01 Oct The Corporate Culture Comedy: When Your Vision Statement Needs Therapy

Corporate culture can be a fascinating mix of contradictions. It’s like seeing a mission statement plastered on every wall, reminding you of the core values, and yet, living the exact opposite in day-to-day operations. It’s almost like the organization’s culture has two lives—one on the wall and one in the office. Why is this so common? Is it an identity crisis? Is the culture suffering from a corporate version of split personality disorder?

Let’s dive into some typical contradictions and see what prominent psychoanalytic thinkers might say. No jargon, no over-complication—just some straight-up analysis with a dash of humor.

Example 1: “We Are a Family!” (Until Budget Cuts Hit)

Most companies love to claim, “We are a family!” It sounds warm, fuzzy, and reassuring. But when tough times come and layoffs are on the table, suddenly that family becomes a Game of Thrones episode. How quickly “family” becomes “cost centers.”

Psychoanalytic View: Melanie Klein’s concepts of splitting and projection come to mind here. In this case, management splits the workforce into “good” (productive, low-cost) and “bad” (high-cost, redundant), projecting their fears of failure onto those who are deemed dispensable. The “family” narrative is only real when convenient.

Example 2: “Innovation Is in Our DNA!” (As Long as You Don’t Challenge the Status Quo)

Companies boast about innovation. “Think outside the box!” they say, until someone comes up with an idea that actually breaks the mold, at which point management looks horrified and promptly shuts it down. Innovation is fine, as long as it’s within the boundaries of what’s been done before.

Psychoanalytic View: Jacques Lacan might call this a classic case of symbolic order—where the company’s leadership is trapped in a web of existing meanings and structures. Innovation is welcomed, but only when it reinforces the existing power dynamics, not when it challenges them. It’s a battle between the real desire to change and the imaginary ideal that everyone pretends to support.

Example 3: “We Value Transparency!” (But We Won’t Tell You Anything Important)

Who hasn’t worked for a company where transparency is preached like a religion? “We’re transparent!” Until you ask a tough question in a town hall meeting, and suddenly, the answers are vaguer than a horoscope. The real decisions are made behind closed doors, and transparency becomes a buzzword without substance.

Psychoanalytic View: Freud might suggest this is a defense mechanism, specifically denial. The leadership denies uncomfortable truths to themselves and the organization, masking real issues with a thin veil of “transparency.” It’s like putting a band-aid on a broken leg—it might make things look better momentarily, but it won’t hold up in the long run.

Example 4: “We Support Work-Life Balance!” (But We Love Overtime Heroes)

Ah, the beloved work-life balance promise! But let’s be honest—when the rubber meets the road, those who burn the midnight oil often get rewarded, while those who clock out on time are seen as lacking dedication. “Take your time off,” they say, “but also answer emails at 11 PM.”

Psychoanalytic View: Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow could be at play here. Companies love to talk about balance, but secretly admire (and reward) those who work late and sacrifice personal time. The “shadow” of overwork is lurking behind the conscious efforts to promote balance. The organization is torn between its public image and its unconscious admiration for hustle culture.

The Bias Battle: A War of Perceptions

At the end of the day, corporate culture is often a battleground of biases. Different departments or teams interpret the same situation in wildly different ways. Some amplify issues to make themselves seem more important, while others minimize them to avoid accountability. It’s like everyone’s stuck in their own echo chamber, believing their version of reality.

Psychoanalytic View: Here, we can invoke Bion’s idea of group dynamics. People form groups that defend their own beliefs, no matter how contradictory or irrational. It’s a form of basic assumption mentality, where groups function based on emotional needs rather than logic. This explains why some teams always think they’re right and others always feel persecuted—everyone is projecting their own anxieties onto the situation.

The Big Takeaway

Corporate culture is a complex beast, often riddled with contradictions that would give any therapist a field day. Understanding these contradictions through the lens of psychoanalytic theory helps make sense of the madness. Companies, like individuals, have unconscious motivations and defense mechanisms that shape their behavior. The mission statement might say one thing, but deep down, the culture is playing a different tune.

On a Personal Note

There are a few things I believe in strongly and have never been let down by:

• People should be free to do their job however and whenever they want, as long as they meet the customer’s expectations. Flexibility works.

• Vacations shouldn’t exist. Instead, anyone should be free to take time off whenever they want, in line with the business’s seasonality and customer needs.

• Transparency is either 100% or it’s not transparency. Even a decimal less is dishonesty.

• Trust is the bedrock of all values and cultures. Without it, everything is just hot air. You either go all in, or you stay home and write books that sell unrealistic dreams about organisational culture.

• When you think, speak, refer to organisational culture do it as you do about life itself. And life is not as simple as you think nor it is written in advance for a bedtime story. And that’s the beauty of it. 🙂

References

Freud, S. (1923). The Ego and the Id. W.W. Norton & Company.

Klein, M. (1946). Notes on some schizoid mechanisms. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 27, 99-110.

Lacan, J. (1977). Écrits: A Selection. W.W. Norton & Company.

Jung, C. G. (1953). The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (Vol. 9). Princeton University Press.

Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in Groups. Tavistock.

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