MAW (Munchausen At Work) :0

According to the Harvard Business Review, the psychological disorder "Munchausen At Work" is an advanced derivative of the original "Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome". In this disorder, an individual fabricates or induces illness in the other person, so as to win praises as a caregiver. ?A similar pathology in the workplace leads certain employees to create or exaggerate problems in order to get credit for solving them. This behavior “wastes managerial time and resources and can threaten morale and productivity.” (Bennet, 2007).

However, Prasad Kurian, a renowned OD interventionist, working with Irfan bajajfinserve , claims that MAW is often a good ‘survival tactic’ or even an ‘IR tactic’. His exact words being, " I have seen that skilled operators at MAW cover their tracks well. The solution lies in building trust, skills and psychological safety. So, organisations need to put in a lot of efforts and purely individual level intervention (e.g. training or even coaching) might not work."

" I have seen that skilled operators at MAW cover their tracks well. The solution lies in building trust, skills and psychological safety. So, organisations need to put in a lot of efforts and purely individual level intervention (e.g. training or even coaching) might not work."          

Thus, at present there exists a conundrum which is like the two sides of the same coin. So what to believe and what not to? So why not delve a little further and find it out for ourselves? I think there is a huge scope for exploring this research topic. One method could be, qualitatively inclined in-depth interviews for a better understanding. Or a tool can be designed to screen such personalities at the workplace. Though yes, the process would require a lot of time and effort given the standardisation, validity and reliability needed to substantiate the syndrome.

Thank you for reading and wishing you an amazing day ahead! :)

Source: https://hbr.org/2007/11/munchausen-at-work