Work identities in Europe 9781845443504, 9780861769650

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Volume 9 Number 3 2004

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ISSN 1362-0436

Career Development International Work identities in Europe Guest Editor: Simone Kirpal

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Career Development International

ISSN 1362-0436 Volume 9 Number 3 2004

Work identities in Europe Guest Editor Simone Kirpal

Access this journal online __________________________ 195 Editorial advisory board ___________________________ 196 Abstracts and keywords ___________________________ 197 Introduction Researching work identities in a European context Simone Kirpal __________________________________________________

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Conflicting vocational identities and careers in the sector of tourism Fernando Marhuenda, Ignacio Martı´nez and Almudena Navas __________

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Engineering identities Alan Brown____________________________________________________

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Work identities of nurses: between caring and efficiency demands Simone Kirpal __________________________________________________

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Vocational identities in change in the telecommunications sector M’Hamed Dif __________________________________________________

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS continued

Identification-flexibility dilemma of IT specialists ¨ marik and Raivo Vilu ________________________ Krista Loogma, Meril U

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About the authors _________________________________ 349 Call for papers ____________________________________ 351

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Professor Yochanan Altman London Metropolitan University, UK Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, UK

Professor Kerr Inkson Massey University, New Zealand Professor Wolfgang Mayrhofer Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Austria

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Professor Simon L. Dolan ESADE Business School, Spain

Professor David Megginson Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Professor Dr Marion Festing ESCP-EAP European School of Management, Berlin, Germany

Douglas Renwick Sheffield University Management School, UK

Dr Stephen Gibb Department of HRM, University of Strathclyde, UK Professor Douglas T. Hall Boston University, School of Management, USA Dr Monica Higgins Harvard Business School, USA

Professor Paul Sparrow Manchester Business School, UK Professor Stephen A. Stumpf Villanova University, USA

Dr Wendy Hirsh Institute for Employment, University of Sussex, UK

Dr Beatrice van der Heijden Maastricht School of Management and University of Twente, The Netherlands

Dr Viki Holton Ashridge Business School, UK

Dr Yoav Vardi Tel Aviv University, Israel

Professor Herminia Ibarra INSEAD, France

Career Development International Vol. 9 No. 3, 2004 p. 196 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1362-0436

Professor Jan Selmer Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Researching work identities in a European context Simone Kirpal Keywords Work psychology, Work identity, Employees attitudes, Europe The contributions in this CDI special issue present research findings that have been generated in the course of the research project, Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market, funded under the 5th EU Framework Programme. Investigating identity formation processes at work, the guiding research question focused on what individuals identify with in their work context when they are challenged to respond to increasing demands for flexibility, mobility, changing work settings and shifting skill requirements. Project partners from seven European countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK) interviewed more than 500 employees at intermediate skills level and over 100 managers and representatives of human resources departments about how employees cope with changes at work and how this might affect their work identity, work attitude and career orientation. This paper gives an overview of the background, research questions, basic theoretical considerations, methodology and general findings of this project. It serves as a general introduction to the other five papers presented in this issue which are all based on a common approach and understanding of the research carried out.

Conflicting vocational identities and careers in the sector of tourism Fernando Marhuenda, Ignacio Martı´nez and Almudena Navas Keywords Employees attitudes, Tourism, Europe, Vocational training, Career development This article investigates the formation of vocational identities of workers in the sector of tourism in the Czech Republic, Greece and Spain. Major challenges and conflicts shape the sector of tourism as a particular labour space. Emerging issues relate to the need for

diversifying the offer of services to face seasonality, strategies of entrepreneurial merging and demands for mobility and flexibility of the workforce. For the individual worker, a complex combination of related factors lead to tensions and contradictions, particularly in terms of changes in work organization, flexibility and how vocational identities of workers are shaped. An active policy for social dialogue and the improvement of working conditions seem to be vital in order to avoid flexibility becoming a synonym for precariousness of employment. Furthermore, the promotion of continuing training, greater recognition of formal vocational education and the development of an entrepreneurial culture are key elements that would enhance opportunities to develop a professional career in tourism.

Engineering identities Alan Brown Keywords Metalworking industry, Workplace learning, Organizational change, Employees attitudes, Europe Employers attempt to shape employees’ work identities through the organisation of work. However, they are partly constrained by employee expectations related to education and training, the occupational structure and the labour market. Employees, individually and collectively, also attempt to influence how their work is performed and play an active role in shaping their own work identities. Work identities are therefore influenced both by structural factors and the agency of employers and employees. This article concentrates upon how individuals working in engineering seek to shape their own work identities. An overview of the broad structural context of working in engineering and metal working in France, Germany, Spain and the UK is given, followed by an outline of how employers sought to shape work identities.

Abstracts and keywords

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Work identities of nurses: between caring and efficiency demands Simone Kirpal Keywords Work identity, Health services, Nurses, Skills flexibility, Europe This paper reports on a comparative qualitative study across four European countries which explored the formation of work identity amongst nurses and other professionals in the field of health care. Within this sector, it identifies trends towards a more flexible, more highly skilled and more mobile workforce. Conversely, however, it is becoming difficult to recruit and retain staff due to increasing workload, decreasing job satisfaction and comparatively low pay. Occupational identity is theorised as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, with structural, social and individualpsychological components. A number of emerging common themes across the three dimensions and across the four national settings include structural conflicts between cost efficiency and quality of care, and individual conflicts between the core activity of caring for patients and the increasing demands of administration and other peripheral work. The study identifies a number of strategies used by nurses to balance these conflicting demands. Overall, the professional identity of nurses remains strong, but it is important for policy-makers to be aware of the potential negative effects, in terms of staff turnover, mobility and job (dis)satisfaction, of the current state of the health care sector.

Vocational identities in change in the telecommunications sector M’Hamed Dif Keywords Work identity, Telecommunications, Europe, Employees attitudes, Career development During the last decade the telecommunications sector has undergone an accelerated structural change in work organisation, qualification profiles and the mode of socialisation at work. Telecommunications is taking the lead when it comes to the dynamics of vocational identity

transformation. Classical models of vocational identities are declining in favour of a new “negotiator-network/mobility” mode of socialisation at work. The latter is mainly taken in charge by a new generation of telecom employees who are mobile, flexible and proactive in constructing their own work identities and project-based work activities. This paper examines the key findings of the FAME project investigation in the telecommunications sector in France, Germany and the UK. The first section focuses on the employers’ perception of the contextual background for change. The second section examines employees’ responses to these structural changes and new modes of socialisation at work. The concluding section highlights some overall trends and implications.

Identification-flexibility dilemma of IT specialists ¨ marik and Raivo Vilu Krista Loogma, Meril U Keywords Information personnel, Work identity, Career development, Employees attitudes, Vocational training, Europe Information technology (IT) is a new service sector characterised by an intensive dynamic that puts high demands of learning, flexibility and mobility on IT specialists. This article identifies two features that are decisive for the formation of work identities of employees working in the sector: first, an “entrepreneurial” employment model that transfers responsibilities for skills acquisition, professional development and risk management to the individual; and second, a conflict between a strong identification with IT-related technology and flexibility requirements. The article analyses the implications these features have in terms of the role of initial and continuing vocational training, skills demands and the professional development of employees working in the sector. It also discusses how boundaryless career paths, characterised by ambiguity and uncertainty, influence work-related identities of IT specialists.

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INTRODUCTION

Researching work identities in a European context Simone Kirpal

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Institut Technik und Bildung, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany Keywords Work psychology, Work identity, Employees attitudes, Europe Abstract The contributions in this CDI special issue present research findings that have been generated in the course of the research project, Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market, funded under the 5th EU Framework Programme. Investigating identity formation processes at work, the guiding research question focused on what individuals identify with in their work context when they are challenged to respond to increasing demands for flexibility, mobility, changing work settings and shifting skill requirements. Project partners from seven European countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK) interviewed more than 500 employees at intermediate skills level and over 100 managers and representatives of human resources departments about how employees cope with changes at work and how this might affect their work identity, work attitude and career orientation. This paper gives an overview of the background, research questions, basic theoretical considerations, methodology and general findings of this project. It serves as a general introduction to the other five papers presented in this issue which are all based on a common approach and understanding of the research carried out.

