Sub-theme 58: Pursuing Social Change through Work
Call for Papers
In recent years, individuals’ careers and work life have increasingly intersected with social change pursuits. For example,
new occupational groups that address social issues such as diversity, equality, sustainability, and corporate responsibility
have proliferated and existing employee and professional groups have mobilized to address areas of social concern within and
across organizations, carrying out work at the crossroads of careers and activism.
One area of empirical
interest at the intersection of work and social change is the emergence and growth of occupational groups that are tasked
with managing social issues inside organizations, such as diversity officers (Buchter 2021, Dobbin, Kalev and Kelly 2007),
recycling managers (Lounsbury 2001), ethics officers (Chandler 2014), philanthropy professionals (Pamphile 2022), corporate
social responsibility (CSR) managers (Risi and Wickert 2017) and sustainability managers (Augustine 2021). Individuals in
these types of occupations sit at the interface of social movements and organizations, and their mandate can often be seen
as tangential to, or even working against, an organizations’ primary goals. Individuals in these occupations work to further
community wellbeing versus corporate profitability, the pursuit of diversity versus organizational cultural alignment, and
the pursuit of environmental protection instead of resource acquisition (Pamphile 2022, Wright and Nyberg 2017).
Despite the proliferation of these types of occupations, we know that individuals working in them face particular challenges,
such as the ambiguity of their work and the difficulty of getting the attention and resources to progress social change projects
inside and across their organizations (Sonenshein 2016, Wickert and de Bakker 2018). Studies have shown that these roles can
be isolating (Pamphile, 2022) and that these occupations do not benefit from some of the prototypical stages of professionalization
(Risi and Wickert 2017). However, there is still much we do not know about these groups and how they pursue their work. Many
individuals in these occupations espouse a strong commitment to their roles, to the movements that stand behind their work,
and to the goal of furthering social change within their organizations (Augustine 2021). Yet, as in the case of diversity,
the work that individuals in these roles pursue frequently falls short of what external groups had envisioned for their potential
to change their organizations (Edelman et al. 2011, Kalev, Dobbin and Kelly 2006).
New occupational groups
are not the only way that social change is being pursued through work, however. We also see traditional occupations and professions
that are engaging in social change pursuits. For example, OBGYN professionals in France have recently expanded their work
to campaign for reproductive rights for same-sex couples (Lelasseux and Lander 2019) and chemists have shifted their occupation
towards environmental sustainability goals (Howard-Grenville et al. 2017). Many employees are also often interested in making
a difference through work, even if it goes beyond their formal roles. The notion of “tempered radicals,” or organizational
insiders with a desire to fit in at work but pursue a social change agenda (Meyerson and Scully 1995), suggests employees
might take small steps towards change. Employees can pursue these efforts via participatory CSR programs (Bode, Singh and
Rogan 2015) and employer-sponsored volunteering programs (Rodell 2013), but they often also band together to draw organizational
attention to societal concerns, such as LGBTQ+ issues in organizations (DeJordy et al. 2020). These changes are regularly
pursued through Employee Resource Groups, i.e., affinity groups of employees typically based around a minority identity, which
are now commonplace in many workplaces. Much remains unknown about how the volunteer time of employees, especially minority
employees, can be used to address social issues for the organization and what this may mean for the employees who engage in
extra work themselves (Welbourne, Rolf and Schlachter 2017). Despite this scholarship to date, we do not know what leads some
people to pursue social change efforts through traditional careers and not others. While we know that peoples’ career histories
can lead them to later pursue work that they find collectively meaningful and socially valuable (Nigam and Dokko 2019), more
research is needed on the role of individuals’ career histories in shaping their decision of whether or not to engage in social
change efforts that often go beyond formal role expectations.
In this sub-theme, we aim to provide a space
to develop a conversation on these issues. Reflecting on the EGOS theme of Crossroads for Organizations, we invite research
that grapples with the tensions at the crossroads of occupations and society. That is, how people conduct work that is seen
as beneficial for society from within their careers or beyond their formal roles. We invite scholars who address a broad range
of theoretical and empirical aspects related to pursuing social change at, or through, work. For example, we welcome research
that helps address such questions as:
How do social missions become embedded in careers and occupations? How do people construct their careers to be contributors to social change efforts?
What tensions do individuals experience as they pursue social change through work and how do they navigate them? How can tensions be transformed into opportunities versus conflicts?
How do individuals stay committed to pursuing social change through work despite organizational and career obstacles?
What mechanisms or processes enable professionals and employees to push their organization to address societal issues? How can the social change work of a few individuals be “scaled up” within organizations?
How do systems of occupations and careers enable or hinder the accomplishment of social change?
What are the intended and unintended consequences of pursuing social change through work?
In what ways does pursuing social change through work impact employment outcomes or career trajectories?
References
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- Bode, Christiane, Jasjit Singh and Michelle Rogan. 2015. "Corporate Social Initiatives and Employee Retention." Organization Science 26(6):1702-20.
- Buchter, Lisa. 2021. "Escaping the Ellipsis of Diversity: Insider Activists’ Use of Implementation Resources to Influence Organization Policy." Administrative Science Quarterly 66(2):521-65.
- Chandler, David. 2014. "Organizational Susceptibility to Institutional Complexity: Critical Events Driving the Adoption and Implementation of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Position." Organization Science 25(6):1722-43.
- DeJordy, Rich, Maureen Scully, Marc J Ventresca and WE Douglas Creed. 2020. "Inhabited Ecosystems: Propelling Transformative Social Change between and through Organizations." Administrative Science Quarterly 65(4):931-71.
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