“Getting a grip”? Phenomenological insights into handling work place in London’s Soho

Riach, K. and Tyler, M. (2022) “Getting a grip”? Phenomenological insights into handling work place in London’s Soho. Human Relations, (doi: 10.1177/00187267221135016) (Early Online Publication)

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Abstract

How are working lives shaped by the demands and expectations associated with a particular workplace? And how are work identities enacted to demonstrate a capacity to cope with place-based demands, expectations, and associations? Drawing on insights from phenomenological perspectives on space, place, and situated experience, particularly Merleau-Ponty’s concept of ‘grip’, and interview data drawn from longitudinal research with men and women working in London’s Soho, this paper shows how working lives and identities are situated within, and enacted through, practices that involve developing and demonstrating a capacity for place handling. The analysis shows how this is negotiated by those working in iconic locales in which their working lives and identities are shaped by meanings that are both evolving and enduring, and which require them to get and maintain a demonstrable grip on the setting in which they work. In contributing to a growing interest in understanding working lives as situated phenomena, the paper challenges the idea that work is increasingly place-less, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the digitalization of work accelerated by it, emphasizing how where work takes place continues to matter to how it is enacted and experienced.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Management of technology and innovation, strategy and management, general social sciences, arts and humanities (miscellaneous).
Status:Early Online Publication
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Riach, Professor Kathleen
Authors: Riach, K., and Tyler, M.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
Journal Name:Human Relations
Publisher:SAGE
ISSN:0018-7267
ISSN (Online):1741-282X
Published Online:13 October 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 The Authors
First Published:First published in Human Relations 2022
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

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