Introduction Employees in Europe are increasingly exposed to demands for flexibility and mobility at work and are challenged to deal with, and respond to, continuous changes in the work context. Adjusting to these changes requires specific learning and work attitudes that enable the individual to engage actively (and positively) in work processes in order to ensure their successful integration into different work settings and the labour market as a whole. Theory of work-related socialization assumes that work identities play a decisive role in this process, as they help individuals to define a professional orientation and to develop work attachment and commitment (Heinz, 1995, 2003). The research project, Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), attempted to map some of the different ways in which work identities are composed, decomposed and restructured in a time of change[1]. On the one hand, newly emerging normative ideas about occupational flexibility and mobility are strongly influenced by Anglo-Saxon models of training, employability and lifelong learning. On the other hand, there also exists a continental European mainstream organised around vocational education systems and occupationally structured labour markets. The latter tradition supported occupational attachments and long-term company commitment (Laske, 2001). Since both traditions were represented by the partner countries that participated in the study, one key question centred around the range of skills, attitudes and commitment patterns required of contemporary employees in order to maintain a skilled “career” during a time of great technological, organisational and political change. The traditional model of a typical progressive

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career, based on possession of a particular set of occupational skills, has, meanwhile, been largely undermined (Brown, 2001; Pongratz and Voss, 2003). The lack of any widely accepted model of how to handle continuing waves of transition has increased the nervousness of policy makers in many countries as to the adequacy of their education and training systems. One of their major concerns is whether current education and training systems are equipping young people with the ability to adjust to changes in organisational structures, work processes and technology, and whether other countries are deriving a competitive advantage from their own approaches. One consequence of such concerns is the increasing interest in comparative education and training. This interest, however, is generally focused on the structural aspects of different systems. Much less attention has been focused on the experience of people as they make their way through these systems. The practical implications for employees in a broader range of occupations, particularly for the “skilled worker” at the intermediate skills level, have not yet been investigated. Although policy makers and managers are expecting important changes with regards to employment structures, job profiles, companies’ organisational and HR (human resources) strategies and commitment patterns (Baruch, 1998), it is not clear how these new dynamics may influence employees’ work attitudes and career orientations on the ground. What it means for the individual worker to be more flexible, mobile and dedicated to lifelong learning is still an open question. In order to address this question, over 500 employees at intermediate skills level and 100 managers of human resources departments were interviewed in seven different European countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK). In addition, the project considered various occupations in four contrasting sectors, covering the metal working industry, health care, telecommunications/IT and tourism. The findings of each of the sector investigations are presented in this special issue. It can be expected that future economic and technological developments will restructure labour markets and employment patterns all over Europe, particularly in respect to more flexible, temporary and short-term employment contracts and new emerging forms of self employment (see Gottlieb et al., 1998; Heinz, 2002; Pongratz and Voss, 2003). The project tried to gain insight into how these developments affect employee’s work attitudes, work identities and career orientations. If greater flexibility and mobility result in looser employee commitment towards the workplace, the occupation, the company or the community of practice (Sennett, 1998), it may be interesting to identify what the individual perceives as essential factors of the work context that generate stability and continuity over time. Connecting to Giddens’ (1984) structuration theory, the project emphasised the reciprocal relationship between social structure and individual agency in particular work settings. The project partners anticipated that, at the individual level, emerging new demands, with their implications for shifting skill needs, generate a potential for conflict with traditional work orientations and associated values, norms, work ethics and work identity patterns of employees. One focus of the analysis was therefore placed on identifying individuals’ strategies for dealing with such conflicts. If it is true that work-related identities are becoming increasingly unstable and disrupted (Carruthers and Uzzi, 2000), what kind of mechanisms and strategies do individuals develop in order to compensate for instabilities, fragmentation and uncertainties of work and employment structures? In which way do structural changes and individual

strategies interact in the work context and what role does this interaction play in occupational identity formation processes? And last, but not least, what role does learning and skills development play in better equipping individuals to handle instabilities and uncertain working conditions? Theoretical considerations It is important to note here that working on such a complex topic with an interdisciplinary and international team presented quite a challenge. From their national research context, the seven project partners represented the disciplines of pedagogy, psychology, sociology and economics, each with different research traditions. Thus, a major challenge was to reach a common understanding about the subject, to define a set of guiding research questions, to carry out a highly coordinated empirical investigation in seven different countries and, finally, to reach conclusions that all partners could agree on. A qualitative approach was chosen to obtain an overall understanding of the phenomenon as well as to acquire in-depth knowledge of specific issues that would emerge from the data. The emphasis of the study has always been an empirical one with the aim of generating ideas and hypotheses for further research through inductive methods. In order to familiarise ourselves with the subject and to reach a common understanding about some major issues, in the beginning of the project each partner carried out a national literature review to understand how “work identities” were understood and researched in each of the participating countries. From those national research contexts the project consortium derived some basic theoretical assumptions which all partners could agree on and that would guide the empirical investigation. For some partners this process meant abandoning familiar theoretical terrain and looking at the issue from a completely new perspective. This approach has been very important in facilitating the integration of different work steps and presentation of the research findings, which in the end reached a high level of convergence. The empirical investigation was guided by the following theoretical considerations (TC): TC1. Developing a work-related identity is a dynamic process determined by structural conditions on the one hand, and individual orientations and resources on the other hand. Work identities develop in the course of complex negotiation processes at the interface between personal resources, attitudes and values on the one hand, and work processes and settings on the other hand. As they manifest themselves in the interplay between individual dispositions and structural conditions of the work context, they influence an individual’s concept of work and relationship to (e.g.) his or her job, the work environment and the employing organization. In terms of the structural conditions, the project examined three different levels. First, the national and cultural embedding of labour markets, work concepts and vocational education and training systems: national economies create different kinds of restrictions and opportunities to which companies and employees respond. Second, each sector encompasses certain occupations, job profiles and specificities that to a certain extent pre-structure employment patterns, working hours, salary levels, demands on flexibility, etc. Sectors and occupations also have their own traditions,

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which influence how specific working conditions evolve. The third level of investigation referred to the immediate working environment. The company does not only respond to macro-level requirements by adjusting, for example, its organisational structure, job profiles and recruitment policies, but also shapes the immediate working environment of its employees. In responding to sectoral and labour market demands, companies may require additional flexibility and mobility of employees. In addition, they may actively try to shape work-related identities and attitudes of employees through their HR and recruitment policies. Individual variables encompass ascribed attributes such as socio-economic background, gender and age, but also achievements like qualifications, skills and the capacity to learn and to cope with changing work requirements. The individual employment trajectories (“strategic biographies”) integrate and structure these variables in very specific ways by further incorporating personal interests, commitments and career plans. Taking into account individuals’ responses and adaptations to, and interpretations of, work situations one major objective of the research project was to identify individuals’ strategies for coping with changes and new demands at work and how these affect their work identities. TC2. Work identity is understood as a multi-layered and multi-dimensional phenomenon conceptualised in the project as four dimensional covering the historical, economic, social and individual-psychological dimension. In order to take account of the interdisciplinary approach and the complexity of the issue, the project distinguished between four different analytical dimensions of identity formation processes at work. These dimensions were conceptualised as a tool to assess the interplay between structural, context-specific features and an individual’s orientation in identity formation processes. The historical dimension considered the national context that shapes labour markets, employment patterns, vocational education and training systems, (individual and societal) concepts of work, etc. Cultural and national traditions may, for example, influence occupational categories, labour market stratification, industrial relations and the role professional communities play in a certain environment. In the light of the diversity of Europe, this dimension accounted for the national and cultural embedding of work-related identities and their specific traditions. The economic dimension referred to the relation of capital and work in the context of labour market demands and thus created linkages to the historical dimension. If work-related identities are increasingly influenced by internationalisation and demands for flexibility and mobility, then those macro economic features must be taken into account. In the presentation of findings, the national and economic dimensions are referred to as “structural” or “context” variables. The social dimension underlines that work identities were originally understood as collective identities developed in interaction with other individuals (i.e. colleagues, supervisors, clients), groups (i.e. working teams, professional communities) or institutional bodies (i.e. training institutions, companies, trade unions). This dimension also emphasised the socialising aspects of vocational training, occupations or company affiliations and their effect on individual work ethics and identity formation. Finally, the individual-psychological dimension took account of an individual’s occupational history and career development on the one hand, and the individual’s perception of the

