Embitterment is an often-overlooked emotional response that can have a profound impact on individual wellbeing and organisational functioning. It typically arises when employees perceive injustice, humiliation, or betrayal in the workplace and feel powerless to respond. Left unaddressed, embitterment can develop into chronic resentment and disengagement, damaging both personal health and team morale.

This session explores the psychological and organisational mechanisms underlying embitterment and its relationship to compassion fatigue, sanctuary trauma, and moral injury. Drawing on research and clinical experience, Dr Noreen Tehrani examines how organisational cultures that lack fairness, transparency, or compassion can foster embitterment and erode trust. She also highlights the cost to organisations when unresolved resentment becomes embedded in their systems.

Through case examples and evidence-based strategies, the session will outline practical approaches for recognising, preventing, and addressing embitterment. This includes fostering psychological safety, supporting moral repair, and using trauma-informed methods to rebuild trust and meaning at work. Dr Tehrani will discuss how compassionate leadership and restorative practices can reduce the emotional toxicity that fuels embitterment and promote resilience and post-traumatic growth.

By reframing embitterment not as resistance or negativity, but as an indicator of moral and psychological injury, organisations can better understand the human cost of unresolved workplace trauma. The presentation will provide insights and practical tools for leaders, HR professionals, and wellbeing practitioners to create healthier, more compassionate workplaces where employees feel valued, respected, and able to recover from adversity.