Unbundling worker collectivism: Exploring the dynamics between preventive and remedial actions in a professional organization

• In Event: 50220 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Improving Work and Organizations

Abstract

Despite various ways in which workers collectively respond to perceived workplace injustice, the nearly exclusive focus of prior research in industrial relations has been on only one type of collective action at work, strike activity. However, the various forms of collective actions that are emerging among diverse professional organizations call for a more dynamic and nuanced understanding of worker collectivism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 56 journalists at the public broadcaster in South Korea who engaged in various forms of collectivism against managerial intervention in their journalistic work process, we first categorize workplace collectivism in the newsroom into two forms: preventive and remedial actions. While both are mobilized to uphold the professional norms and values of the journalistic community, they differ in terms of their targets and the extent to which they disrupt or halt work entirely. Additionally, it is found that these two forms of professional action are mutually reinforcing: preventive actions create the foundation for remedial actions to emerge, while remedial actions, in turn, result in refining and strengthening preventive practices. Our research contributes to the literature on workplace collectivism by highlighting the dynamics between different forms of collectivism in the professional context. We also expand the literature on the sociology of profession by identifying the role of worker collectives in a professional organization in safeguarding professional norms and values

Author

• Sung-Chul Noh, Hitotsubashi University