An Organizational-Distress Syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment

Organizational disturbances often begin with seemingly plausible complaints, which the author calls mass symptoms, that are presented repeatedly from many sources and that cannot be clarified or resolved. They are essentially pseudo-problems by which responsibility for organizational failing is transferred elsewhere. Treatment consists primarily of restoring functional job-related communication, often by means of small, explicit changes in communication pathways rather than by attitudinal changes in communication or by "open" or emotionally candid communication. The author describes the occurrence and treatment of mass symptoms in a military hospital unit, a mental health center, and a university teaching unit.