Organisations today: What happens to attachment?

摘要

Attachment theory has been largely overlooked in the systems-psychodynamics approach to understanding organisations, yet it illuminates important aspects of organisational life. We all bring to our organisations our attachment patterns; these become part of what happens unconsciously between people, in relation to tasks, creativity and innovation. Using case material from consultancy to organisations, group relations conferences and interviews, this article explores attachment in organisations. Our attachment patterns have a profound effect on our sense of security and capacity for trust, which then shapes our responses to others and our environment. As children need to feel secure enough in the family, in order to carry out their developmental tasks, we need to feel secure enough in our organisations, in order to work productively. Such security is difficult to achieve now, as organisations are affected by the acute insecurity of the wider environment; employers have become increasingly transactional in their dealings with employees; technology reduces the need for personal interaction and physical space defining an organisation is less tangible. Alongside constant change and loss, the level of complexity increases stress and insecurity. Some implications for working in and with organisations are considered.