Environmentally Initiated, Self-Confirming Alienation in the Workplace

Abstract

Employees face an increasing number of stressors that can originate from the actual performance of their duties, from the relationships with fellow workers and supervisors, and from organizational structures and expectations which accumulated over time results on burnout which contains the factor of depersonalization/cynicism. This conceptual paper focuses on an insidious pattern of behavior that evolves from chronic stress in the workplace into a pattern of ongoing behavior that increases worker alienation from others and perpetuates itself through self-confirming perceptions and actions. We argue that depersonalization/cynicism needs to be addressed at the organizational and individual level.