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Human Relations, Vol. 60, No. 11, 1669-1700 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0018726707084304
© 2007 The Tavistock Institute

Lacanian theory's contribution to the study of workplace envy

Bénédicte Vidaillet

Institute for Business Administration (Institut d'Administration des Entreprises) at the University of Lille (France), benedicte.vidaillet{at}iae.univ-lille1.fr

In this article, we wish to develop further the reflection undertaken by the few authors who have started using Lacan's theories in their research on organizations. We suggest that using a framework based on Lacanian theory can help us better understand workplace envy, which is such a complex emotion, and better integrate the existing studies on organizational envy. Our analysis is based on a clinical case study. Whereas Kleinian theory sees envy as involving two subjects, Lacanian theory approaches envy as a triangular relationship between an envied subject and a quasi similar envious person, watched (approvingly/disapprovingly) by a `big Other'. This theory helps understand that envy and narcissism are related and that they originate at the stage in psychic development that Lacan calls the `mirror stage'. Whereas the Kleinian approach highlights the differences between the Envious and the Envied and the position of dependence of one on the other, Lacanian theory outlines the role of the `double', the symmetrical position of the Envied and the Envious, and the alienation to the Other. The Lacanian approach also enables us to consider interventions in contexts where envy is present.

Key Words: emotion in organizations • envy • Lacanian theory • organizational psychology {blacksquare}theory of the mirror stage


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