Organizational paranoid syndrome

Paranoid is a personality disorder in which a person interprets the behavior and actions of others with suspicion and doubt, and perceives the behavior of those around them as threatening, humiliating, and harmful. People with this personality disorder cannot admit or accept their negative feelings toward others. They have a very strong fear of abuse and betrayal, and even if they are proven to be trustworthy by those around them, they still do not trust them. They usually have a personal and incorrect perception of the very ordinary behavior and speech of those around them, which causes them to become easily offended and angry, and they keep this feeling inside for a long time and even cultivate it.

This attitude is prevalent in most organizations today and has led to the phenomenon of organizational paranoia or a kind of organizational pessimism  . Organizational paranoia is an attitude of disillusionment with society and organizations and distrust of others and a pessimistic attitude based on which the individual believes that the organization is not honest and is always trying to deceive its employees. It is a judgment that has emerged from the individual’s experiences in the organization and an organization devoid of integrity is the result of the employees’ beliefs. In such an organization, moral expectations, equality and honesty are not taken into account.

Organizational paranoia has three dimensions: belief, feeling, and behavior.

* Then  believe *;

 It reflects employees’ assessments of the honesty and sincerity of their organization. Cognitive cynicism occurs when employees believe that deception and self-interest are prevalent in the organization.

* Feelings next  *;

It reflects three types of negative emotions: sadness, anger, and disgust.

* Behavior dimension  *;

 Behavioral pessimism is a reflection of critical behavior towards the organization, sarcastic jokes, pessimistic interpretations of organizational events, and pessimistic predictions about the organization’s future. This pessimism is manifested in negative employee behaviors.

 * Antecedents and consequences of organizational paranoia *

 * Backgrounds include *:

 * Organizational Justice *;

The organization’s fair treatment of employees plays a fundamental role in shaping employees’ attitudes toward the organization. Feelings of injustice create attitudes, behaviors, and processes in the organization that gradually lead the organization to internal decay.

 * Organizational support *;

Employees’ perception of the well-being that the organization has provided for them. When employees perceive that the organization is concerned about their well-being and provides assistance and support to its employees, they consider themselves part of the organization, consider the organization to represent themselves, and feel committed and loyal to the organization.

 * Career independence *;

It refers to the degree and level of independence through which employees enjoy relative freedom at work, autonomy in performing tasks, and authority in assigned responsibilities.

* Organizational Paranoid Aftermath *

 * Organizational indifference *;

A person who is indifferent does not consider the work done to be representative of themselves and becomes empty physically, mentally, and emotionally, losing their personality and taking on a negative personality when dealing with others.

 * Organizational anti-citizenship behavior *;

These are mild misbehaviors that, contrary to organizational norms based on mutual respect and with unknown and ambiguous intentions, seek to hurt the other party. These behaviors are characterized by rudeness, lack of attention and respect for others, and in most of these behaviors there is some kind of attempt to hurt.

 * Lack of organizational loyalty *;

Fisher states that organizational loyalty is defined as strong belief and acceptance of the organization’s mission and values ​​by employees, additional efforts by employees to perform desirable work in the organization, and a strong desire by employees to remain as members of the organization.

 * Summarizing  *​​

Organizational paranoia has many negative consequences. One of the main roots and causes of this problem is opaque work relationships. Work relationships and procedures such as holding meetings, making decisions and the procedures for making these decisions should be completely clear to all employees, away from any politics and as participatory as possible.

Paying more attention to employees and creating psychological dependencies in them through organizational and social support, creating a sense of job security, creating equal promotion opportunities, and their positive perceived fairness in payments, incentives, and promotions also has a positive impact on their sense of belonging and organizational optimism and reduces organizational paranoia and other negative consequences.