Considerable research views group, organizational, and professional identities as theoretically and methodologically similar. This study suggests that these identities are generically different. An explanatory sequential mixed data analysis of survey and interview data collected at an information technology organization (N = 111 workers) was used to examine the relationships between identities and the experience of burnout and to understand the communicative behaviors associated with types of identity and burnout. Survey data revealed that controlling for communication activity, work group identification was associated with lower depersonalization while professional identification was associated with increased personal accomplishment. No relationship was found between organizational identification and burnout. Semistructured interviews revealed three themes related to identification: (a) Being Yourself in the Work Group, (b) Valuing the Role of the IT Professional, and (c) Othering the Organization. Implications for organizational communication with respect to theorizing and measuring organizational identity are discussed.

Organizational scholars have traditionally used conceptual definitions to classify situational tensions such as dialectics, dilemmas, contradictions, and paradoxes. We propose instead to use organizational members' reactions to define and distinguish among different forms of tensions. In the present study, we propose a model in which dilemmas vary in terms of press (the sense of urgency that they invoke) and balance (the degree to which both sides of the dilemma are regarded as equally important and urgent). Depending on the degree of press and balance, organizations are predicted to undertake various response strategies. To evaluate this model, we studied a large sample of members' descriptions of organizational responses to dilemmas in the Dutch crisis response system (N = 149). Results indicated variation in press and balance, and while some participants enacted dilemmas as choices, others enacted dilemmas in ways that acknowledged and tried to address both alternatives.

Moral distress was identified, with the finding that mindfulness interventions decreased nurse perceptions of distress. Healthcare providers offering a false sense of hope was the most frequently reported situation. Postintervention MDS-R survey results reflected a decrease in frequency of distress.

This study explores how the dialogue—or lack thereof—between employees’ opinions and organization-wide communications relates to employees’ identification with the organization. Using survey data from a sample of 111 IT workers, we performed cross-level tests to explore how employee voice, the perceived adequacy of organization-wide downward communication, and job satisfaction related to employees’ organizational identification. The results of the hierarchical regression and mediation analyses revealed that higher levels of employee voice were associated with higher levels of organizational identification and fully mediated by job satisfaction. Similarly, higher levels of organization-wide communication adequacy were associated with higher levels of organizational identification and partially mediated by job satisfaction. The findings suggest that inclusive and participative organizational communication practices are most likely to foster organizational identification when they are viewed favorably by employees and positively impact their job experiences.

Purpose Post-crisis renewal discourse (Ulmer et al., 2007) is one form of communication that stakeholders may use as they attempt to organize for resilience. The purpose of this paper propose extending Discourse of Renewal Theory to explain how it could enact a different kind of resilience than scholars typically consider. Organizational resilience strategies often focus on the recovery or prevention stages of crisis management. Under conditions of persistent threat, it would be more productive for renewal discourse to emphasize greater preparedness. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the need for this kind of theorizing, the author analyzes a case study that follows the public relations efforts of Canadian energy company Enbridge, Inc., in the aftermath of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. Findings By the criteria of Discourse of Renewal Theory, Enbridge attempted a renewal strategy, but it failed. By other criteria, however, it succeeded: it created the opportunity for richer dialogue among stakeholders about their interdependence and their competing interests. Originality/value By considering how elements of the resilience process may vary, this paper offers resources for more nuanced theory-building and theory-testing related to organizational and system-level resilience.