Ecological momentary storytelling: Bringing down organizational stress through qualifying work life stories

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine ways in which a combination of ecological momentary assessments and reflective dialogues can provide a methodological framework for qualifying work-life stories in the process of reducing organizational stress. The article is based on two hypotheses: 1) a general as well as a work-related sense of coherence can mobilize resistance to stressors and 2) a sense of coherence can occur through self-reflective narratives which clarify patterns of action for oneself and for others. Focusing on hearing impaired people in the Danish work force as well as primary school teachers, the authors create a stress tracking method based on HRV-measurements coupled with mobile questionnaires and reflective dialogues. Findings in the user-test indicated that the method is a tool that creates a story-based foundation on which it is possible to start a process of talking about own experiences, stress and stressors, strategies, contexts etc. when dealing with organizational stress. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.