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Detecting and responding constructively to transference in the workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2013

Seth David Bernstein
Seth David Bernstein*
Affiliation:
Accountable Behavioral Health Alliance, Corvallis, OR, USA
*
Corresponding author: sethdbernstein@gmail.com
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Abstract

Both managers and the staff they supervise bring unconscious and unresolved personal issues into their relationships in the workplace. This phenomenon is called ‘transference’. Transference generally interferes with the positive working relationships that are essential to achieving organizational objectives. This article provides a conceptual framework for differentiating transference from other complex emotional interactions that can occur in the workplace as well as a set of clear action steps for how the manager can respond to transference constructively. Examples of both staff and manager transference are presented to illustrate how managers can detect and then respond effectively to transference. It is noted that managers are not psychotherapists; knowledge about transference should therefore be used with caution. It is a manager's job is to help staff to succeed with their work, not to help them resolve personal problems.

Keywords

management practicemanagement theorymeaning of workmotivationorganizational behaviorpsychology (individual)psycho-dynamic theory
Type
Practitioner perspective
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 75 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

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