"Carriers of hope." Creating organizational spaces of hope during COVID-19

In this empirical study, we aim to explore how organizations can be targets of hope during COVID-19. More specifically, we ask: how do managers create spaces of hope, and what are the underlying mechanisms facilitating these processes of hope in a crisis situation? Based on an investigation of essays written by managers prior to and during the COVID- 19 pandemic and drawing on analyses from a focus group interview with managers, this article shows how creating organizational spaces of hope is part of a dynamic, relational and spiritual process. The managers are working on recognizing and affirming the organizational members' situation, helping them envision hope through a process of noticing despair, searching for meaning, and creating actions of hope to establish a horizon of possibilities. This hope process is facilitated through group reflection in safe spaces as well as times of slow-thinking, enabling hope practices in organizations to be part of viewing future horizons. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

"Carriers of Hope." Creating Organizational Spaces of Hope During COVID-19

In this empirical study, we aim to explore how organizations can be targets of hope during COVID-19. More specifically, we ask: how do managers create spaces of hope, and what are the underlying mechanisms facilitating these processes of hope in a crisis situation? Based on an investigation of essays written by managers prior to and during the COVID19 pandemic and drawing on analyses from a focus group interview with managers, this article shows how creating organizational spaces of hope is part of a dynamic, relational and spiritual process. The managers are working on recognizing and affirming the organizational members' situation, helping them envision hope through a process of noticing despair, searching for meaning, and creating actions of hope to establish a horizon of possibilities. This hope process is facilitated through group reflection in safe spaces as well as times of slow-thinking, enabling hope practices in organizations to be part of viewing future horizons.