I’m Doing it Right, Right? Reassurance-Seeking in the Workplace: Employees with OCD

Abstract

Despite the breadth of literature in clinical psychology, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and reassurance-seeking behaviors remained unexamined in workplace contexts. This is a critical omission considering OCD symptomatology spans contexts and reassurance-seeking is the most common interpersonal manifestation. The general population is also likely to engage in reassurance-seeking. The present research examined antecedents and consequences of reassurance-seeking using purposive sampling of people with OCD. We leveraged archival data from online forums where participants built upon the responses of one another’s ideas. We collected 53 comments from 20 different forums using web-based data extraction in R in which authors discussed their experiences with OCD and reassurance-seeking at work. Three coders completed thematic analysis to determine antecedents and consequences of reassurance-seeking behavior at work. Our findings suggest that lack of clarity and poor communication are prevalent antecedents of reassurance-seeking behavior in the workplace. Further, lower perceptions of competence, increased turnover, and worsening OCD symptoms were pervasive consequences of workplace reassurance-seeking for people with OCD. The findings illustrate a strong connection between the antecedents and consequences of reassurance-seeking, such that actions to improve task clarity, workplace communication, and positive reinforcement could have a vast positive impact on employee performance, burnout/turnover, and OCD symptoms.