Autoethnography in the modern workplace: a reflexive journey

Abstract

PurposeThis conceptual paper seeks to critically evaluate and illuminate the diverse autoethnographic methodologies that are pivotal for understanding the dynamics of contemporary workspaces. The objective is to contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate on the value of autoethnography in workplace research and explore how it can shed light on complex organizational phenomena.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a narrative literature review approach, focusing on four main forms of autoethnography: realist, impressionistic, expressionistic and conceptualistic autoethnographies. Each form is discussed and dissected, emphasizing their specific sub-forms and illustrating their application through representative examples. The paper engages in a critical debate on utilizing autoethnography in workplace research.FindingsThe findings illuminate how autoethnographic methods can be used to gain nuanced and complex understandings of personal experiences situated in workplace culture, as well as how broader social and cultural contexts shape these experiences. The study also highlights the potential of these methods to explore marginalized and silenced stories within workplaces and contribute to the knowledge on power dynamics, inequalities and injustices embedded in the organizational culture.Practical implicationsThe following contribution discusses approaches for conducting autoethnographic explorations of selected work environments, offering researchers valuable insights into these methods' application. Through better comprehension and application of these methodologies, researchers can enhance their contribution toward cultivating more inclusive and equitable workplace environments.Originality/valueThe paper stands out in its extensive review and critical discussion of the autoethnographic methods as applied in workplace research. It expands upon individual autoethnographic studies by providing a comprehensive, multifaceted perspective, delving into the merits and limitations of these approaches in particular context of researching contemporary places of work.

Guest editorial: New directions in workplace ethnography

“…The conceptual article of Orel (2024), “Autoethnography in the modern workplace: a reflexive journey,” seeks to critically evaluate and illuminate the diverse autoethnographic methodologies – particularly realist, impressionistic, expressionistic and conceptualistic autoethnography – that are pivotal for understanding contemporary workspaces. While autoethnography has been around for decades, the paper shows how this method has evolved and differentiated into various approaches – simultaneously reflecting the diversifying societal and workplace relations – each with its merits and limits and of particular worth in certain contexts.…”

“…Beyond providing a critical theoretical review of these autoethnographic approaches, the author also provides a typological framework to show how these approaches can be applied by ethnographers to the workplace, implicating methodological and pragmatic value. Overall, Orel (2024) evidences how autoethnography can be applied to shed light on complex organizational phenomena and to gain nuanced understandings of personal experiences situated in workplace culture, depending on the approach.…”

“…While practiced for over 40 years (Hayano, 1979), the mounting prominence of autoethnography – accelerated by the COVID-19 lockdowns – is a recent phenomenon. Autoethnography is taken seriously and widely applied, and it has been diversifying into subgenres (as Orel, 2024). Declaring positionality vis-à-vis the field of research has always been part and parcel of the ethnographic endeavor, manifested in writing by way of reflexivity.…”