (meaningfulness). Agency refers to the feelings of causality and
functionality in concrete situations at work. It means to understand oneself as the agent of an activity,
What role do emotions play in the identity work carried out in the context of organizational
change? Some identity theorists have suggested that negative emotions indicate threats to identity,
whereas positive emotions point to potentially identity enhancing events (Burke, 1991; Thoits,
1995). This means for Keupp’s framework, that negative emotions point to an identity work struggle,
which means negative emotional experiences should reveal a lack of acknowledgement, authenticity,
coherence, or agency. Positive emotional experiences would on the other hand characterize
However, the relationship between emotions and identity work in everyday life is likely to be
more complex than this. For example, a new job description due to restructurings may be
experienced with great anxiety, however finding a way to master this situation might enhance the
feeling of self-efficacy.
Further, as emotions signal to us and others our position in the world, the expression of
emotion can become part of identity work itself. For example, through expressing our anger about a
pay cut we enable ourselves to defend ourselves and feel authentic. Thus, identity work includes an
element of emotion work (e.g. Fineman, 2000), “using” emotional expressions is a means of doing
identity work.
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With regard to our guiding question we formulate assumption 3: Individuals are likely to
perform identity work in order to integrate identity-relevant issues into a consistent self, which
reveals itself in the emotional experience through the presence or absence of the four criteria
as, first, the experience of identity-relevant issues is inherently emotional, and secondly, as the
expression of emotion is a means of doing identity work. The extent to which identity work becomes
visible in the context of organizational change and how the four criteria are relevant in ongoing
(emotionally experienced) identity-relevant issues in the context of work reveal about identity work
Summary
The framework presented here answers some of the aspects of how and why change is
experienced emotionally. We theorize that many events happening in the context of organizational
changes are experienced emotionally, because they tap into identity-relevant issues. This is true for
negative as well as positive experiences. The context of organizational change is prone to challenge
identities as it potentially alters relationships that constitute our identity and that provide for the
categories needed to establish a concept or ourselves. Rather than viewing identity as a fixed entity
in adulthood, we draw on the notion of identity work to describe the ongoing process of constructing
a sense of continuity and coherence in life, in other words to describe how they integrate
what the contents of identity relevant issues in the work context are (RQ1), if and how they relate to
organizational changes (RQ2), and if and how working in the context of ongoing organizational
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change demands identity work (RQ3). These three research questions will guide through the
THE STUDY
The data discussed here are part of a larger survey, which aimed at describing the emotional
well-being of employees in the rapidly changing pharmaceutical industry. One section of the survey
The chemical industry in Switzerland has been undergoing radical changes in the last 10 years
moving from a very secure, stable, and employee-focused sector to a sector in which mergers and
acquisitions, out- and in-sourcing, redundancies and early retirement schemes have become common.
At the time of the study, in February 2000, no large mergers were pending, but many reorganizations
and re-structuring were taking place in all of the companies. This background matched our needs for
Method
Given the nature of our research interest, we aimed to gather qualitative data about the
emotional experiences at work during change. At the same time we were keen to cover a wide range
of different identity-relevant episodes in order to explore socially shared constructions. For this
reason we chose to include open questions in a survey. Three pilot studies were conducted to test and
Given our theoretical assumptions that emotions point to identity-relevant issues, we elicited
recent emotions in every-day working life by presenting a quantitative emotion checklist and asking
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participants for a narrative of the concrete event or situation that caused the most dominant of their
language emotion taxonomy (Schmidt-Atzert & Ströhm, 1983), modified on the bases of the pilot
results. Participants were asked to rate the terms according to how dominant the emotion felt in their
momentary every-day working life. Table A1 in the appendix shows the checklist and the
frequencies of the emotions rated as most dominant in working lives of the last two weeks. We were
interested in emotional experiences of working in the context of ongoing change, rather than
experiences directly about change. Thus we were careful to avoid triggering stereotypes about
organizational change. For this reason organizational change was never mentioned as a focus in the
Eliciting emotional narratives: After rating the emotions, participants were asked to reflect on
their most dominant negative emotion and to note down a) the situation or event related to the
negative emotion b) the perceived reason or cause of this event and c) the consequences of this
emotional event. The procedure was repeated for the most dominant positive everyday emotion.
