Life is typically a process of compromises as we appreciate that we might not be able to have everything we wish for. Research from Cambridge Judge Business School explores what happens when we renounce certain ambitions in the workplace.
The researchers analyzed the matter via the world of academics in French business schools, who grapple with the challenging conundrum of “publish or perish”. This high-pressure scenario compels faculty members to produce research papers for elite scholarly publications, or risk jeopardizing their chances of earning tenure and attaining job security.
A novel model, developed by the authors, unveils six distinct experiences of renunciation, which can be broadly categorized into two groups – (a) relinquishing certain aspirations to excel in other areas, and (b) conceding to less favorable outcomes that cannot be avoided.
The six experiences of renouncing include:
- Renouncing as sacrifice (wherein individuals relinquish freedom)
- Renouncing as self-discipline (wherein individuals choose to follow norms)
- Renouncing as a challenge (wherein individuals perceive renouncing as an opportunity for self-growth)
- Renouncing as a resignation (wherein individuals accept marginalization)
- Renouncing as a means of self-preservation (such as striving for work-life balance)
- Renouncing as a means of emancipation (wherein renunciation facilitates self-realization).
The study of how individuals perceive renunciation of specific tasks and goals has been previously overlooked.
“This paper aims to be the first to understand such experiences by exploring how organizational participants approach renunciation in the workplace,” the authors state.
Apart from these six experiences, the study also identifies three broad approaches to renouncing, namely:
- “Suffered” renouncing (when people feel they have no other choice)
- “Accepted” renouncing (compliance with norms)
- “Chosen” renouncing (when individuals deliberately renounce to achieve desired outcomes).
Overall, the study finds that the experience of renouncing at work can evoke both pain and satisfaction depending on the individual and context.
“Our model enables us to map out how renouncing at work ends up being an ambivalent human experience that can function as a requirement or as a proactive choice, as constraining or emancipatory, as associated with resistance or compliance, as painful or satisfying, and, ultimately, as meaningful or meaningless,” the authors conclude. “We also unveil the potentially positive aspects of renouncing at work, when it creates opportunities for self-realization under constraints.”
