The Lived Experience of Paradox: How Individuals Navigate Tensions during the Pandemic Crisis

Camille Pradies, Ina Aust, Rebecca Bednarek, Julia Brandl, Simone Carmine, Joe Cheal, Miguel Pina e Cunha, Medhanie Gaim, Anne Keegan, Jane K. Lê, Ella Miron-Spektor, Rikke Kristine Nielsen, Vanessa Pouthier, Garima Sharma, Jennifer L. Sparr, Russ Vince, Joshua Keller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Citations (SciVal)
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Abstract

Organizational life has always been filled with tensions, but the COVID-19 pandemic is amplifying this experience in fundamental ways. Across the globe, employees have had to quickly adjust to working from home, striving to remain productive while adapting to new technologies and work-practices (Lanzolla, Lorenz, Miron-Spektor, Schilling, Solinas & Tucci, 2020). Essential employees, such as medical personnel, have been grappling with the desire to deliver care to those with need without risking themselves (Kniffin et al., 2020). Leaders have been balancing optimism with realism and finding ways to engender psychological proximity despite managing their followers from afar (Gibson, 2020). These interconnected tensions have been accentuated not just within domains (e.g., work), but also across domains (Ladge, Clair & Greenber, 2012). Working parents, for example, have been renegotiating boundaries as they pursue their work goals while home-schooling their children and caring for their elderly relatives (Power, 2020).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)154-167
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Management Inquiry
Volume30
Issue number2
Early online date27 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2021

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was funded by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020 and Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016), POR Lisboa and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016); from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 856688.

Keywords

  • organizational behavior
  • paradox
  • tensions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Business,Management and Accounting
  • Strategy and Management
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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