“Who am I?”- 17
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themselves or engage in meaningful work. In recognizing the fundamental relationship between
self and work, Rifkin (1995) states “Employment is far more than a measure of income: for
many, it is the essential measure of self-worth. To be under-employed or unemployed is to feel
unproductive and increasingly worthless” (Rifkin, 1995, p. 195). Also, because of technological
advancements, the pace of work has dramatically increased, and workers’ narratives reflect a
mechanistic quality to them by using terms such as “down time, burnout and overload” to
describe their work experiences (Rifkin, 1995, p. 187).
For the symbolic analyst (Reich, 1991, 2000), who is able manipulate symbols, problem
solve and broker solutions to the highest bidder, the definition of work expands both temporally
and spatially. Because of technology, symbolic analysts are able to work “anytime and
anywhere,” resulting in heightened fluidity within jobs, money and social relationships and a
decrease in stability and investment. Interestingly, the corporate rhetoric, which emphasizes
loyalty, commitment and stability, is no longer appropriate for today’s workers, as they will
change jobs frequently if their skills are valued. Because the disparity between “the haves” and
“the have-nots” continues to widen, both Rifkin (1995) and Reich (2000) call for a
reorganization of work that reflects a more equal distribution of wealth, provides opportunities
for individuals to be respected and valued through work, and engages workers in more optimistic
self-construction/reflection. All of these validate the claim that work and organizations are
valuable sites for the construction of self and identity.
Narrating the Self Within Organizations
In reviewing the study of narratives within organizations, two main approaches emerge:
(a) a focus on the construction of self within organizational contexts and (b) a focus on how
individual and organizational narratives are co-constructed. To introduce how self is constructed
Convention