work context and personal work attitude on the other. It aimed at assessing the developments and features of work which the individual perceives as being important for his or her personal development. These features included the meaning of work, a sense of belonging, an individual’s work attitude and commitment, learning and performance at work and how the individual relates to others in the work context. All these elements were assessed from a subjective point of view; that is, how the individual perceives them over time. TC3. Socialisation and learning interrelate with identity formation processes at work. The socialising function of work covers two aspects: first, the socialisation to a certain occupation in the sense of equipping the individual with specific skills, competencies, understanding of work, etc.; and second, the socialisation through performing particular tasks and belonging to a professional group or company by which the individual internalises specific norms, values, attitudes, professional standards, etc. (Heinz, 1995). Performing particular work tasks generates a certain level of identification with work, regardless of whether the performed tasks are routine jobs or encompass highly complex work processes (Hoff et al., 1985). In addition, the performance of work tasks involves some form of learning, which in its broadest sense encompasses preparatory as well as continuing learning through courses or informal methods such as “training on the job”, “learning by doing” or “self-directed learning”. TC4. As work identities are of collective nature, membership and interaction with others are two central categories. Collective identities are built on a “sense of belonging” (Tajfel, 1981). Each employee forms part of certain pre-defined organisational structures such as departments, divisions, working teams, projects, etc. These structures largely determine the organisation of work and work processes into which the individual becomes integrated. Whether these structures are concrete and content-specific, or are informal or even virtual, they always provide a framework for identification and self-realisation. In addition, they are related to the concept of “belonging to” or “being a member of” a particular group (Garrick, 1998; Jones, 1995). Working for a company, for example, provides for a certain form of belonging even if the level of identification varies. In the metal working industry or in telecommunications, large companies used to be an important source for stabilising work identities through long-term company attachment and offering elements with which workers identified (such as a prestigious product). If companies pursue high levels of employee identification, human resource strategies can be an effective tool to influence and direct work identities (FAME Consortium, 2003). Apart from the organization, employees belong to one or more professional communities. Such belongingness may be due to simply having learned a particular skill and thus automatically acquiring membership of a specific occupational group, or it may be chosen voluntarily by becoming a member, for example, of a trade union, an interest group, a professional association, etc. In any case, these kinds of formal or informal professional communities set important standards and criteria for inclusion and exclusion and are major generators of occupational identities.

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Colleagues and supervisors typically form members of the same professional community. If those impart external acknowledgement of skills, competencies and expected work attitudes they foster that individual’s identity with their expected roles. This type of identification is reproduced when interacting with customers or clients, putting the individual in a position whereby professional roles are represented and recognised externally. It is often interaction with customers or clients and their direct feed-back that influences individuals’ relationship to the work context. Individuals may also represent themselves in terms of their occupational role and background when interacting with others outside the work context (friends, family, etc.). Through social interaction outside work, the individual may reveal the work-related elements with which he or she identifies. This level is related to what individuals represent externally in relation to what and who they are professionally, what skills they have and what meaning work has for them in relation to other spheres of life. How the individual positions him- or herself with regards to the work context reveals the significance of work identity in relation to a person’s overall personality and personal value structure. This again underscores that the diverse manifestations of occupational identities depend on the contextual embedding. For example, the self-definition of an occupation or profession may correspond to the most detailed level of specialisation in the work context or may be very general in a non-work-related environment. This deviation does not mean that any of these levels of identification are true or false. It merely shows that work-related identities are flexible, subjectively modifiable and context specific (Brown, 1997). TC5. The concept of work identity acknowledges scope for individual agency. Ultimately, any identity formation process is an achievement of the individual. The process of acquiring an occupational identity takes place within particular communities of practice where socialisation, interaction and learning are key elements. In these processes, however, the individual is regarded as an “actor” or “agent”. Individuals are agents of society that actively reflect upon external conditions (Giddens, 1991). This means that work shapes the individual, but at the same time the individual shapes work processes and structures. When it comes to the formation of work identities, it is not simply a matter of taking on identities and roles, which are pre-existent and pre-structured. Nor do individuals just attach themselves to particular communities. Rather they may also take a pro-active role in becoming a participant or even a change agent, actively reshaping the community of practice. Hence there is scope for individual agency to act upon the structures and processes. This active role is reinforced by the decomposition and fragmentation of stable work structures that formerly provided certain pre-defined elements with which individuals could identify (Sennett, 1998; Beck, 1994, 1999). Workers are increasingly required to actively seek and select from models of skill development, professional conduct and practices that have multiplied and become more available and accessible. For the individual worker this means fewer opportunities to identify with pre-defined occupational milieus or communities. TC6. Work identities are dynamic: they may change over the life course and vary in the significance individuals ascribe to them.

Work identities are not constant over time, rather they need to be understood in a dynamic way. The formation, maintenance and change of an occupational identity are always influenced by the nature of the relationships around which they are constructed. Over time these interactions may lead to modifications and reshaping of these same structures, the communities of practice and the individual’s work identity. There is always a fundamental tension between the elements of continuity and change over time in the processes whereby occupational identities are formed (Brown, 1997). Furthermore, work identities may vary in the intensity with which they are held, and in the significance individuals ascribe to them. They may or may not be of great significance to an individual. A young person may attach far greater importance to developing an identity in the broader sense than to developing a particular occupational commitment. The distinction could be portrayed as the difference between “making a life” and “making a living”, and it can readily be seen that the former is of greater significance and that the extent to which the latter (occupational) orientation is a central component of the former may vary between individuals and over time. The occupational identity is just one of a number of other, sometimes competing, identities that make up the overall identity of an individual (Brown, 1997). Methods The project adopted a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews and case study methods on the basis of common interview guidelines and evaluation criteria. To assess the manifestation and meaning of work identities in different work settings, the research covered various occupations across five contrasting sectors and seven different national economies. The combination of countries represented different cultural, socio-economic and political embeddings of work concepts and occupations. The core partners, Estonia, France, Germany, Spain and the UK conducted large sample interviews, which formed the major part of the investigation. They represent one transition country, Central and Southern Europe. With Germany and the UK, two different concepts of work within Europe were represented. The Czech Republic and Greece assumed the role of critical observers, contrasting the research findings of the core partners with results from small-sample empirical investigations. Selection of occupations and sectors At the outset, the project partners decided to focus on three contrasting sectors that would be investigated in all partner countries. In order to cover the manufacturing and service sectors, metal/engineering, health care and telecommunications were chosen. However, as partners started to study the subject in their respective national contexts, it turned out that not all sectors were equally relevant in the different national economies, leading to some modifications to accommodate national specificities. Thus, tourism became a major sector for southern and eastern European countries, while timber and furniture production as a traditional manufacturing industry was to replace metal/engineering in Estonia[2]. As telecommunications is increasingly fusing with IT technology, the ICT sector became a major focus in the eastern European countries, supplemented with material from Germany and the UK. Figure 1 provides an overview of the sectors that each participating country selected for the empirical investigation. The guiding principle for the selection of sectors has been diversity in order to represent different occupational traditions and work settings on the one hand, and

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Figure 1. Investigated sectors in each partner country

different dynamics and challenges with regards to flexibility and mobility on the other hand. The metal working industry represents a traditional production sector that has gradually declined under the pressure of rationalisation during the last two decades. The strong industrial tradition in many areas attributes a significant weight towards the national and cultural embedding of the industry, and findings for metal work and engineering differed considerably between the four countries of investigation (France, Germany, Spain and the UK). The tradition of strong collective workers’ identities can be attributed to the historical role of professional associations and unions. Identification with the company or the product also continues to generate a certain continuity of work identities. However, changes in the structural context have led to changes in occupational identities in engineering and the metal working industry, particularly in response to increased competition and changing patterns of work organisation. In health care, a traditional service sector, the focus was placed on nursing. Nursing represents a highly formalised and not very dynamic profession, with many similarities between the work identities of nurses across the four countries of investigation (Estonia, France, Germany and the UK). The rather homogeneous profile of the profession across countries can be explained by a more or less standardised set of work tasks organised around direct patient care. Furthermore, the professional profile is linked to a strong work ethos and moral commitment combined with a high level of responsibility and a certain degree of autonomy in the performance of tasks. This combination supports the development of strong occupational identities of nurses rooted in the work ethos. Hence, it is relatively independent of the particular employer or work environment. The new economies exemplify highly dynamic and diversified sectors with varying levels of formalisation. They are characterised by high pressure for flexibility and mobility of employees combined with fast-changing job profiles, skills requirements and organisational structures. The investigation concentrated on telecommunications and IT, thus covering both a more traditional and a relatively new service sub-sector. Both sub-sectors illustrate the strong influence that flexibility, as well as internationalisation and globalisation, can have on the development of skills and work identities. More highly qualified young employees, in particular, use flexibility

and mobility as a means to develop transversality, shape their professional careers and improve their working conditions. In these sectors, the trend towards patterns of self-employment and individualised work identities was most obvious, resulting in conflicts related to pressures for flexibility and self-study, a high stress level and an imbalance of work and private life. Tourism contrasts with the other sectors due to its heterogeneity, seasonality, deregulation and unstable employment structures that require a high level of (often involuntary) functional flexibility of the workforce. Tourism is characterised by segmentation and diversification. The strict demarcation between a permanent workforce and seasonal staff is also reflected in the way work identities develop. For some employees, stable employment and basic qualifications result in a certain attachment to the sector and the company, and an occupational identity aligned to the ethics of professionalism. By contrast, the large numbers of seasonal and lower or non-qualified employees, who are often exposed to unstable and permanently changing employment situations, develop rather loose attachments to work and the company, and transitory work identities.

