The concept of alienation: towards conceptual clarity

Abstract

Purpose -Although alienation as a concept has a rich history, it has suffered relative neglect in organizational studies and one possible reason for the same is its conceptual ambiguity vis-à -vis popular and long-standing concepts of commitment/identification, satisfaction and engagement, that represent the positive experience of work and which have sometimes been equated as the opposite of work alienation. Similarly, the negative experience of work has traditionally been captured by concepts such as burnout/cynicism and counterproductive work behaviours/deviance. The purpose of this paper is to argue for refocusing attention on the concept of work alienation in management studies as distinct from other related concepts. Design/methodology/approach -The methodology integrated research from both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Findings -Through the analysis of the concept of alienation, along with other related concepts, the conceptual space for the study of alienation in organizational studies is pointed out. By examining the definition, and the antecedents and consequences of commitment, satisfaction, engagement, burnout and workplace deviance, the overlaps and points of differences are highlighted. Originality/value -The paper offers a conceptual level analysis and builds the argument for refocusing attention on the study of work alienation. The juxtaposition of the related concepts clarifies that alienation has a unique contribution to make towards understanding the link between experience at work and employee-related outcomes.

The Contribution of Individual Psychological Features to the Determination of the Phenomenon of Work Alienation

“…Previous literature has already shown that alienation leads to a state of depression [1]. In this study, however, it was shown that work alienation is associated with depressiveness as a personality trait.…”

“…He viewed work alienation "as a generalized cognitive state (or belief) of psychological separation from work insofar as work is perceived to lack potentiality for satisfying one's salient needs and expectations" [3] (p. 131). A number of other researchers have also suggested that if employees experienced low satisfaction or frustration of relevant psychological needs in a job context, they become alienated [1,4,5]. Similar to previous theories that applied a motivational approach [1,[3][4][5], we assume that work alienation is a complex state in which a person is not interested in their work, does not like it, and considers it to be replaceable.…”

“…A number of other researchers have also suggested that if employees experienced low satisfaction or frustration of relevant psychological needs in a job context, they become alienated [1,4,5]. Similar to previous theories that applied a motivational approach [1,[3][4][5], we assume that work alienation is a complex state in which a person is not interested in their work, does not like it, and considers it to be replaceable. This is because the concrete occupational activities, the organization and the relationships to other employees do not fulfill their intrinsic needs.…”

“…Previous studies have shown a link between work alienation and organizational variables as work performance, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational identification [2]. Another observation in the context of work alienation is the increase of burn out, deviant behavior, and alcohol use [1]. This all speaks about the high importance of this problem.…”

“…This paper is dedicated to work alienation, a phenomenon which represents "a distance or separation from work, its context or itself" [1]. It represents subjectively endured state connected with destruction of interpersonal communications, which is expressed in perception by the subject of work of helplessness, senselessness, and self-alienation.…”