How metaphorical framings build and undermine resilience during change: A longitudinal study of metaphors in team-driven planned organizational change

Mysteries, Battles, and Games: Exploring Agency in Metaphors About Sexual Harassment

“…Participants described solving mysteries, fighting battles, and playing games they never consented to. That survivors communicated unagentic metaphors—phrases that signal their lack of control and disempowerment—is not surprising given what is known about other challenging organizational phenomena, including workplace bullying (Tracy et al, 2006) organizational change (Malvini Redden et al, 2019), and medication-assisted treatment (Malvini Redden et al, 2013). In fact, Dykstra-DeVette and Tarin (2019) illustrate that harassment survivors are “estranged from agency” when institutionalized policies and processes keep them isolated and perpetuate hostile environments.…”

“…Her descriptions of facing a broken system feel reminiscent of David v. Goliath-survivors are small and must tackle an immense, almost unbeatable enemy (e.g., sexual harassment and systems that protect harassers). Indeed, a metaphor analysis of organizational change describes metaphors of "The System" as connoting extreme frustration, resignation, and powerlessness (Malvini Redden et al, 2019).…”

“…While offering critical insights about the metaphorical and symbolic framings of sexual harassment, this study points towards important future directions for research. Acknowledging the limited sample size, future research could examine patterns of metaphors across larger data sets using different methods to see what other important categories of metaphors emerge, how metaphors change over time (see: Malvini Redden, et al, 2019), and if metaphorical patterns cluster around particular types of reporting decisions.…”

Collective Emotion During Collective Trauma: A Metaphor Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Malvini Redden et al (2019) explain that "metaphors symbolically and cognitively frame phenomena at hand, pointing to the ways people understand possible options, view the future, conceive of personal agency, and understand challenges" (p. 502).…”

“…However, past research has demonstrated that when individuals are provided with framing devices such as familiar language tropes, particularly stories and metaphors, they are able to express deeply felt emotions about traumatic events (e.g., Nadeau, 2006; Neimeyer, 1999). Malvini Redden et al (2019) explain that “metaphors symbolically and cognitively frame phenomena at hand, pointing to the ways people understand possible options, view the future, conceive of personal agency, and understand challenges” (p. 502).…”