Performing the Responsive and Committed Employee through the Sociomaterial Mangle of Connection

Abstract

In the light of increasingly mobile and flexible work, maintaining connections to work is presented as vital. Various studies have sought to understand how these connections are experienced and managed, particularly through the use of smartphones. We take a new perspective on this practice by bringing together the conceptual fields of sociomateriality and identity work. Through the analysis of narratives produced by smartphone users in an engineering firm we argue that connection can be viewed as a sociomaterial assemblage that performs particular identities: being contactable and responsive; being involved and committed; and being in-demand and authoritative. Through this analysis we both elaborate the concept of connectivity at work and indicate how the material is implicated in identity performances.

Feeling interrupted—Being responsive: How online messages relate to affect at work

“…This process might not only operate within the person receiving and responding to the online messages. Reacting quickly often also implies that the sender of the first message gets a response to his or her message within reasonable time (Simon & Pritchard, ), making it more likely that the original sender reacts in a positive way, in turn fostering the perception of good performance and positive affect.…”

Voluntary Work‐related Technology Use during Non‐work Time: A Narrative Synthesis of Empirical Research and Research Agenda

“…In contrast to the role of the social-normative context, the influence of a self-imposed component of ICT use during nonwork time should not be underestimated: Ohly and Latour (2014), for instance, found a considerably higher percentage of employees with an internal motivation to perform work-related ICT use during nonwork time than with an external motivation. Additionally, there may be motives unrelated to technology use, as employees might think that making themselves constantly available could project their commitment and ambition (Symon and Pritchard 2015).…”

“…It should further be noted that employees' perceptions of ICT use can be influenced by the socialnormative context, which may champion that 'ideal' employees prioritize work above all other life domains and continuously strive towards career advancement (Bailyn 2006;Symon and Pritchard 2015). If their motive is to be or portray being the ideal employee, frequently measured by long work hours and overtime presence (including virtual presence), they might have internalized these values and evaluate the outcomes of ICT use accordingly: negative outcomes of ICT use might be seen as acceptable trade-off, given all the perceived benefits of this behaviour in terms of flexibility, efficiency and getting ahead in one's career (Allen and Shoard 2005;Cavazotte et al 2014;Harmer et al 2008).…”

Towards a Performative Theory of Resistance: Senior Managers and Revolting Subject(ivitie)s

“…It has been debated in an on-going but inconclusive discussion (Hardy and Thomas, 2015;Orlikowski & Scott, 2015;Putnam, 2015), but there is what appears to be an emerging stream of intriguing empirical studies that draw on Barad's work to explore the agency of non-sentient objects. Examples include Symon and Pritchard's (2015) analysis of how smartphones constitute staff identities; and Orlikowski and Scott's (2014;2015) study of how virtual media constitute new hoteliers' practices. Keevers & Sykes (2016) show how food and music constitute metaphysics of individualism, Such studies follow Barad in regarding phenomena as 'entangled material agencies' (p. 56) that emerge through constitutive practices.…”