In the simplest terms, cognitive dissonance refers to the feelings of psychological stress or discomfort experienced by an individual due to conflicting internal ideologies. Human beings are emotional creatures and, therefore, we experience cognitive dissonance on a daily basis, whether in our personal or professional lives. A study conducted by Lopez and Picardi (201) explored the effect of perceived workplace fairness on employee cognitive dissonance. According to the authors, people tend to adjust their behavior in the workplace in accordance with a sense of fairness.
Therefore, the cognitive dissonance between organizational requirements and perceived inequity leads to discomfort and, by extension, to decreased productivity (Lopez & Picardi, 201). The suggested positive effect of the discomfort that accompanies cognitive dissonance was directly addressed in question 15. From the above information, it appears that cognitive dissonance is a state rather than a discrete phenomenon and, despite residing in the domain of the subconscious, it can be successfully addressed through conscious effort). From a theoretical point of view, the findings of the study are valuable primarily as confirmation of the existing understanding of the effects of cognitive dissonance on leaders in the professional environment. Since they are expected to inspire your team to participate in activities that don't necessarily match their beliefs and values, the chance of developing cognitive dissonance in the process increases even more.
However, if you ask thought-provoking questions in a progressive way that helps them realize that their beliefs aren't really as important as they thought, you can resolve the cognitive dissonance that exists in them. For example, leaders clearly use some techniques to mitigate the adverse effects of cognitive dissonance on their team. The first research question is about the connection between internal conflict in leaders and the rise of cognitive dissonance. For the third research question, efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of cognitive dissonance are considered an independent variable.
The concept of cognitive dissonance has been recognized as an important contribution to the field of behavioral studies and was successfully used to clarify several psychological phenomena. The study also aims to describe the most feasible approaches to address the adverse effects of cognitive dissonance through conscious efforts that range from greater awareness and understanding of the causes of stress to specific reflective practices aimed at minimizing the possible negative outcome. First, the claims suggested by some theorists that, when addressed in a timely manner, cognitive dissonance can improve productivity, were not supported by available data. In addition, certain areas, such as cognitive dissonance in leaders, continue to be ignored despite their apparent importance to the organization.
These results are also consistent with the previous findings highlighted in the literature review, but they are only of marginal importance for the current study, since they describe the effect of cognitive dissonance on employers. Employees who suffer from cognitive dissonance tend to distance themselves and others, and disengage from the key processes of the organization that they intended to support and promote. By extension, this would allow future researchers to obtain a clearer orientation for their studies and to gain a clearer idea of the relevance of certain aspects of cognitive dissonance in the workplace.
