Identity Work and Meaning Arena : Beyond Actor/Structure and Micro/Macro Distinctions in an Empirical Analysis of IT Workers  

Oleh:

Westenholz, Ann

Jenis: Article from Journal - e-Journal
Dalam koleksi: American Behavioral Scientist vol. 49 no. 07 (Mar. 2006), page 1015-1029.
Topik: Identity; Working Life; Information Technology
Fulltext: 11. Identity Work and Meaning Arena - Beyond Actor-Structure and MicroMacro Distinctions in an Empirical Analysis....pdf (109.13KB)

Isi artikel

A dominant sociological argument asserts that changes in working life and society in general have affected our identities, with the result of increased individualization and the decline of the “organizational man.” The author is critical of this epochalist claim and argues that it is important to design an approach to analyzing the identities and telling the stories of the current transformation of work and identities that recognizes the processes within working life. This proposal goes beyond a grand-scale epochalist claim about the consequences of the transformation to a postmodern area of identity. As an alternative, the author suggests an analysis of identities, drawing on a relational and social constructivist paradigm. She examines how workers employ elements from widespread identity stories as “raw material” when negotiating emerging identities. Drawing on a qualitative study within the information technology field, the author illustrates what such an analysis of emerging identities might look like.

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