Phenomenological and experiential methods in work and organizational psychology

Ciro De Vincenzo, Margherita Busson, Paula Victoria Cramer and Hanna Theresa Reisch

Chapter 22 in Handbook of Critical Work and Organizational Psychology, 2026, pp 379-410 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explores the role of phenomenological and experiential methods in Work and Organizational (W-O) psychology as a counterpoint to the dominance of positivist, nomothetic paradigms. Drawing on Husserl's foundational insights, the hermeneutic turn, and Merleau-Ponty's emphasis on embodiment, and Gestalt-informed praxis, it demonstrates how phenomenology foregrounds the lived, situated, and embodied dimensions of organizational life. The chapter articulates a methodological framework that distinguishes methodology, method, technique, and tool, while introducing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and approaches to collecting “thick data.” Building on critical phenomenology, it highlights the intersections with feminist, post-structuralist, and intersectional perspectives, underscoring how lived experience is shaped by systemic power relations. An empirical example of precarious academic work illustrates how phenomenological inquiry can reveal the affective, temporal, and political dimensions of organizational precarity. Ultimately, phenomenology is presented not merely as a method but as an epistemological and ethical stance that reclaims workers’ subjectivity as a legitimate source of knowledge and a site of transformative critique.

Keywords: Phenomenology; Experiential Methods; Work and Organizational Psychology; Lived Experience; Critical Phenomenology; Intersectionality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035331055
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