Research steps The project was structured into three research phases, each supporting the previous one both methodologically and with contextual information. First, the project consortium undertook a literature review to investigate key concepts, definitions and meanings of terminology such as profession, meaning of work, vocation, occupational identity, flexibility, mobility, etc.[3]. The literature review also helped to clarify how concepts of work and work identities are nationally and historically embedded in the respective partner countries. In the empirical investigation, work identities were examined from two different perspectives: the organization and the individual. Through conducting interviews with managers and representatives of human resources departments, the issue was assessed from the management or organizational perspective which supported employers” expectations. The focus here was on exploring structural conditions including changes in organisational structures, work profiles and skilling needs, and on exploring how employers actively try to shape the work-related identities of their employees. The aim of this research step was to find out how managers assess the changes at work (in terms of flexibility, mobility, work organisation, working conditions and recruitment policies) that have occurred during the last decade. Interview questions also related to how managers experience and value employees’ capacity to deal with those changes and how this might affect employees’ work attitude and identity formation at work[4]. The interview results provided the material for developing collective case studies (Stake, 2000) addressing company data and products, work profiles of skilled workers, skills requirements and recruitment principles, learning, initial and further education and training, career options, work organisation and demands for flexibility and mobility of employees. Those helped to further refine the structural embedding of work concepts and occupational identities which complemented the literature review. It also facilitated the identification of some major issues that were addressed when conducting the interviews with employees.

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As the emphasis of the project was placed on individuals’ orientations and strategies of adjustment at work over time, the major qualitative research focused on interviews with employees to assess the individual-psychological dimension of work identities as outlined above. This part of the empirical investigation aimed at deciphering how employees perceive and cope with changes at work, and how these changes might affect their work identity, commitment patterns, work attitude and career orientation. Interview questions included, for example, with what do employees identify at work; how they respond to new skill requirements; how they perceive formal and informal learning; how they cope with changing work settings; and how they think all this affects their motivation and work performance. This research phase was designed to complement, connect and contrast with the findings regarding structural conditions and managers’ expectations.

Samples and data collection The methodological approach consisted of qualitative research using semi-structured, problem-centred interviews. The project partners reached common understanding on a set of interview guidelines that were slightly adapted according to the particularities of the respective national contexts. All partners carried out initial pilot interviews for each empirical research phase to pre-test the interview guidelines and the feasibility of applying semi-structured interviews. Depending on the situational appropriateness, those were either individual, in-depth interviews or focus group discussions with two to six employees, usually not exceeding 90 minutes. Typically interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interviews with representatives of HR departments and mangers were conducted in the first half of 2001; interviews with employees between November 2001 and June 2002. In order to ensure close linkage between the two phases of the empirical investigation, interviews with employees were to be conducted as far as possible at the same organizations that were selected for the first phase. This, however, was not always possible. Particularly in the metal working industry, project partners encountered difficulties in going back to the same companies. For health care, telecommunications/IT and tourism, matching between company and employee samples could be realised to a very high degree. In areas where a high level of correspondence was not possible, partners tried to aim for consistency by ensuring that professional groups had similar features. The project focused on the formation of work identities of employees at the intermediate skills level, mainly skilled workers, representing a wide range of qualifications, work experiences and job profiles. For the first empirical research phase, project partners ensured that they covered small, medium and large (including multinational), companies to account for varying structures of work organisation and settings. For the service sectors, public and private employers were included. Each of the five core partners conducted interviews in at least 21 companies comprising on average seven interviews per sector (n ¼ 132 for this research phase). For the employee sample, partners attempted to sample a diversity of employees’ backgrounds and work experiences. Based on common selection criteria (different levels of initial education and training; varying job profiles and occupational backgrounds; work experiences ranging from newly qualified to those having a work

experience of 20 years or more; gender balance) the companies identified suitable interviewees. In total, 504 employees were interviewed. Data analysis Data analysis followed an inductive, grounded theory development approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) that was complemented by developing collective case studies (Stake, 2000). This material was synthesised according to evaluation categories that the partners commonly identified as being relevant for identity formation processes at work and that were adjusted and refined in the course of conducting the pilot interviews and the first empirical investigation with managers of HR departments. Evaluation categories used by all project partners included learning (the role of initial and continuing training); organisational features (work organisation, job profiles, hierarchical structures, demands for flexibility and mobility) and the individual (skills profile, gender issues, employees’ autonomy and types of responsibility, features of identification with work and commitment). Those were further refined and interpreted from two perspectives according to the two phases of the empirical investigation: the company and the individual. Finally, the categories were related to flexibility and mobility. In terms of flexibility, organisational changes, technological innovations and a strong customer orientation require employees to adjust to new demands in the work context. Employees are increasingly challenged to develop advanced communication skills, the capacity to deal with conflicts and abilities for continuous learning. As for companies, they are challenged to meet changing organisational demands, to create a rich learning environment and to support employees in adjusting to changing work situations. Companies generally are in a position to restrict or actively encourage the specific work attitudes of employees and thus also have an influence on shaping work identities. Regarding mobility, the project consortium distinguished between geographical or spatial mobility, horizontal mobility and vertical mobility. Demands on employees to be spatially mobile address the need and/or the possibility to change workplaces, to be transferred to a new location, to travel for the job or to have a long commute on a regular basis. Horizontal mobility relates to changing employer or departments, practising job rotation, acquiring certain specialisations or engaging in team work. Finally, vertical mobility encompasses the capacity, interest and opportunity for personal career development by taking advantage of further education or in-house promotions, for example. Horizontal and vertical mobility both connect closely to opportunities for continuous professional development and work-related learning. Migration can be considered as a special form of mobility, usually related to changing employer and occupation. Although this issue may be of great interest at a European level, project partners decided not to consider migrant workers as their occupational identity development forms a special case. In times of severe economic constraints, flexibility and mobility were initially regarded as demands that put pressure on companies and employees. However, both flexibility and mobility create opportunities in terms of the learning environment at work, job profiles, professional development and career options of employees, autonomy and self-realisation. Companies’ organisational strategies may open up new opportunities for employees, or they can create pressure, for example, through work

