Who's Ideal Is It Anyway? Men and Women Professionals' Response to the Ideal Worker Norm Pubblico
Armstrong, Julie Lynn (2011)
Published
Abstract
As a cultural strategy of control, the ideal worker norm is
acknowledged to be an effective means of directing and eliciting
the work efforts of professionals. Much as the organization of work
is gendered, the ideal worker norm is also widely regarded to be a
masculine norm. In this study, I examine both men and women
professionals' subjective experience of the ideal worker norm.
Through in-depth interviews with urban professionals' working in
high-status occupations, I investigate their perceptions of the
ideal worker norm as manifested in their workplaces, demonstrating
professionals' awareness of a pervasive ideal worker norm which
spans across a variety of work organizations. According to
respondents, the ideal worker norm defines the meaning of worker
success and dictates various demands and expectations, which, when
fulfilled, communicate professionals' commitment to succeed. The
intensity of such demands and expectations often leads to conflict
between professionals' work and non-work spheres of life. As such,
I examine professionals' response to the ideal worker norm. My
findings show that professionals' response takes two forms: a
practical response and an attitudinal response. Specifically,
professionals' choose to actively conform to the ideal worker norm,
fulfilling its demands and expectations, while simultaneously
maintaining an attitude of ambivalence towards it. Moreover, my
findings demonstrate that men and women professionals both choose
to conform to the ideal worker norm and maintain an attitude of
ambivalence towards it. However, I also find that distinct gender
differences emerge within this attitude of ambivalence. These
gendered patterns reveal the ways in which cultural expectations
for the gendered division of paid work and unpaid domestic work
shape the experiences of men and women professionals working in
demanding careers.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I. Introduction...1
II. Theoretical Background and Empirical Literature...2
II.A Workplace Culture...2II.A.i Strategies of Direct Control...3
II.A.ii Bureaucratic Control in Knowledge Organizations...4
II.A.iii Eliciting Workers' Efforts: Workplace Cultural Norms...6
II.B Professionals and Work/Life Conflict...11II.B.i Professionals' Intense Work Efforts...12
II.C Research Questions 1 and 2...16 II.D Gender and Work...16 II.E Research Question 3...24II.F Theoretical Background and Empirical Literature: Summary...24
III. Methods...26
III.A Research Design...26 III.B Sampling...27 III.C Recruitment...30 III.D Interviews...30 III.E Data Analysis...32IV. Results...33
IV.A Research Question 1: Professionals' Perception of the Ideal Worker Norm...33
IV.A.i Definition of Worker Success: High-Performer Qualities...34
IV.A.i.i Dedication and Commitment...34
IV.A.i.ii Dedication and Commitment via Taking Initiative...35
IV.A.i.iii Business Development Skills...36IV.A.i.iv Soft Skills and Networking...37
IV.A.i.v Technical Competence...39
IV.A.i.vi Summary...39
IV.A.ii Definition of Worker Success: The Ideal Career Path...40
IV.A.iii Demands and Expectations...43
IV.A.iii.i Hours Worked...43
IV.A.iii.ii Face Time...47
IV.A.iii.iii Professionals' Responsiveness and Availability...49
IV.A.iii.iv Unpredictability...52
IV.A.iv Consequences for Not (Seemingly) Pursuing Success...54
IV.B Research Question 2: Responding to the Ideal Worker Norm...58
IV.B.i Challenges Between Work and Non-Work Spheres of Life...59
IV.B.ii. Professionals' Response: Conforming to the Ideal Worker Norm in Practice...63
IV.B.ii.i Career Choice, Work Hours and the Working Reality of Professionals...65
IV.B.ii.ii Day-to-Day Choices...67
IV.B.ii.iii Pursuing the Ideal Career Path...69
IV.B.ii.iv Work Takes Priority...70
IV.B.ii.v Limiting Demands...71IV.B.ii.vi Summary...73
IV.B.iii Responding to the Ideal Worker Norm: Maintaining an Attitude of Ambivalence...74
IV.B.iii.i Expressing Misgivings...74
IV.B.iii.ii Critical Assessments...75
IV.B.iii.iii Uncertainty Regarding the Ideal Career Path...78
IV.B.iii.iv Declarations of Autonomy...81
IV.B.iii.v Summary...86
IV.B.iv Why Do Professionals Accept the Ideal Worker Norm?...86
IV.C Research Question 3: Gender Differences in the Response to the Ideal Worker Norm...89
IV.C.i Conforming to the Ideal Worker Norm and Maintaining an Attitude of Ambivalence: Gendered Differences...90 IV.C.ii Greater Internal Conflict and Emotional Consequences...91 IV.C.ii.i Summary...101IV.C.iii Transferring Responsibility to Oneself...101
IV.C.iii.i Drawing Boundaries...101
IV.C.iii.ii Pressure and Expectations Are Self-Imposed...106
IV.C.iii.iii Summary...109
IV.C.iv Justifying the Choice to Conform to the Ideal Worker Norm...109
IV.C.i.v Summary...116V. Discussion...117
V.A Professionals' Perceptions of the Ideal Worker Norm...117
V.B Professionals' Response: Conforming to the Ideal Worker Norm...119
V.C Professionals' Response: Maintaining an Attitude of Ambivalence Towards the Ideal Worker Norm...120
V.D Gendered Responses to the Ideal Worker Norm...123VI. Conclusion...130
VI.A Study Limitations and Future Research...133 VI.B Final Thoughts...134VII. References...136
VIII. Tables and Appendices...141
List of Tables and AppendicesTable 1: Respondents' Range of Hours Worked Per Week...44
Table 2: Respondent Characteristics...141Appendix A: Interview Guide...143
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