Incest 0000i-xiv FM 1 - William L. White

Role Conditi0ns and the Worker Casualty Process 171
10.13 Role Deprivation
Role deprivation is the sudden or gradual removal of all
significant responsibilities from a worker.
Role deprivation retires the worker on the job. That such a move would
create a loss in status, a crisis in self-esteem, and increased isolation from
other workers is obvious. Workers forcibly retired on the job may resign
themselves to that status or, more frequently, begin exaggerated and futile
efforts to maintain their visibility and personhood. The worker’s defensive
response is construed as further evidence of his or her inability
to handle responsible job assignments. The character in Ralph Ellison’s
The Invisible Man could have been speaking for the role-deprived
worker when he said:
I can hear you say, ‘What a horrible, irresponsible bastard’? And
you’re right. I leap to agree with you. I am one of the most irresponsible
beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is a part of my invisibility;
and anyway you face it, it is a denial. But to whom can I be
responsible, and why should I be, when you refuse to see me?
Role deprivation grows out of a number of conditions in the work environment.
It may reflect a personality conflict between a supervisor and
worker. It may reflect problems of role-person mismatch that the organization
has failed to correct. It may also reflect the growing number of
chronically distressed workers who have been moved to positions of diminishing
responsibility.
John was hired to direct planning and research activities for a city of
50,000. While his research skills were quite strong, John found himself
lacking a broad spectrum of the skills needed to adequately direct the
city’s planning operations. When this became clear to nearly everyone
around him, John was “promoted” to the position “Research Consultant”
and another individual was hired as “Director of Planning.” In his
new position, John was moved to an isolated office, assigned no significant
responsibilities, and excluded from all (significant and insignificant)
city meetings. John was rendered invisible—retired on the job.
Marsela had worked for three very productive years as a computer
programmer when a new supervisor took over her department. The
chemistry between Marsela and the new supervisor was, from the beginning,
like oil and water (some co-workers suggested “gasoline and
fire” as an apt metaphor). When the supervisor’s efforts to fire Marsela