TY - JOUR
T1 - Narrative identity construction in times of career change
T2 - Taking note of unconscious desires
AU - Hoyer, Patrizia
AU - Steyaert, Chris
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Working at the intersection of narrative and psychoanalytic theory, we present in this article an affective conceptualization of identity dynamics during times of career change, incorporating the notion of unconscious desires. We propose that frictions in career change narratives, such as the paradoxical co-existence of coherence and ambiguity, allude to unconscious subtexts that can become ‘readable’ in the narrative when applying a psychoanalytic framework. We point to the analysis of 30 life story interviews with former management consultants who report upon a past and/or anticipated career change for illustration. By linking three empirically derived narrative strategies for combining coherence and ambiguity (ignoring the change, admitting the ambiguity and depicting a wishful future) with three conceptually informed psychoanalytic ego-defenses (denial, rationalization and sublimation), we provide an analytic framework that helps to explain why workers in transition may try to preserve both coherence and ambiguity when constructing a sense of self through narrative. The analysis of unconscious subtexts reveals that, in times of career change, people’s identity constructions are driven by conflicting unconscious desires for self-continuity on one hand and openness on the other.
AB - Working at the intersection of narrative and psychoanalytic theory, we present in this article an affective conceptualization of identity dynamics during times of career change, incorporating the notion of unconscious desires. We propose that frictions in career change narratives, such as the paradoxical co-existence of coherence and ambiguity, allude to unconscious subtexts that can become ‘readable’ in the narrative when applying a psychoanalytic framework. We point to the analysis of 30 life story interviews with former management consultants who report upon a past and/or anticipated career change for illustration. By linking three empirically derived narrative strategies for combining coherence and ambiguity (ignoring the change, admitting the ambiguity and depicting a wishful future) with three conceptually informed psychoanalytic ego-defenses (denial, rationalization and sublimation), we provide an analytic framework that helps to explain why workers in transition may try to preserve both coherence and ambiguity when constructing a sense of self through narrative. The analysis of unconscious subtexts reveals that, in times of career change, people’s identity constructions are driven by conflicting unconscious desires for self-continuity on one hand and openness on the other.
KW - ambiguity
KW - coherence
KW - ego-defenses
KW - identity construction
KW - narrative strategy
KW - narrative theory
KW - psychoanalytic theory
KW - unconscious desires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947219268&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84947219268&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0018726715570383
DO - 10.1177/0018726715570383
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84947219268
VL - 68
SP - 1837
EP - 1863
JO - Human Relations
JF - Human Relations
SN - 0018-7267
IS - 12
ER -