Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T06:23:54.948Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Detecting and responding constructively to transference in the workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2013

Seth David Bernstein
Seth David Bernstein*
Affiliation:
Accountable Behavioral Health Alliance, Corvallis, OR, USA
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Both managers and the staff they supervise bring unconscious and unresolved personal issues into their relationships in the workplace. This phenomenon is called ‘transference’. Transference generally interferes with the positive working relationships that are essential to achieving organizational objectives. This article provides a conceptual framework for differentiating transference from other complex emotional interactions that can occur in the workplace as well as a set of clear action steps for how the manager can respond to transference constructively. Examples of both staff and manager transference are presented to illustrate how managers can detect and then respond effectively to transference. It is noted that managers are not psychotherapists; knowledge about transference should therefore be used with caution. It is a manager's job is to help staff to succeed with their work, not to help them resolve personal problems.

Keywords

management practicemanagement theorymeaning of workmotivationorganizational behaviorpsychology (individual)psycho-dynamic theory
Type
Practitioner perspective
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 75 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ablon, S., Bernstein, S. (2011). Collaborative problem solving: An effective approach for managing conflict in the workplace. Manuscript submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Ambler, G. (2006). The practice of leadership. Retrieved from http://www.thepracticeofleadership.netGoogle Scholar
American Psychoanalytic Association. (2011). Contributions of psychoanalysis. Retrieved from http://www.apsa.org/About_Psychoanalysis/Contributionsof_Psychoanalysis.aspxGoogle Scholar
Ashkansay, N., Hartel, C., Zerbe, W. (Eds.). (2000). Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Dattner, B. (2010, March). Credit and blame at work. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/credit-and-blame-work/201104/re-enacting-family-dynamics-in-the-workplaceGoogle Scholar
Daus, C., Ashkanasy, N. (2005). The case for the ability-based model of emotional intelligence in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 453–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, M., Allcorn, S. (2003). The cornerstone of psychoanalytic organizational analysis: Psychological reality, transference and counter-transference in the workplace. Human Relations, 56(4), 491–514.Google Scholar
Etchegoyen, H. (2005). The fundamentals of psychoanalytic technique. London, England: Karnac Books.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. (2000). Intelligence: A new look. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.Google Scholar
Felitti, V., Anda, R., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D., Spitz, A., Edwards, V., … Marks, J. (1998, May). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.Google Scholar
Fineman, S. (2004). Getting the measure of emotion – The cautionary tale of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 57(6), 719–740.Google Scholar
Fineman, S. (2008). The emotional organization: Passions and power. Oxford, England: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Freud, S., Breuer, J. (2000). Studies on hysteria. New York, NY: Basic Books. (Original work published 1895).Google Scholar
Frost, P. J. (2003). Toxic emotions at work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
George, J. M. (2000). Emotional and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53, 1027–1055.Google Scholar
Gilbert, J., Matviuk, S. (2008, October). The symbiotic nature of the leader–follower relationship and its impact on organizational effectiveness. Academic Leadership, 6(4).Google Scholar
Goleman, D. (1998). Harvard Business Review. Nov–Dec 1998, pp. 93–102.Google Scholar
Gordon, J., Whelan-Berry, K., Hamilton, E. (2007, October). The relationship among work-family conflict and enhancement, organizational work-family culture, and work outcomes for older working women. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(4), 350–364.Google Scholar
Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J., Rapson, R. (1994). Emotional contagion: Studies in emotion and social interaction. Cambridge, England: University Press.Google Scholar
Jordan, P., Troth, A. (2004). Managing emotions during team problem solving: Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. Human Performance, 17(2), 195–218.Google Scholar
Jordan, P., Troth, A. (2006, September). Emotions and coping with conflict: An introduction. Journal of Management & Organization, 12(2), 98–100.Google Scholar
Klein, M. (1946). In R. Money-Kryie (Ed.), Envy and gratitude and other works 1946–1963. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Locke, E. (2005). Why emotional intelligence is an invalid concept. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 425–431doi:10.1002/job.318Google Scholar
Maccoby, M. (2004, September). Why people follow the leader: The power of transference. Harvard Business Review, 82(9), 76–85.Google Scholar
Mandel, D. (2006). Your boss is not your mother. Chicago, IL: Agate.Google Scholar
Morris, A., Feldman, D. (1997). Managing emotions in the workplace. Journal of Managerial Issues, 9(3), 257–274.Google Scholar
Mullen, P., Fleming, J. (2012). Long-term effects of child sexual abuse. The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Retrieved from http://www.aaets.org/article176.htmGoogle Scholar
Ollilainen, M. (2000). Gendering emotions, gendering teams: Construction of emotions in self-managing teamwork. In N. Ashkansay, C. Hartel, & W. Zerbe (Eds.), Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice (pp. 82–96). Westport, CT: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Parker, S., Williams, H., Turner, N. (2006, May). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 636–652.Google Scholar
Pinder, C., Moore, L. (1979). The Resurrection of Taxonomy to Aid the Development of Middle Range Theories of Organizational Behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 99–118.Google Scholar
Pinder, C., Moore, L. (Eds.). (1980) Middle range theory and the study of organizations. Boston, MA: Martinus Nijhoff.Google Scholar
Praides, C., Pratt, M. (2010, August). Conceptualization of group ambivalence. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings.Google Scholar
Racker, H. (2001). Transference and counter-transference. London, England: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Rafaeli, A., Sutton, R. I. (1987). Expression of emotion as part of the work role. Academy of Management Review, 12, 23–37.Google Scholar
Tiedens, L. (2000). Powerful emotions: The vicious cycle of social status positions and emotions. In N. Ashkansay, C. Hartel, & W. Zerbe (Eds.), Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice (pp. 71–81). Westport, CT: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health (2008). Prevalence of serious mental illness among US adults by age, sex, and race. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/SMI_AASR.shtmlGoogle Scholar
Wilmot, W., Hocker, J. (2001). Interpersonal conflict. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Yihan, L. (2008–2010). 21 Top passion quotes. Retrieved from http://www.leadership-with-you.comGoogle Scholar