In the present study, the relationship between work identity (emotion and cognition components) and work-related stress was investigated, and if work-life balance (WLB) and its components family-work conflict (FWC) and work-family conflict (WFC), might mediate this relationship. The study included 104 participants recruited via Facebook. The results showed: (1) Positive relationship between the cognitive component in the work-related identity and work-related stress; and (2) Negative relationship between the emotional component of the work-related identity and work-related stress. WLB was also shown to mediate the relation between the cognitive component in the work-related identity and work-related stress, accounted for by the WFC-component of WLB.

Most organizations have some form of onboarding process, which is a longer process of an introduction for the new employees. Onboarding can be explained as a relationship between the talent of the new employee and the productivity of the organization. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the onboarding process predicted work identity (personal/collective). To investigate this, digital questionnaires were sent to various employees in the construction industry. This was to limit our selection as well as interest in the industry. The questionnaires consisted two different parts, the first on onboarding and the second on work identity (personal/collective) and was answered by 152 persons (mean age M = 35,55, SD = 8,98). The responses were first analyzed by a factor analysis where we obtained three components, which were: start-up, experience and culture. Later, four regression analyzes were performed in IBM statistics SPSS 24. The result showed that the experience component (which included questions about preparation, safety and belonging) predicted work identity (personal/collective).

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Thesis advisor: Michael G. Pratt / Despite a graying workforce and a growing number of workers experiencing work transitions, extant literature has largely ignored the role of age in work transition experiences and its impact on the process of work identity change. In this dissertation I employ an inductive approach to elaborate theory concerning the relationships among work transitions, work identity change, and age. Contrary to what extant literature suggests, the findings of a longitudinal qualitative study of 47 employees at a large financial services firm make clear that the types of work transition (role-based transition vs. membership-based transition) and employees' age (Gen X and Gen Y workers in early adulthood vs. Baby boomer workers in middle adulthood) did not differentiate the overall identity change processes within the organization. Rather, my data suggest that identity change is best captured as change in the direction of employees' work identity narratives. Moreover, different combinations of intrapersonal/temporal, interpersonal/social, and future time perspective mechanisms lead to three types of change in the direction of the identity narratives: adjusting, progressing, and regressing. Further, significant differences between age groups surfaced. My research enriches emerging perspectives on work identity as narrative by proposing a temporally-oriented model of work identity change that bridges past, present, and future identities; and delimits the role of age in identity change during work-related transitions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

A number of practitioner surveys across a range of industries have cited the lack of senior female role models as a barrier to career progression. There is very little academic literature to explain this at a senior organizational level. An initial review of the extant role model literature led to the inclusion of two further related areas – organizational demographics, as a contextual factor affecting the availability of role models, and work identity development as a link between the lack of senior female role models and the lack of career progression. In seeking to answer the question of why and then how female role models are important for senior women, this study fills an identified gap in the comprehension of the concept of role models and their importance in the workplace. It addresses a need to understand both the key elements of the concept and the mechanism by which they come into play. The research uses qualitative methods, specifically in-depth semi-structured interviews. These were conducted with a senior group of 33 female directors from six global investment banks, in order to elicit their experiences of role models in demographically imbalanced work contexts. Analysis of interview data considered all three areas of role models, demographic context and work identity development. As the women forged their identities in the male-dominated context of global investment banks, what became clear was that who they are and have become was informed by the critical relationships they have had. Whilst clearly some of the women had found male role models with whom to develop these critical relationships, there were some identity issues, particular salient to women, which could not be addressed by men. Thus the findings demonstrated the utility of female role models. This thesis has a number of contributions to make on varying levels: On a conceptual level, this study adds to our understanding of the value of role models, particularly detailing the affective or symbolic value. It has added to the conceptualization of role models, detailing what were the core attributes of individuals chosen to be role models, who they were in relation to the women, how the women used them and why they were important. It has combined the three literature areas of role models, organizational demographics and work identity development in a way not previously done, and has shown empirically that they are related and explain each other. Organizational demographics affect the availability of role models. And it is suggested that the relatively new theory of relational identification is the mechanism that explicates how the presence of positive female role models is a key influence on women’s work identity development. It has clarified the value of role models in extreme gender demographic contexts, and how and why they are important to senior women’s professional development, thereby adding to the theory of role modelling. Practically, the study explains why women in surveys may have been citing the lack of female role models as such a prominent issue, and suggests what some of the issues are that organizations should pay heed to in trying to address this.