Sample: Of the 397 members of the Employee Association of the Swiss Chemical Industry
(VSAC) participating in the study, 84% noted down a positive (334) and 95% a negative (359)
emotional episode. Most respondents were male (84%), aged over 45 (65%). 38.5% reported to have
no leadership function, 33.0% rated themselves as junior manager, 22% as middle manager and 4.5%
as senior management. According to the VSAC, the sample reflects the distribution in this
population.
confirmed that respondents had experienced several major changes over the previous six months.
Over 80% had experienced reorganizations in their department and/or their company, over 60% had
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observed or experienced layoffs and major changes in HR policies and strategies, and, almost 25%
There were several steps of data analysis, guided by our three questions of interest. Step 1
consisted of a thorough analysis of the qualitative data with the aim of establishing the identity-
relevant issues (RQ1). As outlined in the theory section, identity is understood as constructed from
the experiences relating a person to his or her world. Therefore the data was coded asking the
question: Which aspect of working in the organization do participants relate to in their episode? The
narratives were content analyzed, and more abstract categories developed over several iterations. The
analysis resulted in eight “identity-relevant issues”, which several sub-dimensions. After establishing
and defining the categories, we re-coded the data accordingly. For the coding we established a good
interrater-reliability of Cohen’s Kappa 0.81 between three raters. The sub-dimensions and the most
typical emotions related to the core issue are described in tables A3 and A4 in the appendix. The
typicality of the emotions reported in connection with the identity relevant issues were established by
frequencies and confirmed by conducting a correspondence analysis (see Figure A1 and A2 for the
results of the correspondence analysis). We continued the analysis with these eight identity-relevant
categories of core ”identity-relevant issues”, four of them negative and four positive ones.
Step 2: In order to answer the question of how identity-relevant issues are seen to relate to
ongoing organizational changes (RQ2) we analyzed these eight identity-relevant issues further
asking the question “What does the participant view as cause for the reported event?”. We examine
the narratives for perceived causes with respect to organizational changes. Similar to step 1 we
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Step 3: Independently of step 2, the eight identity-relevant issues were also analyzed further
with respect to identity work. We performed a content-analysis, using Keupp et al.’s four criteria as
starting point. This means we asked about the extent to which each of the 672 narratives fitted the
four criteria of successful identity work: feelings of acknowledgment, ability to act, authenticity and
coherence. Starting from the definitions in the theory section, we refined the four criteria according
to this data. The refined definitions are summarized in Table A2 in the appendix.
RESULTS
Due to the nature of the data and results we first present an overview of the main findings
along the three research questions (see Table 1). In the subsequent sections we will then present a
more in-depth description and analysis of the results that aim to illustrate our main findings.
Overview of Results
What are the identity-relevant issues experienced in the context of working in ongoing
organizational change? (RQ1). We identified four positive and four negative main categories of
identity-relevant issues showing us why and how working in the context of organizational change is
emotional. Each core identity-relevant issue includes experiences of a different quality and nature.
The first three columns in Table 1 summarize the four negative and four positive core categories of
identity-relevant issues extracted from the narratives and show the most typical emotions reported in
connection with it (see Figures A1 and A2 in the appendix, showing the results of the
correspondence analysis, linking emotions and issues). The sub-dimensions of each category are
listed in tables A3 and A4 in the appendix. The identity-relevant issues experienced in connection
with negative emotions are: Not being able to work professionally (aversion against impediments to
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work), not feeling safe and acknowledged (worry and fear about personal situation), feeling hassled
or excluded (disappointment and frustration about social relationships) and not believing in values
(disappointment, frustration, anger and mistrust about organization). Table A3 in the appendix
reveals that the majority of negatively experienced identity-relevant issues are tied to the
organization, including issues such as its strategies and policies in general and concerning
The bottom half of Table 1 also shows the results for the narratives related to positive
emotions. The four identity-relevant issues here are: Being challenged and professional at work (joy
and enthusiasm about being challenged at work), being acknowledged for achievements and
successes (pride about personal situation), feeling attached to colleagues and boss (liking and
thankfulness about social relationships) and believing in company (relief and hope in connection with
the organization’s future). Table A4 in the appendix shows that positive events are distributed more
evenly across the three categories working professionally, achievements and successes, attachment to
social network. Only a small minority of participants experienced the organization and its
How are these identity-relevant issues related to ongoing organizational changes? (RQ2).
