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Home > HCAS > HCAS_PUBS > HCAS_JOURNALS > TQR Home > TQR > Vol. 30 > No. 11 (2025)

 

Abstract

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.

Keywords

metaphor analysis, resilience, identity, sensemaking, cognitive and emotional tools, qualitative research introduction

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Erhan Atay has a diverse international teaching and research experience across the UK, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Turkey. Dr. Atay is the co-editor of three academic books on Asian Business, Economy, and Politics, and the author of the graduate-level textbook Strategic Human Resources Management: Cultural and Contextual Factors. His research interests include global mobility, expatriation, refugee studies, HRM in Southeast Asia, national HR systems, and strategic management in multinational corporations and NGOs. Dr. Atay has published over 40 articles in respected academic journals. Please direct correspondence to dr.erhan.atay@gmail.com

Prof. Serkan Bayraktaroğlu is a senior academician who has worked for over 30 years at public and private universities. He obtained his M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Coventry Business School of Coventry University, the UK. He published many scholarly papers and well-known books in HRM-related areas and was involved in international training and consultancy services. His research and business interests include HRM, strategic HRM and recent developments in HRM and OB areas. Please direct correspondence to sbayraktaroglu@hotmail.com

Leo Johannesberg is an educator and researcher with expertise in Business Administration, Leadership, and Consumer Behavior, as well as ICT and cybersecurity. He combines international teaching and tutoring experience with a strong background in management and strategic studies to support evidence-based learning and foster critical thinking among diverse learners. He currently teaches at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Leo holds an MBA from National Taipei University of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in applied English, and he is fluent in English, Finnish, Chinese, and Turkish. Please direct correspondence to leo.johannesberg@laurea.fi

Publication Date

11-30-2025

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7930

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4190-3452

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