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intensification – a prevalent feature that was mentioned throughout all sectors of investigation. The study revealed that flexibility and mobility are experienced and valued quite differently in different occupational groups, and showed how this affects identity formation processes at work. During all research phases, the project partners aimed for close coordination of the different work steps and methodological approach. A high level of coordination could be realised at the level of sampling (selection of sectors, occupations and interviewees), developing common interview guidelines and techniques, evaluation categories and the presentation of findings at national and sectoral level. The role of common evaluation categories has been very important. Those categories built the ground for further categorisation that each partner developed on the basis of the transcribed texts. By following grounded theory method (categorisation, codification, fragmentation of texts, reconceptualisation and interpretation) the results reached a high level of convergence. The research findings were put into a contextual perspective, first per country and then sector wide, incorporating the data and findings generated by each project partner. The articles in this issue present the integration of the national results at sectoral level. Research findings in brief Existing social and economic structures strongly influence the nature of work and lead to a range of strategies to address the need for change. Work concepts are defined differently in different European countries and, subsequently, vocational initial and continuing training systems assume different functions when responding to labour market demands and developments. Obviously, there is much variation between countries and sectors with respect to the ways in which demands for flexibility and mobility affect the workforce, and each national and sectoral context presents a different set of issues. National contexts A clear distinction could be drawn between countries with disrupted and highly diversified labour markets on the one hand, and countries with strong and continuous occupational traditions on the other hand. The latter provide a framework that can guide and support individuals in developing levels of identification with work. This is particularly true for countries where vocational education and training systems and job profiles are highly formalised and linked to occupational labour markets. The recognition of vocational qualifications fosters employees’ job orientation and gives them a sense of stability when making the transition into the labour market. Even if most of these structures are currently in transition and have become unstable, changes are more likely to be gradual, giving individuals time to make adjustments. France and Germany, for example, have vocational training systems that support the continuing development of stable occupational structures whilst constantly responding to emerging labour market demands. By contrast, countries with disrupted and highly diversified work and labour market traditions typically lack the institutional support to develop strong vocational education and training systems. As a consequence, vocational qualifications are not adequately recognised and are to a certain extent disconnected from labour market requirements. Under these circumstances, employees encounter difficulties in

developing stable occupational orientations and progressive career perspectives. They are challenged to take an active part in re-defining work identities, in the context of fast changing job profiles and skills requirements. In Estonia, for example, the process of transition calls for new job requirements, qualification standards, training schemes and newly emerging occupational fields, to which the labour market has to adjust and which the workforce has to internalise. In this transitional process, emerging professional communities and interest groups can play a new and central role by providing a framework for developing collective work-related identities. The UK presents a model where the labour market has never been fully structured along clearly defined occupations and professions. Instead, it has become increasingly reliant on a high level of flexibility, deregulation and fluidity of work profiles and related skills requirements. This more open and less formalised system does not place emphasis on an individual’s attachment to specific, and to a large extent pre-structured, occupations, but rather on individual skills development, acquisition of knowledge and competencies, work experience and a pro-active work attitude. Following the collapse of apprenticeship programmes from the late 1970s onwards, specific work-related or technical skills are usually learned on the job, thus strengthening the importance of general education and work-related learning against vocational education and training. The lack of a common model for vocational training, skills development and occupational identity formation also means that there is enormous variation in these processes across sectors and occupations. As a consequence, work identities are highly individualised and dependent on the specific work context, job profile, individual skills composition and career orientation. Institutional mechanisms that can guide and support the individual when making adjustments are underdeveloped in all participating countries. The responsibility for forming attachments with the work context and developing a work identity is transferred to the individual and increasingly manifests itself as an open and unsystematic process. Learning seems to play a decisive role in this context. In Germany and Estonia employees had great difficulty in re-orientating and adjusting their work identities to changing work contexts, since these had been embedded in stable frameworks until relatively recently. In Estonia, for example – and this is the case for all eastern European countries – during the Soviet period, work identities were highly pre-structured and closely linked to the political and labour market system. By contrast, UK employees seemed to have learnt how to cope with individualised forms of work identities, sometimes to the extent that lack of commitment and frequent job changes are issues of great concern. What can also be noticed across all countries is a general trend towards employees needing to develop multi-dimensional (individual and collective) occupational identities that can cope with socio-economic and technological change. In this process, individual employees are increasingly taking the initiative, particularly in the light of the general decline of collective forms of work identities. France provides an interesting example, where institutional support is provided to employees for self-initiated continuing learning, skills adjustment and flexibility (for example in the form of a “competence audit regime”, the French Bilan de Compe´tences).

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Formalisation versus deregulation Apart from national embedding, each sector and occupational group has specific characteristics which influence identity formation processes at work. These features are analysed in-depth for each of the sectors of investigation in the papers presented in this issue. What is interesting here is that sectors show their particular specificities across countries, thus to a significant degree overshadowing not only national influences, but also the historical-cultural embedding of work identities. This clearly indicates that international and globalising trends have a strong impact on work identities. But it also suggests that work tasks and job profiles significantly influence work identities, since they seem to be relatively unaffected by national or cultural particularities and are largely determined by the nature of work itself. Referring to a particular “sectoral” or “occupational culture” (Corsten and Lempert, 1997), determined by the nature of the work tasks performed, may be an appropriate concept here. For each sector the project partners could identify one or two central elements that were decisive for employees identification with their work context (for example, the caring aspect and “working with people” in health care or the strong technical interest of employees working in the IT sector). Those key elements are significant as they typically generate some form of continuity, despite the experience of change and the increasing instability of work settings. When looking at the research results, two features seem to be of particular importance: the degree of formalisation of occupations and learning (including initial and continuing vocational training) versus deregulation and diversification of the sector on the one hand, and the dynamics of change including demands for flexibility and mobility on the other. These features could be identified at the level of the national embedding of work concepts as well as at the level of sector-specific structures. Taking into account these features, the sectors investigated could be grouped as being either highly formalised or unregulated, and being either highly dynamic or less dynamic with regards to changes concerning, for example, job profiles, skills requirements, learning, organisational structures, etc. Formalised, regulated structures foster stability and continuity and support the individual in developing a professional orientation and work identity. For example, established vocational education and training systems and the recognition of formal qualifications can play a decisive and formative role in developing an initial occupational attachment and self-confidence. This applies to a certain extent to all occupational groups investigated. Stable employment situations and reliability are important for the individual to develop company attachment, work commitment and to plan his or her own professional development. They are also important for career progression, be it in the sense of deepening one’s own knowledge and competencies through horizontal mobility (as in nursing) or through promotion involving vertical mobility (see Kanter, 1989). By contrast, unstable employment conditions make it particularly difficult for employees to develop a stable work identity, as can be illustrated in the case of tourism (see Marhuenda in this special issue). The influence of level of formalisation also applies to the organisation and role of professional communities and associations. Their influence on identity formation processes could be delineated for almost all professional groups. Where the level of formalisation of professional associations is high (as in nursing and traditionally in the metal working industry) professional guidance and support helps employees to

strengthen their position at work, in terms of employer-employee relations and to foster their professional status. Where those mechanisms are absent, they are either replaced by informal professional communities that take on a similar function (as in the IT sector), or the employment situation and identity formation processes are highly individualised (as in tourism). Where stabilising mechanisms have been eroded (as in metal/engineering and telecommunications) or are non-existent (as in IT and tourism) employees are challenged to actively construct their own systems of identification. Three tendencies can be delineated in this context. First, transferring the concept of a professional work attitude, that is typically expected in the (academic) professions, to employees at the intermediate skills level. This development could be observed, for example, with the IT experts, the highly qualified employees in tourism and engineering and to a certain extent in nursing. In this case the work ethos, personal interest and commitment, a pro-active learner’s attitude and self-realisation are promoted and adopted as key concepts. A second possibility observed was a highly individualised work attitude, exemplified within the UK context, but also increasingly observed among most of the occupational groups investigated. The focus here lies on the individual’s skills, knowledge, competencies and active career development using learning and continuing vocational training as well as mobility and flexibility as important tools for professional development. Thirdly, a considerable number of workers developed a functional or instrumental work attitude complying with the minimum requirements for learning, flexibility and mobility in order to maintain their employability. Such an approach could be observed, for example, in telecommunications and metal/engineering, but was also represented in the other sectors. It can be regarded as a rather passive response to changing work requirements whereas the first two trends expect and exemplify a more pro-active attitude. A shift in skills requirements from technical knowledge to the increased importance of generic and communications skills, combined with a high demand for multi-skilling, could be observed in all sectors. At least two trends point to the need for this new skill balance: the move towards flatter hierarchies and team work on the one hand, and the tertiarisation or service orientation of the economy on the other, giving the client a new role. The latter has two consequences in practice: a high level of client interaction at the intermediate worker level, and the fact that clients and customers in general have become much more demanding, with very firm expectations about quality of service. This is the case in all sectors, leading to a new competitive structure, even for established service sectors like nursing or tourism. Flexibility and mobility Most employees connected the issue of flexibility primarily to the ability to cope with, and adapt to, changes at work such as new work tasks, job situations and work organisation, generally linked to broadening competencies and work profiles. Second, they referred to working conditions in terms of time flexibility, irregular working hours and the readiness to work overtime. Demands for time flexibility and availability of employees were an issue in almost all sectors investigated. There was great variation in whether flexibility and mobility were personally perceived as creating opportunities, or conversely, as new demands that put pressure on employees. Nurses, for example, stated that they felt largely in control over the

