![]() ![]() There is growing evidence that social and emotional experiences have physiological consequences. PTSD is associated with a threat to our mortality and damages our sense of safety moral injury wounds our morality and our sense of trust. While moral injury is not the same as PTSD, both can be understood as psychological trauma with biological markers and consequences. When people feel subjected to unfair or undignified conditions, they’re four times more likely to act with self-interest and dishonesty. Ron’s research on organizational justice bears this out. This means that perceptions of justice (or injustice) in the workplace have profound effects on employees. Organizational conditions that give rise to moral injury violate our sense of justice, which according to some social science theories is hardwired into our brains. The mass exodus from our workplaces is, in part, a proclamation that people can’t - and won’t - tolerate mistreatment, injustice, and incompetence from their leaders anymore, particularly at the expense of their dignity and values. But as it turns out, their consequences can be more damaging than we understood. The pandemic and resulting upheaval of the workplace have shone a bright spotlight on organizational experiences we’ve too long written off as mere annoyances or ineffective management. Many may be leaving because their conscience has been wounded and their innate sense of justice violated. People may be leaving companies (in some cases “ rage quitting”) because of more than just feeling burned out or wanting more flexible work arrangements. Moral injury is experienced as a trauma response to witnessing or participating in workplace behaviors that contradict one’s moral beliefs in high-stakes situations and that have the potential of harming others physically, psychologically, socially, or economically. The past two years have made it increasingly clear that moral injury can occur in many contexts and populations, including the workplace. More recently, this research has been extended to health care, education, social work, and other high-pressure and often under-resourced occupations. Moral injury, also known as the wounding of the soul, was first studied in veterans who’d witnessed atrocities of war. What Brian experienced was what medical doctors and social scientists refer to as “ moral injury,” and what he wanted was justice. Reminding him of his high salary, perks, and multiple promotions, he asked Brian, “What else do you want?” Ironically, Brian’s boss was shocked by his resignation. ![]() Despite feeling guilty for abandoning his team, he resigned. Now, being asked to manipulate and lie to his people crossed the line for Brian. He explained that the project had been under-resourced, people were exhausted from working under impossible deadlines, and he felt ashamed of the corners he feared had been cut to meet them. I’m holding you accountable for making sure that doesn’t happen.”īrian,* an executive Ron coached, told him about this ultimatum he’d received from his boss. We can’t lose any more techs or we’ll have to announce huge delays on the launch. “Just say whatever you need to say to get them to stay. ![]()
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