Therapeutic writing and ethical resilience in fluid workplaces: a neutralization theory perspective

Purpose This paper aims to envision therapeutic writing as an intervention to disrupt stress-driven ethical erosion in flexible workplaces, redefining resilience as an inter-subjective practice that strikes a balance between individual initiative and structural responsibility. Design/methodology/approach Based on an interdisciplinary methodology blending management, sociology and psychology, the study maps ten stress typologies in adaptive working environments onto their equivalent neutralization mechanisms. The research develops a set of ten statements in which therapeutic writing practice is connected to ethics and resilience, with writing as an intrapsychic procedure and systemic diagnostic tool for effective management. The model couples neuroscience information on stress management with sociological analysis of precarious work. Findings Therapeutic writing is resistant to moral degradation in the following ways: first, by identifying the external sources of system-wide stress in terms of restructuring narratives; second, by recapturing prefrontal regulation in leaders for making moral decisions; and third, by facilitating collective accountability through collective storytelling. Moral degradation is, thereby, shifted from a managerial problem to a diagnostic problem. Originality/value In this case, originality starts with a focus on neutralization theory from a structural management perspective, providing an early premise to connect therapeutic writing with sustainability in organizational responsiveness. In addition, it enhances leadership by integrating employee well-being with ethics.