Table 1, column 4, summarizes the main causes reported in the narratives, showing that
organizational changes and top management (which is held responsible for the changes) are blamed
for the majority of the negatively experienced identity-relevant issues. However, in general,
employees do not view the contents of change in itself as a cause for negative experiences, but the
philosophy behind the changes, the way in which they are managed or values and intentions ascribed
As causes for positively experienced identity-relevant issues the participants either reported
personal strengths or the close social network. None of the 334 positive narratives relate to top-
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management or the way organizational change is managed. However, narratives related to the issue
of “new challenges” do report a broad category of organizational changes as reasons for the
What do these identity-relevant issues in the context of work reveal about identity work in
ongoing organizational change? (RQ3). The emotional episodes contain information about the four
criteria characterizing identity work. We first summarize identity work expressed in the negative
Acknowledgement is characterized as feeling noticed and paid attention to, either by top
management, the organization or by colleagues. The employees in this sample deplore a clear lack of
acknowledgement, meaning a lack of positive attention, respect and appreciation from the
organization and its top-management for (former) achievements as well as for employees in general.
world in which we work, being able to make sense of one’s working world (comprehensibility), and
comprehensible work. The reasons here are seen to be changes that are not sustained (no continuity)
or lead to decreased work quality. Manageability is questioned through heavy workload and unclear
goals and structures, which are both seen as a result of badly managed changes. Agency refers to the
feelings of control, causality and functionality in concrete situations at work. Similar to coherence,
participants find it difficult to view themselves as effective and powerful agents in a working
environment of high insecurity, few continuities and little clarity. Authenticity refers less to actions
and more to values and standards and means a feeling of “being one self” at work, as correspondence
between situational behavior and self-concept. The participants strongly reject the values and
philosophies of the organization and its top-management by expressing anger and mistrust.
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Furthermore, the way they view themselves as forced to work in the context of ongoing changes, is
not in accordance with their life and work standards and values. Authenticity includes the idea of
being true to oneself, and by expressing strong negative feelings, participants find a way to remain
true to their values, despite continuing to work in such an organizational, which contradicts their
However, there are not only potential threats to identity described. When adding the positive
identity-relevant issues to the picture – which are not about organizational change - we understand
how individuals succeed in identity work. The participants report a strong attachment to their close
social environment, receiving acknowledgment, respect and appreciation. Their sense of belonging to
their team is described as a powerful resource for coping with the insecurity and discontinuity. Self-
acknowledgement and a feeling of agency and coherence are found in personal success and felt
In the next sections we show more in-depth how participants experience working in ongoing
organizational changes emotionally, and how these experiences can be interpreted within the
(RQ1) Anger, mistrust, disappointment and frustration over the company policies and
strategies and the perceived lack of integrity of the top-management dominate in this category. The
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organizational strategies and policies in general as well as specifically about organizational changes
in the company:
[I experience anger and rage] when a perfectly functioning service organization (improved by projects over years),
“thanks” to the merger gets equipped with new cadre, who doesn’t know (want to know) the history and they change
EVERYTHING and actually destroy it, then this enrages me deeply. Especially the irreverence of [former]
achievements and the people who achieved them make me angry [133].
(RQ2) Persistent changes in the organization seem to be experienced as causing a lot of grief
and despair, as hardly any positive aspects are made out and the constant changes lead to much
[I feel] aversion against the constantly reoccurring restructurings. You build up something, and before you’ve
finished, the next one comes along. [337]
[I feel frustration because] momentous decisions are made without noticeable benefit. Unsuccessful mergers are
covered with further mergers. Mistakes are not recognized or admitted, I worry that the same mistakes will be made
again. [378]
Especially visible is the expressed mistrust and anger against representatives of the top-
management leading change, whom they reproach for their doubtable motives, for lacking
credibility, their perceived disdain for employees, as well as inability and egoism:
[The CEO] is after only ONE thing – profit! Power! [He] is power-ridden and has a pathological ego [298].
