Can Heedful Interrelating Be a Self-empowering Approach to Thwart Maladaptive Workplace Functioning? An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Maladaptive workplace functioning hinders task completion, work-goal attainment and collaborative interactions, thereby affecting the optimal utilisation of human capital, learning outcomes and organisational sustainability. By integrating self-determination theory, the theory of heedful interrelating and the socially embedded model of thriving at work, this study proposes a conceptual model as a self-empowering approach to thwart maladaptive functioning. A five-stage integrative literature review was conducted to examine the available knowledge base, critically review and synthesise selected literature on heedful interrelating to locate a knowledge gap and bring forth a new way of thinking to address employee workplace maladaptive functioning. A sample of ten empirical articles was consolidated to gauge the antecedents and outcomes of heedful interrelating. The originality of the study lies in bridging the dialectic gap of self-determination theory, introducing heed as a novel factor to the relatedness dimension and employing an intelligent review methodology to propose a practical workplace solution to maladaptive functioning.