Mend the Gap: How Organisations Can Cultivate Readiness for Group Coaching to Mend After Moral Injury

There is limited understanding of how workplace moral injury affects individuals and organisational systems. “Workplace moral injury is a response to witnessing or participating in behaviours that contradict one’s moral beliefs” (Praslova, 2022). This study explores how organisations can create the conditions necessary for group coaching as a mending intervention following workplace moral injury. The term "mending" is intentionally used instead of "healing," as it suggests repair and restoration rather than clinical recovery. This distinction holds considerable significance within the workplace context, as the term healing may not resonate universally or may be deemed inappropriate by some organisations. Data were collected using focus groups and interviews, which informed the creation of a survey examining the conditions necessary to implement a coaching intervention. The transition from a coaching intervention-based research methodology to exploratory qualitative methods and surveys offered valuable insights. Notably, the findings suggest that the conditions required for a group coaching intervention following workplace moral injury are the same conditions needed to reduce the likelihood of experiencing workplace moral injury. Emerging patterns suggest that workplace moral injury is primarily a leadership issue, and it has a significant impact on the organisation. Creating conditions for group coaching as a mending intervention requires leadership to enable key elements within the organisation. Those elements include self-awareness, leading by example, intentionally cultivating a psychologically safe workplace culture, and managing complexity with care. This study emphasises that leaders in organisations have a responsibility to foster and sustain a deliberately designed culture actively. It also points out the potential for further research in several areas, including whether HR practitioners are more susceptible to experiencing workplace moral injury.

Author dc:creator

• Boardman, Sarah

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Harrison, Alisa

• School of leadership studies

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25316/IR-20433

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10613/28869