Top management is taking decisions that are serving more their own interests than those of the company. [318]
(RQ3) Identity work becomes very apparent here. In the reported episodes – such as the
above quote by participant 318 or 298 - participants express their inability to identify with or approve
of the way in which changes are managed and the values portrayed by the company’s management.
Participant’ sense of authenticity is strongly challenged as living and working according to personal
values seems very difficult under these circumstances. This is sometimes combined with a sense of
lack of respect and general acknowledgment for previous achievements (e.g. quote of participant
133).
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Not being able to work professionally
(RQ1) In this category of identity-relevant issues, participants mainly refer to high workload
and ineffective processes and structures. They report feeling aversion against and being fed up with
work processes that hinder carrying out the job properly and the quality of the work output is
jeopardized. Reduced quality of work, more mistakes and unnecessary increased workload are
I feel rage because there is so much work to do, so that there is hardly time for a break or a short conversation with
colleagues […]. In the evenings I am knackered (physically) and frustrated, that means I wonder why I still work that
hard/much – it’s absolutely no fun any longer. [124]
(RQ2) The majority blames different kinds of change events such as mergers, changes in
strategy for their negative experiences with regard to their working situation. Uncoordinated, not
thought-through processes and management decisions are seen as further reasons for negative
[I am fed up with] the way tasks and work are organized. These are highly complex, because organizational changes
required incredible amount of flexibility. [The causes for this are] organizational changes and bad communication.
[147]
(RQ3) Identity work reveals itself in these episodes especially through lack of a sense of
coherence. The focus in this category lies on one’s work tasks and the issues here concern aspects of
manageability (e.g. dealing with high workload). Participants express not being able to cope with the
situation, which makes working life appear senseless (e.g. quote by 124). Further, the narratives
reveal a lack of authenticity. In this category it means that participants cannot work the way they
It has become acceptable, to produce documents of only 80% perfection, earlier we used to work on it until it was
OK, not only nearly-good, just to save time. [110]
Changes in the work relationship are interpreted as being a threat to ones professional identity
and authenticity.
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Not feeling safe and acknowledged
(RQ1) The dominating negative issue of this category is anxiety and worry about one’s
personal situation due to “not feeling safe”, especially in connection with a potential threat to one’s
[I feel fear] since the merger my job in the HR department has been at risk several times. Now a further “re-
engineering” is on the agenda. Unclear concepts about HR management, not credible statements concerning “people-
centeredness” and badly selected, incompetent top-management [contribute to this fear]. [176].
(RQ2) The feeling of uncontrollable threat of one’s personal and professional safety and
not blame organizational changes as such, but the way in which restructurings and layoffs and are
managed. The reason for participant’s anxiety is related to unclear HR strategies and not trustworthy
(RQ3) Threats to one’s economical and social existence are a fundamental issue of identity. In
terms of identity work, employees perceive the situation as leaving them very little control, making it
impossible to have an impact on the environment and to act on their behalf. They are losing their
sense of agency. Implicitly there is also a sense of lack of acknowledgement, as the conclusion seems
to be that one is not an important or valued person in this organization (any longer).
(RQ1) The narratives in this category relate to working with colleagues in a team and to the
relationship with the immediate superior (line-manager). Anger, frustration and disappointment are
[I feel] anger about the “inability” and incompetence of others [in the team], which lead to unnecessary delays and
extra work! [211]
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In this category many of the narratives refer to every-day hassles with teammates, which has
shown to be a common source of anger and frustration in earlier research (Fitness, 2000). Bullying
and feeling excluded is a further issue, which exceeds the notion of a daily hassle.
(RQ2) On the whole, the experiences in this category are less attributed to the context of
ongoing organizational changes and more to colleagues and line-managers. Still, organizational
change processes do get mentioned, as they are “blamed” for breaking social structures.
(RQ3) There is no clear trend in the identity work criteria for the narratives about daily
conflicts. For some it challenges their sense of authenticity, as people make clear, that they have to
be careful about what they say and how they behave and that this that this is not an environment (or
team) they like to work in. For others it is more an issue of lack of coherence and agency as conflicts
with colleagues or superiors stand in the way of common goals and being in control of situations.
