An exploratory study of the facilitators and barriers to applying transactional analysis in the workplace

Vallely, Claire (2024) An exploratory study of the facilitators and barriers to applying transactional analysis in the workplace. Doctoral thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

Abstract

COVID-19 has had an impact on the workplace worldwide, creating a complex and challenging environment especially for Human Resource (HR) professionals, who oversee the people agenda in the workplace. Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychological approach that can support individuals through the myriad of current challenges that workplaces are currently experiencing adjusting to work life post COVID-19. This thesis offers two studies that advance our understanding of the evidence base for applying TA in the workplace. The first study, a systematic literature review (SLR), followed a best practice SLR methodology to explore the evidence for the use of TA interventions in the workplace. The study reviewed the quality of the evidence and the impact of the interventions. The studies (n=9) included in the review explored the outcomes of TA interventions. While there is promising evidence for the application of TA in the workplace, none of the nine studies explored the facilitators and barriers to applying TA in the workplace from the perspective of HR professionals. HR have an overarching view of the workplace context and hence are in a position to understand if, why and how TA could be applied within the workplace setting. To address the gap identified in the SLR, the second study examined HR professionals’ perceptions of the facilitators and barriers to applying TA in the workplace. The data collection methods included a two-hour TA workshop followed by semi structured interviews with a sample of Human Resource professionals (n-15). Thematic analysis identified three themes which consisted of ten subthemes of which there were two facilitators, six barriers and two subthemes which were both a facilitator and a barrier to applying TA in the workplace. A framework for practice was developed from these findings for the successful application of TA in the workplace. Taken together, the results of the first and the second study demonstrate initial evidence for the application of TA in the workplace and add new knowledge to the facilitators and the barriers to applying TA in the workplace. The implications of the study findings for both research and practice, are discussed.

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