A Discussion Paper on Appreciation and Double-bind: Operative Managers as Moderators of Pathogenetic Firm Policy or Paradox as Patterns of Internal Communication?

Abstract

Employee-appreciation and related expressions are often used in the discourse and mission statements of companies and nearly every manager at least officially agrees to their importance. Frequently, however, the »theory in use« is different to such a degree that researchers and practitioners talk and publish about phenomena characterized by the term ›desolidarization‹.The present paper reports the results of a multi-method case study. The investigation was designed to explore the relationships between (1) perceived degree of employee-appreciation by the workforce, (2) subjective well-being, (3) individual absenteeism and presenteeism and, most importantly, (4) the potential moderating effects caused by direct supervisors plus their (5) immediate impact on the health status of their subordinates.In the company studied, the employees experienced an absolute non-appreciation by company policy and top management while the operative managers tried to be caring. This combination may lead to a Double-bind effect for the workforce which tends to be detrimental for their health.