Organizational cynicism – what every manager needs to know

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to address what is organizational cynicism, review past literature to find out what leads to organizational cynicism, its consequences for organizations, and pinpoint practical implications for managers.

Design/methodology/approach

This review is prepared by an independent writer who has amalgamated several other voices from different researchers/scholars and finally, adds his own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

The effects of organizational cynicism on employees are strong and rising. The review points to the need for paying serious attention to the concept of “organizational cynicism”, which is an attitudinal negativity and if left unchecked, can cost the organization dearly. However, with interventions in place, perhaps, organizations can control the negative effects of organizational cynicism.

Originality/value

Based on a selective literature review, the article anchors on the change perspective of organizational cynicism and offers a number of learning and development implications for managers.

Citation

Thomas, N. and Gupta, S. (2018), "Organizational cynicism – what every manager needs to know", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 16-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-01-2017-0005