Abstract:This article foregrounds the voice of an IT professional who is directly employed by a large British company and who, along with colleagues, is experiencing career uncertainty resulting from a management initiative to replace the established workforce with an alternative labour supply provided by a global IT services company. As an account that reflects the uncertainty of the age, the narrative offers insights into current discussions concerning the contemporary nature and experience of work generally. More sp… Show more
“…Detrimental changes to work situations (e.g. job loss) are frequently associated with economic, social and self-identity disruption (MacKenzie and Marks, 2019) and, when experienced collectively, to community fracture and social decline (Dobbins et al, 2014; Trusson and Woods, 2016).…”
Section: Biographical Disruptions and Changing Self-identitiesmentioning
The article examines how women workers reflexively shape their self-identities and work identities following a significant biographical disruption incurred by breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Based on interviews with 22 women navigating their post-diagnosis life course, the article addresses participants’ challenges in their relationships with paid employment, their responses and self-identity narratives. It finds that women strive to revise and innovate their self-identity and work identity in the midst of personal and social constraints in working life. They craft their cancer disruptive experiences into new developments of who they are, and want to be, as persons and as workers. Multiple intersectional features of participants’ work-related self-identity are identified, including reassessment of priorities, capabilities and workplace relations.
“…Detrimental changes to work situations (e.g. job loss) are frequently associated with economic, social and self-identity disruption (MacKenzie and Marks, 2019) and, when experienced collectively, to community fracture and social decline (Dobbins et al, 2014; Trusson and Woods, 2016).…”
Section: Biographical Disruptions and Changing Self-identitiesmentioning
The article examines how women workers reflexively shape their self-identities and work identities following a significant biographical disruption incurred by breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Based on interviews with 22 women navigating their post-diagnosis life course, the article addresses participants’ challenges in their relationships with paid employment, their responses and self-identity narratives. It finds that women strive to revise and innovate their self-identity and work identity in the midst of personal and social constraints in working life. They craft their cancer disruptive experiences into new developments of who they are, and want to be, as persons and as workers. Multiple intersectional features of participants’ work-related self-identity are identified, including reassessment of priorities, capabilities and workplace relations.
“…Specifically, as a future research direction, we point to this study's potential implications for IT professionals being able to fulfil an important professional 'safeguarding' role (Freidson, 1994;Trusson and Woods, 2017) within servitised IT functions of organisations (including governmental) that have become dependent upon IT infrastructure. If the voice of the expert technical-professional is diminished via camouflaged managerial control mechanisms inscribed in ICTs, then how will this impact on their assumed professional role of providing technical input to management decision-making?…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 96%
“…Such complex IT systems are prone to failure in multifarious ways. As such, the work might be characterised as being highly contingent, often extemporaneous and requiring considerable mental flexibility when using technological expertise comprising theoretical and contextual elements (Trusson and Woods, ). The nature of the work is reflected in the following participant comments:It’s very complex, unbelievably so sometimes.…”
Section: Managerial Control Of It Professionals Via Ict Toolsmentioning
Recently IT work has been subjected to management approaches that apply production methods to service work. Specialised information and communication technologies (ICTs) used by IT professionals have played an important role in this ‘service turn’, but this has not been adequately explored in the literature. Via a qualitative study of IT professionals situated across the servitised IT functions of five UK‐based organisations, this article considers how these ICTs are inscribed with managerial logics that afford control benefits to managers while undermining professional autonomy and job quality. The article makes two main contributions to the literature. Firstly, it sheds light on how ICTs introduced into organisational IT functions support managerial control objectives and impact the job quality of IT professionals. Secondly, it suggests that ICTs may infect the logic of professionalism that takes pride in the quality of the work performance with a dominant managerial logic that places an emphasis on meeting management objectives.
“…The uncertainty associated with these contracts has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic with reports of some employee and employer uncertainty with regards to entitlement to government income support (furlough) schemes, and some employer’s reluctance to furlough employees on these contracts (Ogbonna and Franklin 2021 ). Development of technology and the increasing trend for companies to outsource work has changed the demand for certain skills and the need for certain employees (Trusson and Woods 2017 ; Martinaitis et al 2020 ). Looking towards the future, it is possible that increasing automation may result in those with certain skill sets finding it more difficult to secure employment and therefore increasing their vulnerability to poverty.…”
Household food insecurity in developed nations has been identified as a significant public health concern. Although various research on the topic exists, such as contributors to food insecurity, and implications for individual physical and mental health outcomes; there is currently a lack of consideration as to how individual implications of food insecurity such as poor physical and mental health can consequently impact on business and the wider economy. In addition, there is a lack of conceptual literature related to food insecurity. Stakeholder interviews (n = 19) were conducted, and data were used to inform the conceptual model (risk factors, potential implications for individuals, the economy and business, and opportunities for business and policy response). The main suggested implications related to business and the economy were reduced contribution to the workforce and the economy, and increased cost pressures on the National Health Service. Business responses suggested included the inclusion of initiatives to address food insecurity in corporate social responsibility strategies, and further involvement of food businesses/retailers in redistributing surplus food. Policy responses suggested included policies relating to welfare, wages and work contracts, food redistribution incentives, sustainability, and community interventions in disadvantaged areas. The resulting model is unique in conceptualising food insecurity in the Northern Ireland context, with applicability to the UK and other developed nations.
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