Negotiating Organizational Identity with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/6t053g16v

Abstract

This organizational communication research study investigates the ways in which individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) narratively negotiate their organizational identities. Thirty-four adults with OCD were interviewed, and the findings from this study suggest that participants drew on a particular set of discursive resources to account for, justify, or explain their organizational behavior, organizational or career position, manifestations of OCD, misconceptions of OCD, and the stigmatic identity of being “mentally ill.” These discursive resources include normalcy, organizing and economy, medicine, and personal life scripts. Theoretically, this study has implications for the ways in which OCD, identity, and organizational communication are studied. The practical application of this study is a communication intervention for adults in intensive treatment for OCD, which includes recommendations for the meaning management of discursive resources in the workplace.

Creator