Human Encounter at Work

Abstract

The tendency of people in organizations to treat each other as impersonal objects is arguably one of the greatest sources of suffering in our modern world. My dissertation explores the ways organization members can break free from objectifying exchange relationships and instead experience human encounter at work. More specifically, in this dissertation, I explore (1) what is human encounter? (2) how is human encounter experienced at work? and (3) what difference does human encounter make at work?

In Chapter 1, I introduce the concept of human encounter and provide an overview of the dissertation. Importantly, I emphasize in this chapter that human encounter inevitably has metaphysical and spiritual dimensions, which defy a scientific way of knowing. Thus, I invite readers to engage with my dissertation in a holistic way beyond what is required in a mere intellectual inquiry.

With such an aim, in Chapter 2, I offer an autoethnographic essay detailing my personal experiences with human encounter and its absence. This narrative aims to bring to life the potentially abstract concept of human encounter, setting the stage for the literature review and empirical exploration of the topic in the subsequent chapters.

In Chapter 3, I venture beyond my personal experiences to examine how others have approached the idea of human encounter. I first review how social science has explored human relationality at work. Then, to gain a comprehensive understanding on the topic, I delve into philosophical and theological perspectives on the human relationality, tapping into their deep contemplation of metaphysical existence and human encounter. I outline how these perspectives, along with insights from social scientific studies, inform our understanding of what human encounter is, how it is experienced, and what difference it makes at work.

In Chapter 4, I empirically explore human relationality at work in the research setting that used literary narratives to facilitate relational change among organizational members. Drawing on participant observations and interview data, I uncover a continuum of human encounter–the emergent, the personizing, and the transcendent—which reflects varying degrees of engagement, awareness and relationships. In contrast to the objectifying exchange, this continuum offers insight into the different levels of interactions among organizational members, from mere utilization for work-related purposes to the establishment of profound engagement that extends beyond the professional realm. Lastly, I illustrate how human encounter experience contributes to enhancing a work group’s collaborative efforts and elevating their overall work dynamics.

In Chapter 5, I synthesize the insights gained about human encounter throughout the dissertation, offering its final description as a form of genuine relational experience in which organizational members engage with one another in their humanity. I establish that human encounter represents a qualitatively distinct relational state from objectifying exchange, which I define as a form of pseudo-relational experience in which organizational members treat each other as impersonal objects. I also highlight the contributions my dissertation makes to management scholarship. Finally, I conclude the chapter with additional reflections on the topic of human encounter.

I hope my dissertation addresses a persistent critique of business (i.e., its exploitive nature) and sheds light on a better way forward for managers, workers and business scholars alike by encouraging us to revisit how we have thought about human existence and relationality in work contexts and, importantly, its forgotten, yet beautiful, possibility.