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Dan Kärreman

Professor

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The bored self in knowledge work

Author

  • Jana Costas
  • Dan Kärreman

Summary, in English

This article draws attention to reported experiences of boredom in knowledge work. Drawing on extensive qualitative data gathered at two management consultancy firms, we analyze these experiences as a particular interaction with identity regulation and work experiences. We conceptualize the reports of the bored self as a combination of unfilled aspirations and the sense of stagnation, leading to an arrested identity. Our contribution is to expand extant conceptualizations of employee interactions with identity regulation, in particular relating to identity work and identification. The findings provide a critical rendering of the glamourized image of knowledge work.

Publishing year

2016-01-01

Language

English

Pages

61-83

Publication/Series

Human Relations

Volume

69

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • boredom
  • identity regulation
  • identity work
  • knowledge work

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0018-7267