An Ideal Working & The Professional Identity
Who is an ideal worker?
Prioritise work ahead of family, personal needs and even health
How do organisations control employees' professional identities?
Totally committed
Organisational mechanisms of Organisational control
always avaliable
embrace expectation
richly rewarded
What is a professional identity
Role identities
goals, values, beliefs. norms, interaction styles, and time horizon
Two main forms of professional identities
Structure of work: The successful performance of the professional role been contingernt upon always prioritising work demands over all other life demands
Performance evaluations: Reinforcing the above structure of work by rewarding those who fulfil requirements.
expected
Experienced
professionals expected to conform to the ideal worker image
Conflict
when worker's experienced professional identity does not meet the ideal worker image
How do employees cope with conflicting professional identities?
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Congruence versus conflict
However, a large percentage of professionals experience conflict between the two identities
Historically, researchers and practitioners focused on women, especially those with young children as being the main cohort of professionals who would experience conflict.
If an employees expected, and experienced professional identities are in sync and congruent they are unlikely to experience conflict