
Mats Alvesson
Professor

Excessive work regimes and functional stupidity
Author
Summary, in English
In order to understand why individuals accept and reproduce excessive time regimes, this paper addresses five key drivers: (1) intrinsic motivation, (2) extrinsic motivation, (3) organizational norms, (4) the principle of reciprocity, and (5) identity, including having the ‘true grit’ and belonging to the ‘elite’. It also points to how various elements in excessive work regimes – tendencies towards a closed occupational system, the combination of incentives and ego-boosting and limited time outside work – contribute to functional stupidity, making people disinclined to ask critical questions about work practices and norms, be self-reflective or imagine alternative forms of work organizations, careers or personal objectives.
Department/s
- Department of Business Administration
Publishing year
2018-08-07
Language
English
Pages
283-296
Publication/Series
German Journal of Human Resource Management
Volume
32
Issue
3-4
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- Functional stupidity
- identity
- motivation
- professional services
- work regimes
- working hours
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2397-0022