Contemplating Workplace Change: Evolving Individual Thought Processes and Emergent Story Lines
Authors: Klag, M., Jansen, K. J聽and Lee, M. D.
笔耻产濒颈肠补迟颈辞苍:听The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
Abstract:
Drawing on topical life histories of physicians in a particularly volatile public health聽sector environment, we build theory around the contemplation of workplace change.聽Overall, our study provides evidence as to why single or multiple independent factors,聽such as pay or job structure, may fail to predict or explain individual decisions to stay聽in or change workplaces. Instead, the contemplation process we argue is a complex,聽evolutionary, and context-dependent one that requires individualized interventions.聽Our findings reveal the prevalence of episodic context-self fit assessments prompted聽by triggering stimuli, two mechanisms by which thought processes evolved聽(reinforcement and recalibration), and four characteristic story lines that explain聽why the thought processes manifested as they did (exploring opportunities, solving聽problems, reconciling incongruence, and escaping situations). Based on our findings,聽we encourage practitioners to regularly engage in story-listening and dialogic聽conversations to better understand, and potentially affect the evolving socially聽constructed realities of staff members.