The Catch-22 organization: Living with austerity, bureaucracy and absurdity in a public sector organization.

This article examines the experience of paradox and absurdity in a Local Government Authority (LGA) undergoing austerity-driven transformation, introducing the concept of "absurdination" to describe a liminal subjectivity marked by tension between rationality and absurdity that generates unease, anxiety, frustration, and disillusionment among frontline workers. Drawing on Joseph Heller's novel *Catch-22* alongside empirical research in an English LGA facing severe budget cuts, the study highlights how bureaucratic decisions often produce contradictory and irrational conditions reminiscent of Kafkaesque and wartime absurdities, yet employees retain agency and meaning in their work despite these challenges. The article critiques managerial paradox literature for focusing on managing tensions within the status quo, arguing instead for recognizing the lived experiences of those affected by organizational absurdities and the obstacles hierarchical distance poses to genuine understanding and learning. Ultimately, absurdination reflects the coexistence of meaning and meaninglessness in bureaucratic life intensified by austerity, suggesting that while absurdity cannot be eliminated, acknowledging and engaging with it may foster deeper empathy and critical reflection on organizational and societal structures.