A s organizational communication scholars, we routinely orient ourselves to organizations as places of work while often ignoring the diverse forms of communicative work and communication about our working lives that underpin such locales. In this essay, we consider how the study of meaningful work problematizes the boundaries of organizational communication. Specifically, we reflect on how definitions of meaningful work are very much caught up in our contemporary milieu. Organizational communication scholars, then, must be willing and able to work within and across traditional boundaries, perhaps redefining them in the process. We illustrate these claims in three parts. In the first part, we consider the rise of communication work and how it calls into question common notions of meaningful work. In our second section, we argue that what counts as meaningful work often stems from the raced, classed, and gendered assumptions guiding our practice. Finally, in part three, and with these elements of our milieu in mind, we describe ways in which scholars can begin to investigate meaningful work by examining tensions between description and prescription

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to investigate the role of the body in the vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS) processes of classical musicians. Design/methodology/approach – Using grounded theory, the paper analyzed semi-structured interviews with 48 musicians (27 children; 21 parents) to understand how classical musicians’ bodies intermediate the meaning of work. The Aristotelian concepts of potentiality and actuality frame this study. Findings – The paper reveals that: “tuning” bodies is as important as tuning instruments (body as object of work), and diseases, occupational injuries, and accidents pose challenges to both health and performance (body as obstacle). Research limitations/implications – Theoretically, the paper contributes the notion that phases of VAS are fused not just through cognitive and relational processes, but also through embodied learning for classical musicians. Practical implications – At the practical level, the paper reminds that the body is an important source of vocational socialization information. Originality/value – The paper is filling a gap in organizational literature, which has under addressed the materiality of the body.

Unclear, ambiguous communication during a wildland fire can have serious consequences for firefighters' safety. This paper grounds its observations in media richness theory and the theory of communicative action. Radio is a less rich medium than video or face-to-face communication because it relies on hearing only and it requires a longer time to convey understanding. The theory of communicative action explains that effective messages should be true (content-wise), appropriate and truthful (expressive). This paper uses data from the investigation reports of the Cramer fire in Idaho, 2003, the Dutch Creek incident in California, 2008, and the Panther fire in California, 2008, to show that ambiguous, shortened and information-poor messages can impact decision-making and the safety of firefighters. Although previous research has pointed to technical and cultural barriers to effective radio communication, this paper draws attention to the actual wording of messages.

Although communication is often cited as a contributor to organisational accidents, complexities of the communication context are still understudied. In training materials and some investigative reports, communication is often presented as an equipment issue or as a simple skill that can be picked up on the job. However, interviews with operational and managerial professionals in wildland firefighting reveal 10 simplifications in guidance about radio communication that do not match the complexities experienced by firefighters in the fire environment. Borrowing language from high-reliability organising theory, this study encourages the fire community to cultivate a ‘reluctance to simplify’ how communication is understood and taught, starting with introductory training. The study recommends a move away from the old information transfer model for communication and towards an ecology of meanings model for communication.

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