The narratives about bullying on the other hand express a feeling of being excluded and pushed aside
from a group or boss. Here participants refer to their sense of belonging and integration, an aspect of
acknowledgement.
In this section we describe the results of the analysis of the positive emotional episodes and
how they illustrate relationships with high potential for a sustainable self-concept.
(RQ1) Given the overwhelming amount of narratives about negative feelings directed at the
organization, it is not surprising that hardly any participants express positive feelings about their
company. A very small minority expresses a non-cynical and appreciative view of the organization.
Most narratives in this category are however related to feelings such as relief or hope:
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The results of the employee survey was worse than those of the already bad one 2 years ago. Now it looks like they
want to investigate the situation more closely and actually understand the problem (2 years ago nothing at all
happened. This gives me hope. [206]
In this category most reasons for positive emotions can be located in the absence, avoidance
or removal of reasons for negative emotions. Participants report relief that a feared event did not
happen (e.g. another downsizing) or hope that the future will bring improvement.
(RQ2) Reasons for the emotional episodes in this category refer to the company and its
(RQ3) This category of issues is the most difficult to interpret in terms of identity work, as
participants are anticipating and speculating about the future development of the organization or
express hope for the future. The identity-relevant issues in this category contain potential for
(RQ1) Despite the negative feelings about much of the context of work reported earlier,
participants report positive feelings, mainly joy and enthusiasm, in connection with their actual work
tasks and jobs. Especially when their work is demanding and offers new challenges, they express
[I am enthusiastic as] in the last years I could always work on innovative projects. [I see the causes herefore] in my
commitment, self-confidence, patience, etc. [179]
Feeling enthusiastic about the work task being acknowledged for one’s work adds to people’s
perceptions of their motivation in everyday working life. These feelings are reported to be the
reasons for sticking with the company even though one does not believe in it (any longer).
22
(RQ2) In this category of narratives, but especially when satisfying work is described,
participants report their personality or personal skills as well as the nature work as main cause for
[I feel satisfaction as] after 28 years of working in an analytic area I now completely changed my working area. [this
happened due to a] new allocation after a merger. My former job had to be appointed to somebody from the sister
company. [...] I learnt a lot and was able to extend my work field constantly [215].
However, in issues about “new challenges”, external reasons, such as the boss, restructurings,
mergers, financial constraints or other side effects of organizational changes are acknowledged as
being a cause for the described experience (see quote by 215). Thus organizational changes get some
credit for creating a context that offers positive changes, but more often the perceived reasons are
(RQ3) Opposed to situations and events described in the negative categories, here participants
perceive themselves as feeling agency, as having an impact (e.g. by developing and implementing
new ideas) either for the benefit of one’s own situation or for the company or team in more general
terms. Also, working is seen as a source of self-acknowledgement (e.g. 179), a few refer to
(RQ1) The previous category of identity-relevant issues related to doing the job and the tasks,
whereas the narratives in this category are about positive outcomes of work, which make the
individual feel proud and satisfied. Most importantly participants refer to reaching goals and gaining
acknowledgement for one’s skills. Having influence over situations and processes and being
[I feel proud for] accompanying a new product, from the first test in the lab until the first production in a large-scale
enterprise. [...] Having the feeling, to have produced something new, and being the first! The successful completion
23
of projects makes me feel proud, [as well as] thankful and acknowledged by line-managers. As a consequence I feel
happier with the job, I work harder and feel more motivation and above all, more energy to cope with negative
experiences. [43]
(RQ2) All the episodes deal with feeling acknowledged by colleagues, direct line-managers
and some few by clients. Narratives in this category are not directly linked to organizational change
nor to acknowledgement by top management or the organization. The positive experiences are
mainly attributed to one-self and one’s personal skills and competence. Often it is explicitly referred
to the fact that these successes were achieved despite the problems with organizational change and
bad management.
