Surf ’s Up: Work, Life, Balance and Brand in a New Age Capitalist Organization

Abstract

This paper reframes the notion of work/life balance through analysis of branding and the immaterial labour process in a "new age capitalist" organization. The company does not manufacture material products; rather, value is produced through branding imported goods to promote "alternative" ways of living. This is achieved through incorporation of leisure activities and lifestyles of key employees, effectively putting their "lives" to "work" in the creation of value for the company. For employees, therefore, much work actually takes place notionally outside or on the margins of their formally employed space and time. We argue that this qualitatively transforms the conceptions of, and relations between, work and life that underpin the concept of work/life balance. We conclude by exploring the tensions generated by organizational incorporation of employee autonomy in the pursuit of aspirational branding. KEY WORDSauthenticity / branding / identity / New Age capitalism / work/life balance

The construction and controlling effect of a moral brand

“…Authentic engagement was encouraged by the perceived legitimacy of the brand values embedded in the company history, brand culture champions and their passionate followers throughout the organisations (such as the 'eco-nazi') for whom the ambitions of the company aligned with their personal ambitions (Lazzarato, 2004). The brand work undertaken was both intensive and extensive; intensive in the degree of emotional commitment and extensive in involving the lives of employees beyond their paid work roles (Fleming & Sturdy, 2011;Land & Taylor, 2010). Yet the authenticity was not free from regulation, but subject to the discursive power of environmentalism and sustainability, and the disciplinary effects of the Juicy life.…”

“…The moral dimension to brand identity forms an increasingly important part of the retail landscape and draws attention to brand cultures that are shaped by the powerful discourse of 'doing the right thing'. In exploring this case it is argued that something distinct from cultures demanding extra-contractual presenteeism or high-commitment identity work (Casey, 1995;Kunda, 1992), and organisations' utilisation of aspects of the private lives of employees to lend authenticity and credibility to an organisation's identity and/or brand (Fleming, 2009;Fleming & Spicer, 2004;Fleming & Sturdy, 2011;Garrety, 2008;Land & Taylor, 2010) is evident. It demonstrates how employees control, and are controlled by the moral brand, and how it gives meaning to their lives at the same time as exhibiting characteristics of a totalistic cultural control, demonstrating Willmott's (1993) notion of 'doublethink'.…”

Review Article: When ‘life itself’ goes to work: Reviewing shifts in organizational life through the lens of biopower

“…Non-work skills/aptitudes and social knowhow typically enacted beyond the firm (Liu, 2004;Land and Taylor, 2010).…”

Pharmacological routes to everyday exceptionality

“…This analysis suggests that as work and organizational boundaries continue to break down (Gregg 2011;Land and Taylor 2010), and as performance becomes both more pressured and less measurable (McKenzie 2001), the relationship between drugs and work seems set to become ever more complex.…”