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Learning to inhabit the liquid liminal world of work: An auto-ethnographic visual study of work-life boundary transitions

Izak, Michal
; 
Shortt, Harriet
; 
Case, Peter
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Affiliation
University of Roehampton; University of the West of England; James Cook University
EPub Date
Publication Date
2022-02-21
Submitted Date
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Chester Business School
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Abstract
This article explores a conceptually modified notion of liminality in order to make better sense of contemporary ‘flexible’ working life. Previous conceptualizations of liminality rely on the assumed existence of socially sustained boundaries and the possibility of boundary spanning. Under conditions of liquid modernity, however, boundaries or thresholds have been destabilized to the point of collapse. Nonetheless, individuals still feel the need to establish and maintain intersubjective boundaries to preserve their own sense of well-being. To understand the new predicament faced by employees, we reconceptualise liminality for liquid times – through the notion of liquid liminality – and, simultaneously, problematize dominant conceptions of work-life balance. The implications that liquid liminality carries for the notion of flexible knowledge work are discussed. Our auto-ethnographic visual study of an academic returning from maternity leave uses a socio-material lens to exemplify the struggles of the contemporary flexible knowledge worker. It also demonstrates how the constant transition between workplace and home life is freighted with anxiety and exhaustion. We also outline opportunities for establishing new learning habits that follow from our theoretical framing and empirical analysis.
Citation
zak, M., Shortt, H., & Case, P. (2022). Learning to inhabit the liquid liminal world of work: An auto-ethnographic visual study of work-life boundary transitions. Management Learning, 54(2), 198-222. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076211070359
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Journal
Management Learning
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629306
DOI
10.1177/13505076211070359
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
© The Author(s) 2022.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1350-5076
EISSN
1461-7307
ISBN
ISMN
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Sponsors
Unfunded
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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13505076211070359