(RQ3) The narratives in this category stress the theme of being acknowledged and appreciated
through reaching goals. However, coherence and agency are also visible. As participant 43
illustrates, reaching goals adds to a sense of coherence by adding meaning to work and oneself as
(RQ1) Despite the everyday frustrations and disappointments, these participants mainly
describe social relationships at work as a source of positive feelings. Thankfulness and liking of
colleagues and line-managers are portrayed as a refuge of belonging in turbulent times. Trust in the
team or the direct line-manager is a central theme and efficient team working and reaching goals
jointly are described as experiences that cannot easily be taken for granted:
[I feel joy about the] discussions in our core team. We understand and help each other. As a consequence not
everything is bad [248]
[I feel sympathy/liking towards my boss because] I have the feeling that my boss speaks up for his employees and
supports reasonable solutions [270]
(RQ2) The “target” of their attachment or the source of their positive feelings in this category
is never top-management or the company as such, but always more immediate social network such as
24
colleagues and line-managers. Some of the narratives relate implicitly to organizational changes in
one way or another. The core team can provide continuity and a sense of comfortable belonging,
(RQ3) These positive feelings of attachment support a succeeding identity work as a strong
sense of belonging and acknowledgment result from it. Again, this sense of belonging and
Discussion
Our study suggests that a number of emotional identity-relevant issues occur in ongoing
change, which are different in nature. The data does not indicate that organizational changes are
and neither because of a lack of understanding the necessity of change. Much rather it suggests that
change is experienced negatively due to a perceived lack of respect and appreciation for previous and
ongoing achievements and for employees in general; due to finding oneself and others as mere
objects of change, unable to make sense of the continuous changes and comprehend top-
management’s strategies; due to feeling helpless and to not being able to leave traces through
working in the organization and ultimately, because of not being able to feel authentic in the
Although the questionnaire did not explicitly ask about change, the vast majority of reported
negative episodes refer to ongoing organizational changes. Thus, organizational change is presented
organizations. However, organizational changes are nearly absent when it comes to explaining
positive experiences at work. This sample rarely portrays change as presenting chances for personal
25
or organizational development. It appears that these participants in this context demarcate themselves
from the organization on one hand and focus on their close environment on the other hand.
The notion of identity work suggests one possible way to understand this demarcation and the
role of emotions in this process theoretically: By experiencing and expressing negative emotions,
such as anger about disruptions through change, identity-relevant issues come into focus. Through
the experience of such events and situations, the relationship with the organization is put in question.
identification. Drawing on Keupp et al. (1999) we argue that this demarcation is part of identity
work, performed by participants to integrate such experiences into their self-concepts. One way of
continuing to work in and for this organization and at the same time keep one’s values and self-
esteem, is to withdraw from it. Through expressing one’s aversion, disgust or worries in relation to
the development of the company, the individual has a possibility to feel authentic and take a stand.
As withdrawal means a loss of an identity-relevant relationship in the short term, one could
argue that the individual ought to move on to more constructive environments, which could mean
leaving the organization. Another possibility is, however, to shift one’s focus to other more
rewarding relationships within working life. The narratives about positive experiences at work reveal
such identity-nourishing relationships. Positive relationships with colleagues and line-managers are
described as a powerful resource in turbulent times, where a sense of belonging and acknowledgment
are important for feeling embedded. Agency and coherence is expressed in one’s relationship with
work itself.
One possible conclusion based on the notion of identity work, is that these participants find a
way to succeed in identity work by demarcating themselves from the organization and focusing on
their work and their colleagues. The experience and expression of emotions support this process, as
they inform the individual about the way in which ongoing events are relevant and through acting out
26
emotions, individuals are making their point to themselves and others. This tentative conclusion
Of course, this study also has a number of limitations. The nature of this initial piece of
research did not make it necessary to aim for a representative sample nor to compare between
different organizations or groups. Also, despite instructing the participants to report concrete
experiences of the last two working weeks, the narratives are retrospective. Given the process nature
of the theoretical framework, it would be highly desirable to collect data over time and on a truly
daily basis. More research is therefore needed to explore the emotional experience of change as it
happens over time, and to examine the significance of different identity-relevant issues, in different
organizational change contexts (e.g. different organizational cultures, large multinational companies
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we combined three bodies of literature, namely literature on change, emotion and
identity in order to explore further how and why organizational changes are experienced emotionally.
It differs from other attempts to understand and explain emotional experiences of change in two
ways:
First, it examines the emotional experience through its effects on identity and identity work.
