Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Moving away from, moving towards and moving against others
T2 - An adaptive multi-strategy approach to defend and build resources in self-protection mode
AU - Russell, E.
AU - O'Reilly, J.
AU - Blome, C.
AU - Bussi, M.
AU - Chung, H.
AU - Finney, M.
AU - Johansson, H.
AU - Leon, M.
AU - Leschke, J.
AU - Mytna-Kurekova, L.
AU - Ruffa, C.
AU - Schoyen, M.A.
AU - Thürer, M.
AU - Unt, M.
AU - Verdin, R.
AU - Wallace, C.
PY - 2024/12/31
Y1 - 2024/12/31
N2 - In the face of extreme and enduring stressors, a self-protection coping mode can be entered to conserve resources (Conservation of Resources (COR) theory principle 4). Self-protection coping is underexplored in COR theory yet may offer insights about how people deal with the significant challenges posed by work today. We investigate this using a large-group collaborative auto-ethnography (CAE) with 15 academic workers during a period when resources were severely stretched or exhausted (the first four months of the Covid-19 lockdown). We identify three defensive coping strategies, applied in self-protection mode, that are akin to Karen Horney's neurotic trends of ‘moving away from’, ‘moving against’ and ‘moving towards’ others. We also identify that, even when in self-protection mode, workers engage in resource (re)investment activities, in an attempt to (re)gain control of, and (re)build resources. These multiple self-protection coping strategies are applied in a seemingly haphazard and interchangeable way but appear to serve an adaptive function for trying out how best to conserve resources, defend the self, and extend resources towards recovery. Our findings emphasize the need for organizations and society to provide support and resources at times of adversity, to help people rebuild their work, their lives and their well-being.
AB - In the face of extreme and enduring stressors, a self-protection coping mode can be entered to conserve resources (Conservation of Resources (COR) theory principle 4). Self-protection coping is underexplored in COR theory yet may offer insights about how people deal with the significant challenges posed by work today. We investigate this using a large-group collaborative auto-ethnography (CAE) with 15 academic workers during a period when resources were severely stretched or exhausted (the first four months of the Covid-19 lockdown). We identify three defensive coping strategies, applied in self-protection mode, that are akin to Karen Horney's neurotic trends of ‘moving away from’, ‘moving against’ and ‘moving towards’ others. We also identify that, even when in self-protection mode, workers engage in resource (re)investment activities, in an attempt to (re)gain control of, and (re)build resources. These multiple self-protection coping strategies are applied in a seemingly haphazard and interchangeable way but appear to serve an adaptive function for trying out how best to conserve resources, defend the self, and extend resources towards recovery. Our findings emphasize the need for organizations and society to provide support and resources at times of adversity, to help people rebuild their work, their lives and their well-being.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104052
DO - 10.1016/j.jvb.2024.104052
M3 - Journal article
VL - 155
JO - Journal of Vocational Behavior
JF - Journal of Vocational Behavior
SN - 0001-8791
M1 - 104052
ER -