Organizations and death: A view from death studies

This article reflects on two indirect ways in which death arguably intersects with organizations. Some analysts use the term ‘organizational death’ as a metaphor that, unlike euphemism, serves to highlight rather than hide the human suffering entailed in organizational change. Some analysts have applied to organizations Becker's idea that repression of death awareness/anxiety drives human – and thus organizational – behaviour; whether or not one accepts the Freudian concept of repression, it is certainly possible to argue that a desire for personal immortality can influence behaviour in organizations, while in certain circumstances employees may assume the organization is immortal.