This notion highlights relational issues in managing organizational change. It allows us to overcome
the notion of emotions as an obstacle of change and to get interested in individual and social
functions of emotions. Also, it emphasizes the benefits of looking at positive and negative
experiences in change and relating them to each other rather than merely focusing on the dark side.
27
Further the identity work notion stretches the point that working in organizational change means
Second, this paper differs in taking into account working in ongoing organizational changes,
working context with changes that have no particular starting point or end. However, additional
research is necessary to establish if and how exactly the context of ongoing change differs from
changes which are defined as a one-off change or contexts that are described as determined by
continuity. Furthermore, patterns of identity work need to be explored in other samples in different
ongoing changes, in order to validate implications for change management. As identities are not
merely formed by the work setting, the impact of other life domains on identity work is important.
The emotion and identity perspective on organizational change also has some practical
implications. From the study we learn that not the changes itself, but rather the way in which they
are managed are reported as causes for negative experiences. This shifts our attention from the
(fearful and resistant) employee to management and the way they implement and communicate
organizational changes. It is therefore important to understand how negative experiences are dealt
28
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TABLES
Main focus on Identity-relevant issue Main emotions Perceived causes Identity work
NEGATIVELY EXPERIENCED IDENTITY-RELEVANT ISSUES
Work Not being able to work Aversion Organizational Lack of coherence and authenticity
professionally changes, management
Personal Not feeling safe and Fear, worry Way in which changes Lack of agency and acknowledgement
situation acknowledged are managed
Social Feeling hassled or Anger/ Colleagues, line- No clear trend, lack of sense of
relationships excluded frustration managers, sometimes belonging (for bullying)
organizational changes
Organization Not believing in values Anger/mistrust, Organizational Lack of authenticity
frustration/ changes, top-
disappointment management
POSITIVELY EXPERIENCED IDENTITY-RELEVANT ISSUES
Work Being challenged and Joy/enthusiasm Me, my work, Sense of agency and (self-)
professional organizational changes acknowledgement
Personal Being acknowledged for Pride/satisfactio Me, my skills Sense of acknowledgement (from
situation achievements n others) and coherence
Social Feeling attached Liking, Colleagues, line- Sense of belonging, acknowledgment
relationships sympathy managers by others
thankfulness
Organization Believing in values Hope, relief Organization Potential for future acknowledgement,
coherence, authenticity, agency
32
FIGURES IN APPENDIX
.6
anger/mistrust
.4 w orry
organization personal situation
.2
frust/disapp
.0
social situation
-.2
-.4
Dimension 2
-.6
aversion
-.8 Identity-relevant
w ork Main relationship
issues
-1.0
-1.2 Emotion category
-1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0 1.5
Dimension 1
1.5
1.0 w ork
joy
.5
pride
0.0 personal situation social situation
social emos
-.5
Dimension 2
hope/relief
organization
-1.0 Identity-relevant
Main Relationship
issues
-1.5 Emotion Category
-1.5 -1.0 -.5 0.0 .5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Dimension 1
33
TABLES IN APPENDIX
34
Table A3: Identity-relevant issues related to negative emotions
Identity-relevant issues
(typical emotions) Sub-dimensions Freq Subtotal
Work Time pressure and work load 23
(Aversion/fed up) Work processes and structures 20
Low motivation for work 7 50 (14%)
Personal situation Job insecurity 12
(Fear/Worry) Threat of professional future 11
Lack of personal acknowledgement 11
Not satisfying personal situation 7 41 (12%)
Social relationship Problematic collaborations 24
(Anger/Mistrust) Problematic relationships with boss/colleagues 6 30 (9%)
Organization Problems with company strategy and policy 50
(Anger/mistrust and Problems with change strategy and policy 40
frustration/ Problems with payment policy 32
disappointment) Problems with organizational changes 28
Problematic top management 21
Lack of credibility of top management 20
Lack of acknowledgement for human resources 14
Lack of consistence in management actions 11
Loss of esteemed organizational culture 9
Other 2 227 (65%)
Total 348 (100%)
Note. 11 episodes were excluded in this framework, whereof 7 were not-codable due to unreadable handwriting or
too little information provided; 4 items referred to external events outside work and the organization
35
Table A4: Identity-relevant, positively experienced relationships
36