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degree of flexibility and mobility to which they were required to respond and felt that they had individual choices. In contrast, in the new economies, both elements were perceived as demands beyond the control of employees that created a high stress level. Demands on flexibility were regarded critically in terms of working overtime and flexible working hours, particularly in tourism where the sector does not offer fair compensation mechanisms for such requirements, either in terms of remuneration, or in terms of job security, career development and training provision. Flexibility had the most negative connotation when it was interpreted as the possibility of hiring and firing without incurring high costs. Negative implications were lack of commitment, company attachment and high levels of staff turnover. Horizontal mobility was often used as an important means to broaden competencies and enhance career chances. Particularly in IT and tourism, changing employers to gain work experience was closely linked to professional development. In nursing, horizontal mobility was in many cases pursued in order to broaden and deepen competencies, but without thought of promotion. It was striking that in most sectors the majority of workers at the intermediate skills level favoured horizontal mobility as against vertical mobility. This tendency could be linked to the “core elements” of an occupation, with which most employees at this skills level identified, resulting in a certain incompatibility between performing technical tasks and the performance of co-ordinating functions when assuming higher level responsibilities. In IT, for example, managerial positions were generally associated with the degeneration of technical knowledge and practical skills. Most nurses experienced a similar conflict: nurses who strongly identified with direct patient care generally did not like to move into management and develop skills related to administration, co-ordination or broader managerial tasks[5]. Other reasons that generated low incentives for employees to pursue vertical mobility were lack of opportunities for career development due to organisational restructuring, lack of support from employers or the nature of professional organisation. The trend towards flat hierarchies in work organisation in telecommunications, IT and metalwork/engineering had significantly reduced the number of supervisory positions available, particularly at the level of intermediate management. One consequence in Germany, for example, is that far fewer employees use the Meister qualification as a classical form of career progression, as this pathway is also increasingly undermined by the recruitment of graduates in these positions. Lack of support from employers in providing and facilitating adequate training was particularly an issue in tourism and IT, whereas in nursing it was the highly formalised organisation of the profession that significantly limited broader career opportunities for nurses.

Forms of “strategic action” undertaken by employees in forming their work-related identities Structural conditions influenced by labour market configurations, vocational education and training systems, sector specificities or the immediate work environment only represent one set of dynamics that influence work-related identity formation processes. These dynamics also need to be understood in relation to how individuals respond to them. Different responses largely depend on individual variables and dispositions

ranging from socio-economic background, gender and age to skills, the capacity to learn and to cope with changing work requirements as well as personal interests. The FAME project identified different forms of identification, with “classical” and “flexible” as two poles of a continuum of possible responses. In addition, regardless of the level of identification, all employees, over time, adapt to their work environment and changing requirements in a variety of ways. It is important to acknowledge that developing a work identity may not be of particular significance for an individual as it only represents one choice among a range of (competing) alternatives in the course of developing an overall identity. It was striking, though, that most interviewees did identify with their work. This finding points to the high level of significance individuals attribute to their work and the work context. In all occupational groups, but particularly in the traditional sectors of metalwork/engineering, health care and telecommunications, we found employees with an affiliation towards “classical” types of occupational identities who highly identified either with the occupation, the company, the product or their daily work tasks. One could argue that these employees viewed their work identity mainly from a perspective that was rooted in the past. Typically, they were pursuing a kind of “retreat strategy” by which they were trying to hold on to traditional elements of identification largely resisting pressures for change. To many employees in this group, changes in the working environment presented a conflict, often because they did not have the means or personal resources to adjust to new demands, for example due to lack of motivation, qualifications or self-confidence. They often experienced changes at work as not transparent, unpredictable and beyond their control, particularly in areas characterised by rapid and radical changes, as has been the case in telecommunications during the last decade. In order to establish some continuity, employees often tried to conserve as much as possible their current work status and work tasks with little or no inclination towards learning, professional development or changing working situations, including changing employers. On the other hand, employees with a “classical” type of identification could also be more or less open to change. Some individuals in this group developed a more pro-active kind of response seeing themselves as comfortable with the way their occupation was developing and/or how their employer was changing. If employees were able to move with, or were in the vanguard of, changes and new requirements, they would develop a “classical progressive” occupational identity. Such employees would follow a classical career progression, most likely by pursuing a higher level qualification (e.g. the Meister qualification) to move to supervisory or more specialist positions. They would still strongly identify with the classical elements of their occupation, but were at the same time able to make use of opportunities in the course of changing work situations to develop their professional career. Moving into more specialist or supervisory positions can also be considered a well-trodden path and they may retain their allegiance to their initial technical occupation. However, by assuming additional responsibilities and tasks they may also adjust or even re-define their work identity. At the opposite end of the continuum were those employees who had developed a highly “flexible” type of identification with work. This had a much more individualist basis than any occupational and organisational commitment. One typical characteristic of these employees was that they were willing and able to actively use

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flexibility, mobility and learning as tools to achieve their broader goals, and in doing so they were ready to change organisations and/or their occupation if necessary. Interestingly, a flexible and individualised work identity could be found among the highly qualified, for example the IT specialist who combines a good mix of hybrid technical and social skills, but also among the less skilled workers with an unstable employment situation, for example in tourism. The flexible employee anticipates and internalises requirements for continuous adjustments and changes in the work place, leading to a transitory work attachment and identity for the less qualified, and a highly individualised work identity based on professional skills and competencies for the higher qualified. The key feature here is that the individual is active in pursuit of her or his own goals, professional development and self-realisation. Their work identity is highly individualised, primarily based on personal skills, capacity for continuous learning and a rather project-oriented work attitude. A variation of this flexible type of identification with work would be the “strategic careerists” who see their current occupational position and/or organisational attachment as one phase of a career that involves relatively frequent changes in the nature of work they do. They are committed to “moving on” and see their careers as something that they actively construct. Their attachment to their current role is partly influenced by the knowledge that they are only “passing through”. The largest group of interviewees, however, developed different forms of adaptation that resulted in various, very complex forms of responses along this continuum. The changing nature of their attachment to work could be more or less intense and transitional and often depended on re-definition processes. For example, adaptation and adjustment to work may be long-term or short-term; be passive (accepting) or involve the individual in an active search for resolution of problems or conflicts. The pressures external to the individual to adapt may be high or low and they may be general (relating to all in an organisation or occupation) or specific (relating to an individual or small group). In any case, forms of “adjustment” or “re-definition” strategies generally represented a more conditional form of adaptation – the individual may remain in an occupation and/or with a particular employer, but he or she recognises that this represents a compromise rather than an ideal situation. Typically, factors from outside work (family commitments, personal networks, attachment to a particular location) may “hold” an individual in place. The individual may still seek to satisfy expectations (of employer, colleagues and customers or clients) with regards to role performance, but she or he typically has some reservations about her or his work or employer. However, employees may remain in the same job for a considerable period of time, but may (internally or externally) move on, if the “holding” circumstances or external conditions change. Accordingly, work identities may be adjusted, re-defined or stabilised. This group of employees exemplified well how work identities develop over time with changing levels of significance to the individual. Depending on the level of flexibility involved and whether employees would take a rather passive or active role in the process of adaptation, the project distinguished between long-term and short-term adjustment. The first involves a rather passive approach leading to a certain continuity and stability, whereas the second presents a more pro-active attitude of employees seeking

