Roland Paulsen
Senior lecturer
In the mood for obedience : Despair, cynicism, and seduction among employment service employees
Author
Summary, in English
Based on an ethnography at the Swedish Public Employment Service, this paper offers a typology of how employees managed to obey tasks they would rather not perform. It is argued that earlier studies of workplace obedience have tended to focus on a single mood in which the actor obeys: despair, cynicism, or seduction. Here, the movement between these moods is analysed. To pass from despair to cynicism, the emotional sensitivity particular to despair must be reduced. This happens through processes of detachment. To pass from cynicism to seduction, employees must break down the reflexive layer that obstructs enthusiasm. This happens through positive thinking. The reflexive step back to cynicism requires an analytic space that can be obtained either intentionally or through certain events. Building up the sensitivity that distinguishes cynicism from despair occurs through forms of alarm.
Department/s
- Department of Business Administration
Publishing year
2018
Language
English
Publication/Series
Culture and Organization
Volume
24
Issue
5
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Routledge
Topic
- Public Administration Studies
Keywords
- cynicism
- functional stupidity
- mood
- obedience
- workfare
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1475-9551