
Mats Alvesson
Professor

Organizational Psychology: When, Why, and How Is Identity Work (Less) Important in Organizational Life?
Author
Editor
- Michael Bamberg
- Carolin Demuth
- Meike Watzlawik
Summary, in English
This chapter examines if identity is as important as is often claimed, and as a consequence, when and why concerns of identity are triggered in working life, and we do so through a constructionist identity perspective. In the chapter, we argue that many people do not necessarily engage with their identities most of the time and explore why they do in certain kinds of jobs and in particular situations while in others identity is neither present nor salient, at least not as a major issue. The chapter aims to cut down the identity concept in size and suggests that a more focused view on identity may help us come to better grips with what on one level is of great societal concern: identity-related struggle, tension, and confusion in people’s working lives; without adding too much to another concern: a (re)production of unwanted narcissism in our already narcissistic time of age.
Department/s
- Organizational Studies
Publishing year
2021-10-21
Language
English
Pages
586-603
Publication/Series
Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- Identity work
- organizational psychology
- working life
- constructionist approach
- identity
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 9781108755146