to change their current situation by accepting a higher degree of flexibility and mobility, but also insecurity. “Long-term adjustment” represents a conditional form of adaptation by which employees somehow accept their current work situation as a compromise. In pursuit of job security and maintaining a certain level of stability, employees would remain in the same job for a considerable period of time despite the dissatisfaction they encounter at work. Many of them subordinated their own career and working life to other aspects of life generally, attributing less significance to their work identity, at least for a certain period of time. Examples of reasons why interviewees felt “locked into” their current work included accommodation to working patterns of a partner, attachment to a particular locality (“we have lived here all our lives”) and attachment to their immediate work group. “Short-term adjustment” represents a fully conditional form of adaptation – the individual recognises that he or she only intends to remain in an occupation and/or with a particular employer for a relatively short time. Either because of individual circumstances, choice or long-term career plans, or because of dissatisfaction with the work, the individual is actively seeking or intending to seek alternative employment. Particularly in the UK sample and in the tourism sector, we had examples of interviewees who were in the process of changing employers or occupations. However, also among the different forms of “adjustments” a considerable number of employees identified with their work, but were at the same time much more active in re-defining, rather than passively accepting, work-related roles. Actually, in all groups, from “classical” to “flexible” work identities, we found employees who were actively re-defining and challenging traditional roles and work identities. We had examples of employees who used re-defining strategies operating at the cutting edge of norms and expectations, thus pushing at the boundaries of expectations of employers, colleagues and others. In certain aspects they could be considered change agents, typically negotiating, challenging and leading their peers in some respect. These were rare, but we did find some examples of these patterns of behaviour, as in the case of women taking leading roles in the metalwork/engineering and IT sectors or a dynamic young Turkish supervisor working in a German galvanising factory. Also German male nurses often challenged the traditional nurse profile, for example, of providing “unconditional care”. The type of work identity which individuals develop over time depends on a variety of factors leading to a complex process of negotiation between personal resources and (internal and external) constraints on the one hand, and structural conditions, on the other hand. What seems to be decisive in this context is the individual’s response or “strategy”: whether he or she takes on a passive or active role, the level of risk affinity, the openness and ability to use flexibility, mobility and learning as tools to pursue their own interests and their general attachment to work. In addition, what have been outlined above as different forms of work identities must not be interpreted as “exclusive categories”. Instead, work identities as they have been described may be mutually exclusive at a given point in time. However, they may change and be adjusted in the course of the life-time employment trajectory of an individual, shifting in either direction across a continuum of possible responses. The approach (or approaches) which an individual adopts over a life-time trajectory combines a set of different individual variables. Taking a passive or active role, or the

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level of risk affinity with regards to employment and work, may to a large extent depend on an individual’s personality, whereas attachment to work may be a combination of tertiary work-related socialisation, work experience and personal interest. On the other hand, the extent to which employees are willing and able to use flexibility and mobility, and have developed an active learner’s attitude is closely linked to learning processes. At this point the project could identify a clear distinction between employees who had been socialised and trained to be more flexible and active in developing their professional orientation and identity, and employees who had not been socialised in this way. Conclusions The project identified a general trend towards the “individualisation” of work identities away from classical collective forms of work-related identities. Individuals are increasingly required and expected to develop a pro-active and “entrepreneurial” work attitude based on multi-skilling and flexibility. This also implies the need to develop complex, flexible and multi-dimensional work identities that can be continuously adjusted to the requirements of change. Stability and continuity that were formerly generated through, for example, permanent employment contracts and long-term company attachment, increasingly have to be actively constructed by the employees themselves. In addition, risk management of employment instabilities and responsibilities for relevant skills acquisition are being transferred from the company to the individual. These developments have significant implications for the professional orientation, work identity and attachment of employees. The “entrepreneurial” model assumes a highly dynamic and flexible work identity. However, the research undertaken clearly shows that this kind of work identity is rather exceptional among employees. The majority of interviewees at the intermediate skills level developed their work identity in the complex discourse of adjustment and/or conserved more “classical” forms of identification with work, largely resisting high demands on flexibility and mobility. A considerable number of these employees did not possess the personal resources to cope with the requirements of a fast changing work environment. This often led to stress, lack of control over work performance, high levels of staff turnover, lack of commitment of employees and in some cases poor work performance. This can be observed especially within occupations and organisations with high demands on flexibility and mobility and in fast changing work organisation such as in the telecommunications and the IT sector. On the other hand, changing, unpredictable and precarious working conditions as experienced by many employees working in tourism, or being subject to a high level of induced flexibility as in the UK context, can also have adverse effects on commitment of staff and work performance. The model of the flexible “entrepreneur” may exclude an increasing number of people who cannot or do not have the means to develop highly flexible work attachments. This may be because they either lack the right qualification or skills, come from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, may not be very flexible in general or may prefer to hold on to more classical forms of work concepts. Since the majority of employees in Europe have undergone a work-related socialisation that did not yet anticipate the requirements for increased flexibility, mobility and lifelong learning, the number of disadvantaged workers in Europe who are not of an

“entrepreneurial” type could be potentially high[6].The role of socialisation into the work context, one of the major functions of vocational and continuous education and training, plays a key role in this context. If individuals are increasingly challenged to actively construct their own, mainly individualised, work identities and professional orientation, they need guidance on how to do this most effectively in order to meet changing demands. This may not be so much an issue of formal accreditation of prior learning, but rather a question of how to give individuals confidence in their own qualifications and to empower them to become agents of their own professional development. This means that employees need to be supported and guided to cope with changing work environments including new demands for being flexible and mobile. From the investigation, it seems that, for most occupational groups, this kind of support is insufficient or not given at all. However, such a form of guidance, be it at institutional, employer or at a more individualised level, seems to be indispensable to avoid employees falling into a passive “retreat” or “long-term adjustment” strategy that may lead to their professional exclusion. Such forms of guidance could, for example, be integrated into formal and informal, initial and continuing vocational training schemes. However, when it comes to training and skills, the shift towards generic or core skills and away from specific technical skills is one trend that should also be considered. Prioritising continuing training and informal learning against (formalised) vocational education stresses the importance of self-directed learning, learning while working, training-on-the-job, etc. Those shifts could be observed in almost all the occupational areas investigated. If these forms of learning are also linked to the recognition of competencies acquired through these processes, then this trend may create new opportunities for employees. However, to the extent that this approach transfers the responsibility for skills acquisition from the company to the individual, it may also cause a high level of stress. Many employees experienced constant pressure to learn while working and demands for self-study, which they felt were unsustainable over a long period. Combined with lack of training support and high demands on flexibility, for many employees this also resulted in imbalance and conflict between work and private or family life. Employees who are equipped with the right set of skills and sufficient self-confidence are also usually willing and able to deal with new demands at their workplace. Some even actively use new concepts of flexibility and mobility at work as instruments to adjust their work to their personal needs, for example family-friendly policies. On the other hand, it may also be that in changing contexts, it is not necessary for individuals to have pre-defined occupational identities (relating to clearly defined job profiles). This may be particularly the case where hybrid skills are in great demand involving a combination of business and technical skills, as well as “soft” skills of communication and team working. Such people could perform a wide variety of roles and there were examples of companies being very flexible in deploying the skills of such people. Indeed, that employers saw these individuals as capable of fulfilling a variety of roles was a key part of their attraction. Thus, it may be that some companies are looking for organisational commitment rather than occupational identification as a key driver for behaviour.

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Notes 1. Reference is made to “vocational”, “occupational”, “professional” or “work identity” as any kind of identity formation processes that develop through the interaction between the individual and the work context including vocational education and training. The most inclusive terminology may be applied when referring to “work-related” or “work identity”, whereas “vocational” or “occupational identity” more specifically refers to certain features of the work context or a specific concept of work. For example, “occupational identity” may be more applicable to labour markets and work concepts that are structured along occupations. However, the project partners reached a common understanding to use the different terminology in an interchangeable manner referring to the same kind of identity formation processes at work. 2. Timber and furniture production in Estonia does not form part of the comparative analysis presented in this issue. 3. The findings from the literature review are published under Laske (2001). 4. Results from the empirical investigation with managers and representatives of human resources departments are published under FAME Consortium (2003). 5. The conflict between the self-understanding of employees at the intermediate skills level as “specialist” and assuming managerial responsibilities is closely linked to the connection between mobility, flexibility and work identity. This is the core theme of the paper on “Identification-flexibility dilemma of IT specialists” of this issue. 6. At this point it is important to note that the employee sample represented a privileged segment of the workforce by only including individuals currently employed and most of whom had some level of qualification. Employees, who are already excluded like the large number of unemployed workers, were not represented in the sample.

References Baruch, Y. (1998), “The rise and fall of organizational commitment”, Human Systems Management, Vol. 17, pp. 135-43. Beck, U. (1994), “The debate on the ‘individualization theory’ in today’s sociology in Germany”, Soziologie, No. 3, pp. 191-200. Beck, U. (1999), Scho¨ne neue Arbeitswelt, Campus, Frankfurt am Main./New York, NY. Brown, A. (1997), “A dynamic model of occupational identity formation”, in Brown, A. (Ed.), Promoting Vocational Education and Training: European Perspectives, University of Tampere, Tampere, pp. 59-67. Brown, A. (2001), “Reflections on the process of becoming skilled in England, Germany and The Netherlands”, in Laske, G. (Ed.), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen. Carruthers, B. and Uzzi, B. (2000), “Economic sociology in the new millennium”, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 486-94. Corsten, M. and Lempert, W. (1997), Beruf und Moral. Exemplarische Analysen beruflicher Werdega¨nge, betrieblicher Kontexte und sozialer Orientierungen erwerbsta¨tiger Lehrabsolventen, Deutscher Studien Verlag, Weinheim. FAME Consortium (2003), Work-related Identities in Europe: How Personnel Management and HR Policies Shape Workers’ Identities, ITB Working Paper Series No. 46, University of Bremen, Bremen.

