This contribution explores how the Future Lab method (Jungk & Müllert, 1984) can be
reimagined as a space for organizational imagination and change-oriented engagement in the
fields of Work and Organizational Psychology. Inspired by social constructionist perspectives, we
investigate how participatory formats can support organizational members in articulating their
dreams, frustrations, and alternative visions—while remaining attentive to the discursive,
material, economical, societal and institutional conditions that shape what is seen as possible,
desirable, or legitimate.
We propose a reframed version of the Future Lab that invites for collective imagination while also
encouraging critical reflection on the organizational narratives and power structures that delimit
change. Drawing on examples from collaborative change processes, we demonstrate how a
creative, dialogical and reflexive approach can help navigate tensions between aspiration and
constraint—without disempowering participants or reinforcing illusions of unfettered agency.
Rather than contrasting imagination with "reality," we explore how organizations can create
spaces where imagined futures are negotiated, co-constructed, and tried out in relation to
prevailing norms, resource logics, and bureaucratic scripts. We argue that imagination, when
ethically facilitated and socially anchored, can become a form of collective authorship that opens
new trajectories for organizational change.
Our contribution invites Work and Organizational Psychology to take seriously the imaginative
capacities of organizational actors—not as utopian detours, but as vital resources for shared
inquiry and situated change.