Shame and the Psychosocial Costs of Contemporary Work: Implications for Career Intervention

Abstract

This article explores the concept of shame and integrates it into career development and career counseling. The article begins with an overview of shame from a diverse conceptual framework, describing shame as a self‐conscious emotion that occurs in response to interactions or events that evoke embarrassment, humiliation, self‐doubt, and psychological distress. We discuss the prevalence of shame in work‐based interactions and contexts, which is referred to as work shame. Building on this integrative review of shame within the working context, we describe the counseling implications and provide a case study to illustrate the ways in which shame emerges in clients' lives and potential strategies to resist and transcend shame.