Designing and Explaining a Job Alienation Model in Mashhad Municipality

Abstract

This study aimed to design and explain an indigenous and integrated model of job alienation in Mashhad Municipality by identifying its causal conditions, contextual and intervening factors, strategies, and consequences. This exploratory, developmental-applied qualitative study employed grounded theory based on the systematic Strauss and Corbin approach. The study population consisted of employees and managers of Mashhad Municipality with more than 10 years of work experience. Twenty participants were selected through purposive sampling, and recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting 45–90 minutes and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. The trustworthiness of the findings was assessed through face validity, content validity, construct validation, and member checking. The content validity ratio was 0.78. Coding reliability was assessed by agreement between two independent coders, yielding an inter-coder agreement of 86%. Data analysis generated 142 open codes, 28 axial codes, and nine major categories. Job alienation emerged as the central phenomenon. Its causal conditions comprised psychological and emotional burnout, anxiety and defense mechanisms, diminished organizational trust and commitment, reduced motivation, effectiveness and innovation, and impaired mental and physical health. Organizational culture and relationships, together with stable management and decision-making structures, constituted the principal contextual conditions. Organizational and performance-related pressures, managerial and decision-making challenges, and weakened responsibility and teamwork emerged as intervening conditions. The principal strategies included improving employees’ mental and physical health, enhancing occupational motivation and effectiveness, and strengthening organizational commitment. The model further demonstrated that sustained job alienation was associated with reduced commitment and participation, deteriorating performance, greater intention to leave, diminished motivation, and depression. Job alienation in Mashhad Municipality is a multidimensional phenomenon produced through the interaction of psychological, organizational, cultural, and managerial mechanisms. Effective management therefore requires coordinated interventions addressing employee well-being, organizational transparency, participatory decision-making, motivational systems, managerial support, and organizational culture. The proposed indigenous paradigm model can provide a practical framework for identifying, preventing, and managing job alienation in municipalities and comparable public organizations.