Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Why do our organizations so often seem to be less than the sum or their parts? What undermines effectiveness and morale, and gets in the way of achieving what we set out to do?
The Unconscious at Work, 2nd Edition draws on a body of thinking and practice which has developed over the past 60 years, often referred to as 'the Tavistock approach' or 'systems-psychodynamics'. All the contributors are practicing consultants who draw on this framework; bringing it alive and making it useful to any reader- manager, leader or consultant, regardless of whether they have any prior familiarity with the underlying concepts, who is curious about what might be driving the puzzling or stressful situations they find in their workplace.
The first edition was addressed to people working in 'the human services': health, social care and education. Since it was published in 1994, there has been growing interest in the business word in understanding more about the 'irrational' side of organizational life. Therefore, this second edition includes an entirely new section where the key ideas are revisited and illustrated with case-studies from a wide range of business organizations, from large corporations to start-ups and family businesses.
The aim, however remains the same: to enlarge readers' existing sense-making 'tool-kits' so that they can look at themselves and their organizations with fresh eyes, deepening the emotional intelligence they bring to bear on the challenges they face and providing new possibilities for action. The Unconscious at Work, 2nd Edition will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists as well as social workers, managers and trainers across a range of health care settings and services.