Navigating the Storm: A Qualitative Metaphor-Based Analysis of Resilience and Identity Reconstruction Among Displaced Professionals


ATAY E., Bayraktaroglu S., Johannesburg L.

Qualitative Report, cilt.30, sa.11, ss.4651-4678, 2025 (ESCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 30 Sayı: 11
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7930
  • Dergi Adı: Qualitative Report
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4651-4678
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: cognitive and emotional tools, identity, metaphor analysis, qualitative research introduction, resilience, sensemaking
  • Trakya Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Building on previous management scholarship, this paper explains how Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and metaphorical expressions inform organizational resilience and leadership communication in employee support strategies. It tries to capture the interplay between personal sensemaking and collective adaptation. The study aims to provide practitioners with hands-on insights into developing inclusion, resilience, and identity reconstruction in organizational and societal contexts of disruption. The analysis identifies three critical metaphorical themes: resilience, which is likened to "climbing a mountain;" isolation, which is likened to being "trapped in a bubble;" and identity reconstruction, which is likened to "picking up the shattered pieces of a pot." These findings demonstrate how metaphors can serve as effective cognitive and emotional tools for navigating uncertainty, rebuilding professional identities, and adapting to disrupted environments. Building on previous management scholarship, this paper explains how metaphorical expressions inform organizational resilience and leadership communication in employee support strategies. It tries to capture the interplay between personal sensemaking and collective adaptation. The study aims to provide practitioners with hands-on insights into developing inclusion, resilience, and identity reconstruction in organizational and societal contexts of disruption.