M.Phil. / Orientation: This study explores shifts in the work identity of individual team members in a research team. Research Purpose: The aim of the study is to explore shifts in work identity experienced by individual research team members during the duration of a project wherein they studied work identity themselves. Motivation for the study: To reflect on shifts in work identity. Research strategy: The researcher presented data through confessional tales, autoethnography, fictional representation, realist tales and vignettes. Using thematic analysis methodology in the context of qualitative field research, ten semi -structured interviews were conducted with five participants who were themselves involved in conducting a research study on work identity.These participants were employed by various South African companies and academia.The researcher, who formed part of the research team presented data related to shifts in her own work identity by means of an autoethnographic account. Main findings: The four primary themes presented in the data are: Compass points guiding our journey; navigating personal circumstances; negotiating identity and identification in the workplace; perception of self. Managerial applications: This study has implications for organisations looking to improve productivity through an understanding of work identity. Theoretical Contribution: An application for shifts in work identity is done by positioning shifts in work identity in a framework proposed by Ibarra (2004).

Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the professional identity construction of accountants from previously disadvantaged groups. The study considered the significance of context and the influence of whiteness and racial micro-aggressions on individual identity construction. Motivation for this study: Little is known about the struggle that people from previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa have to go through to negotiate their professional identities. This study provided a platform for these individuals to share their journey in becoming a professional accountant and understanding the impact of context on their professional identity construction. Research design, approach and method: The study followed a qualitative design, and a multiple case study method was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through a narrative lens to explore the individual stories of the participants’ experiences. Non-probability purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of five black professional accountants from previously disadvantaged groups. Data analysis took the form of individual case narratives followed by a thematic analysis across cases. Main findings: The history of apartheid is still present in South African organisations today in the form of racial micro-aggression and whiteness which create barriers to the professional identity construction of people from previously disadvantaged groups. It was found that the following contexts influence identity construction: political, legislative, socio-economic, educational, organisational, professional, family and cultural contexts. Practical Implications: Legislation such as BBEEE, AA and the EEA are in place to support the transformation agenda of South African organisations. However, in this study it became clear that legislation does not achieve its intended impact. If organisations do not start supporting professionals of colour, it will have a major impact on their skills and career development as well as on talent retention within organisations. Value/Study contribution: The results could become a valuable resource for educational institutions, professional bodies and managers within organisations to enable them to eliminate the barriers of whiteness and micro-aggression and to support people from previously disadvantaged groups to construct positive professional identities. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Human Resource Management / MCom / Unrestricted

The aim was to investigate how different types of work identity (personal/collective) predict two types of self-esteem (personal/organizational). A digital survey was sent out to different organizations within the public sector. The survey was based on four well established instruments, and were answered by 64 persons (age M = 39.1, SD = 12.5). In line with one of our hypothesis it was shown that collective compared to personal work identity in higher degree predicted organizational based self-esteem. There was also a weak tendency to significant result indicating that personal compared to collective work identity in higher degree predicted personal self-esteem. In sum, results are in line with previous research reporting that the way we see our self-worth is reflected by the way others think of us.

Although a growing number of scholars suggest that the construction of identity is an important form of institutional work, the complex interactions between identities and institutions remain under-explored. In particular, few studies consider how the affective aspects of identities may inform institutional work. This thesis examines the experiences of lawyers who volunteered to create and support a legal charity. As these volunteers grew to more than twenty thousand over fifteen years, the charity gradually centralized charitable work across law firms for the first time. In this way, it transformed the institution of pro bono work within the English legal profession. Drawing on this case study, this thesis employs a grounded theory methodology to generate a conceptual framework that connects emotion work, identity work and institutional work. This framework suggests that some professionals work to re-assert and ‘remember’ aspects of their traditional identities that compete with some contemporary demands. This can prompt identity contradictions that inspire reflection on professional practices. This identity work may also encourage professionals to evoke emotions of guilt that can imbue contradictions with enough significance to create a purpose for remedial institutional work. When enabled by meso-level processes, such micro-level work can reinvigorate traditional practices and accomplish institutional change.

Diss. Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007.