Identifying Dimensions and Components of Alienation

Alienation has a great impact on the performance of people. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of identifying the dimensions and components of alienation.

This study was applied in terms of purpose and qualitative in terms of implementation method. The research community included the experts on the alienation of Isfahan city in 2021, and according to the principle of theoretical saturation, 20 of them (employees of government organizations) were selected as a sample using targeted and snowball sampling methods. The research tools consisted of a demographic information form and semi-structured interviews, which the validity of the interviews was obtained by the verification methodology and the reliability of the collected codes was 0.88 obtained through the two-week retest method. Data were analyzed with open, interactive and selective coding methods in MAXQDA software.

Data analysis showed that alienation had 205 indicators, 29 components and 7 dimensions. The dimensions included extra-organizational alienation (with 5 components of dehumanization at work, cultural and social anomie, effects and values of industrial society, social alienation and cultural beliefs), organizational alienation (with 13 components of weakness in talent management, weakness of organizational socialization, unprofessional and weak managers, Organizational alienation, weak interpersonal communication, tension and conflict in the organization, weak rules and regulations, inefficient monitoring and control system, organizational disorder, organizational culture based on construction, corruption and rentier-seeking, autocratic management style and powerlessness at work), job alienation ( with 4 components of sense of meaninglessness at work, lack of job motivation, ambiguity in roles, duties,  job and organizational frustration), individual alienation (with 4 components of inability to work, low self-esteem, psychological disorders and lack of employees ethics), unfavorable behavioral and organizational attitudes (with 1 component), job fatigue (with 1 component) and aversion to work (with 1 component).

The identified dimensions and components for alienation can have many practical implications for specialists and organizational planners who can design and implement programs based on the identified dimensions and components to reduce employee alienation.