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Critical Perspectives on Management and Organisations (Integrated identity…
Critical Perspectives on Management and Organisations
Integrated identity management for multiple audiences
Combining Passing and revealing
Factors influencing the use of passing and/or revealing when interacting with audiences:
– Audience status
~ Pass to high-status while revealing to same-status audiences
– Closeness of relationship
~ Pass to those distant while revealing to close friends (colleagues) and mentors
– Perceivedaccesstoformalaccommodations
~ Reveal if having access to formal accommodations (e.g. parental leave) and pass if not
– Extremityoftheconflictexperienced
~ When faced with extreme circumstances in work (e.g. excessively demanding project) or personal life (e.g. death of a close family member) reveal while passing on all other circumstances
Spillover of perception across audiences
Efforts to pass or reveal to one audience (e.g. high-status) can spillover and influence the perceptions held of the professional by other audiences (e.g. same- or low-level)
– Passing to high-status audiences tends to facilitate passing to equal- or low-status audiences
– Revealing to close colleagues often results in informal re-structuring of work which enables one to pass to wider high-status audiences
– Revealing to high-status audiences often results in revealing to broader audiences across the organisation
How do Organisations control employees' professional identity?
Structure of Work: structuring the work environment so that the notion of prioritising work demands over other life demands is expected. That is, always being available to the employer.
Being able to effectively employee both of the above tools encourages employees to continuously adopt the 'expected' professional identity.
Performance Evaluations: rewarding those who fulfil the 'expected' professional identity requirements. Rewards include promotions, salary increments, non-monetary rewards).
The ideal worker and the professional identity
The concept of an ideal worker is shifting in the modern world due to the societal shift toward a 24/7/365 work cycle. this means employees are forced to prioritize work ahead of their families, personal needs and even health.
It is now considered that an ideal worker is one who is totally committed and always available, those who embrace this are often rewarded
A professional identity refers to the goals, values, beliefs, norms, interaction styles and time horizons associated with a given role
The two main forms of professional identity are the expected employer expectations and beliefs, and the their own experienced expectations and beleifs
Organisations will expect employees to conform to these ideal worker images and when they don't then a conflict often arises
Coping with Conflicting Professional Identities
Professionals cope with conflicting identities (expected vs. experienced) by 'straying' from the expected identity (ideal worker image).
Passing: Intentional or accidental misrepresentation of MEMBERSHIP in the favoured group (expected professional identity).
Personally altering the structure of work through a focus on cultivating a local client base, working on internal projects to reduce travel time, working from home.
Personally cultivating the necessary work conditions.
Taking initiative and control, making one's own path - 'job crafting'.
Allows employees to pass as having embraced their desire to stray from the expected identity - people are more willing to work harder it is their perceived choice.
Revealing: Intentional or accidental disclosure of NON-MEMBERSHIP in the favoured group (expected professional identity).
Seeking assistance in restructuring work through measures such as applying for reduced workloads and seeking parental and/or carer's leave.
Revealing their deviance from the expected workplace identity = penalty - putting themselves in a vulnerable position.
Consequences of using identity management strategies for professionals
Gender differneces
On average:
– Women less likely to engage to identity management strategies that allows passing to high-status audiences and more likely to reveal
– Men are equally likely to use passing as well as revealing identity management strategies
The reasons for the above patterns are complex – often attributed to women being more likely to utilise formal accommodations (e.g. parental leave) provided by employer than men
Senior audience perceptions of professionals dictate the performance evaluation system
External perceptions and performance evaluation
High performance ratings given to:
– Those who embrace the expected professional identity (i.e. congruent with their experienced professional identity)
– Those who use passing (especially to senior-status audiences) identity management strategies to cope with conflict
Low performance rating given to those who use revealing (especially to senior-status audiences) identity management strategies to cope with conflict
High performance rating results in stable and straightforward career paths and at times accelerated advancement while low performance ratings results in missing out on promotions and/or unstable career trajectories