“In the plethora of reports and brochures that discuss ways of tackling stress, few discuss the palliative power of the organizational group.

“There are many reasons for this. The most basic is simply that much of the previous research in the field has been informed by clinical models that tend to be highly individualistic (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004). A somewhat darker reason, however, may be that the paymasters of researchers in this area [organizational psychology] are reluctant to explore and expose the capacity for organizational subgroups to allow their members to combat stress through collective endeavor (Haslam, 2004). For if groups allow employees not only to cope with stressors in the workplace (e.g., high demands, low control, lack of support) but also to challenge and remove them (e.g., through collective action), then it is clear that they can do much more than simply enhance well-being and reduce stress – they can also produce organizational change (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).”“In the plethora of reports and brochures that discuss ways of tackling stress, few discuss the palliative power of the organizational group.

“There are many reasons for this. The most basic is simply that much of the previous research in the field has been informed by clinical models that tend to be highly individualistic (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004). A somewhat darker reason, however, may be that the paymasters of researchers in this area [organizational psychology] are reluctant to explore and expose the capacity for organizational subgroups to allow their members to combat stress through collective endeavor (Haslam, 2004). For if groups allow employees not only to cope with stressors in the workplace (e.g., high demands, low control, lack of support) but also to challenge and remove them (e.g., through collective action), then it is clear that they can do much more than simply enhance well-being and reduce stress – they can also produce organizational change (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).”

- Van Dick and Haslam (2012)