Garrick, J. (1998), Informal Learning in the Workplace: Unmasking Human Resources Development, Routledge, London and New York, NY. Giddens, A. (1984), The Constitution of Society, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Giddens, A. (1991), Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CT. Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. ((1967)), The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. Gottlieb, B.H., Kelloway, E.K. and Barham, E. (1998), Flexible Work Arrangements, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. Heinz, W.R. (1995), Arbeit, Beruf und Lebenslauf. Eine Einfu¨hrung in die berufliche Sozialisation, Juventa, Mu¨nchen. Heinz, W.R. (2002), “Transition discontinuities and the biographical shaping of early work careers”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 60, pp. 220-40. Heinz, W.R. (2003), “From work trajectories to negotiated careers: the contingent work life course”, in Jeylan, T.M. and Shanahan, M.J. (Eds), Handbook of the Life Course, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, NY. Hoff, E.-H., Lappe, L. and Lempert, W. (Eds) (1985), “Arbeitsbiographie und Perso¨nlichkeitsentwicklung”, Schriften zur Arbeitspsychologie, No. 40, Huber, Stuttgart. Jones, B. (1995), Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Kanter, R.M. (1989), “Careers and the wealth of nations: a macro perspective on the structure and implications of career forms”, in Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. and Lawrence, B.S. (Eds), Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, pp. 506-22. Laske, G. (2001), “Profession and occupation as medium of socialisation and identity formation”, in Laske, G. (Ed.), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen. Pongratz, H.J. and Voss, G.G. (2003), Arbeitskraftunternehmer. Erwerbsorientierungen in entgrenzten Arbeitsformen, Editions Sigma, Berlin. Sennett, R. (1998), The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism, Norton, New York, NY. Stake, R.E. (2000), “Case studies”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA/London/New Dehli, pp. 453-4. Tajfel, H. (1981), Human Groups and Social Categories, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Further reading Laske, G. (Ed.) (2001), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen.

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Fernando Marhuenda, Ignacio Martı´nez and Almudena Navas Universitat de Vale`ncia, Vale`ncia, Spain Keywords Employees attitudes, Tourism, Europe, Vocational training, Career development Abstract This article investigates the formation of vocational identities of workers in the sector of tourism in the Czech Republic, Greece and Spain. Major challenges and conflicts shape the sector of tourism as a particular labour space. Emerging issues relate to the need for diversifying the offer of services to face seasonality, strategies of entrepreneurial merging and demands for mobility and flexibility of the workforce. For the individual worker, a complex combination of related factors lead to tensions and contradictions, particularly in terms of changes in work organization, flexibility and how vocational identities of workers are shaped. An active policy for social dialogue and the improvement of working conditions seem to be vital in order to avoid flexibility becoming a synonym for precariousness of employment. Furthermore, the promotion of continuing training, greater recognition of formal vocational education and the development of an entrepreneurial culture are key elements that would enhance opportunities to develop a professional career in tourism.

Career Development International Vol. 9 No. 3, 2004 pp. 222-244 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1362-0436 DOI 10.1108/13620430410535832

Introduction This paper discusses the formation of vocational identities of employees working in the sector of tourism within the framework of their career prospects and labour policies that are increasingly relying on flexibility and mobility as organizational principles. Key questions in this context refer to processes of identity formation in a time of change, the responses of workers to those changes, the meaning of work as well as the abilities, attitudes and strategies workers develop in order to deal with transformations at the workplace. These key questions shape a complex framework of analysis taking account of vocational training trajectories, workers’ opportunities and needs, their career expectations and the role of professional groups and communities of practice. These issues are considered in different European countries, hence providing a heterogeneous cultural matrix for the research. Qualitative research was carried out in the Valencian Community, North West Bohemia and Crete. All three regions are characterised by a high share of the tourist industry in the regional economy and/or by their potential for sector development and employment generation in the future. In addition, all three countries have an important weight of tourism in their national economies, although the nature of companies and services provided varies considerably. While Spain and Greece belong to top world recreational destinations, Czech tourism is of urban type with spa tourism having an important role to play. Tourism-related services vary considerably with respect to the kind of ownership of the business, work organization, training requirements, duration of employment and salary levels. There are also notable variations between the countries and regions studied. It was therefore necessary to conduct a contextual analysis of the sector in each region in order to verify factors that influence the formation of vocational identities at

global and macro levels. In certain sub-sectors of tourism, small family businesses and autonomous workers predominate. This situation leads to certain characteristics of this kind of business, such as low prices (due to “self-exploitation”), the personalisation of services, an orientation towards particular market niches, the need for family help, employment through informal channels such as family and friends and low or no use of technology. By contrast, larger companies that coexist with small businesses are characterised by a specialization in posts, high levels of investments, professional management structures, the coincidence in many cases of ownership and management and formal recruitment mechanisms for finding qualified personnel. The companies selected in the three countries of investigation differed in terms of their respective sub-sector, their size and other characteristics. However, all of them showed great potentials for growth and job creation. Taking into account the particularities of each country, sub-sectors and companies were selected on the basis of having to face changing labour conditions in terms of flexibility and mobility. These were looked at in the light of the workers’ experiences and how this affects their work identity. Approaching the notion of vocational identity Current changes in work make it difficult for individuals to give meaning to their experience and to generate a discourse or narrative about it. Flexibilization of work relations, technological development, increasing competitiveness and the dilution of corporate identities which were valid in the past industrial era force individuals to develop strategies to define their positions in working life. Workers’ strategies have to compensate instability, fragmentation and uncertainty, which are features of flexible capitalism making work experience less legible (Sennett, 2000) and, when this is possible, those narratives implicate a lot of contradictions. Hence, new anchor points are needed to allow for a meaningful identity sense. Different approaches to the notion of identity have conceptualised it by attending to elements such as the role of others in shaping an identity, its foundations in common interests, experiences and practices, the influence of educational and socialization processes, the set of specialized skills and culture shared by a group of workers. Francfort et al. (1995) have designed identity formation as the way in which the individual shapes meaning for himself considering multiple social relations implied in his work in order to gain certain recognition for himself acknowledged by colleagues. The consideration of identity via the other (Dubar, 1991) implies that there is no identity without alterity, given that both require a process of differentiation and generalization. Identity has also been linked to dominant representations and cultural models, understanding such representations as types of knowledge, socially constructed and shared, with a practical element that allows for developing a common and a shared social setting (Meriot, 2002). These are the result of a certain division of labour and imply a way of knowledge that serves the needs of a group. Professional identity provides an indicative sense to collective belonging to that group. Socialization is therefore a key aspect in this process. Skills are embedded in those informal learning processes, and both procedures, technical, conventional and semantical knowledge are adapted according to the specific labour context and to the assessment by others that are relevant for oneself. It is therefore important to identify the specificities of the labour context that, defined subjectively, contribute towards shaping identities. This will be our attempt in order to make these elements interact with the narratives of workers.

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Given the current context (Francfort et al., 1995; Sennett, 2001), discoursive practices of legitimation help us give meaning to what we do or what happens to us (Crespo, 1997). It is in everyday discoursive practices that we make use of the several narrative repertoires surrounding us and circulating in our working context. Before social transformation, everyday practice of legitimation is complex and fragmentary, and several discoursive systems coexist. Yet, we might expect certain social differentiation, given that precariousness and uncertainty do not affect everyone the same way and are unequally distributed. There is some ground to speak about a social distribution of discourses on work: generally speaking, highly heterogeneous and coercive discourses tend to associate to economically deprived sectors, while those sectors better off tend to support a discourse on personal self-realization (Crespo et al., 1998). Furthermore, discourse may act as a defensive tool to help the worker resist the conditions he has to work with. Everyone tries to justify the narrative of his life (Sennett, 2000). The challenge in the hotel industry, as in many other contexts nowadays, is how to give a sense of personal continuity – crucial for identity – within a market that provides erratic and discontinuous histories, instead of well-defined routines like in the past. The lack of such a continuity may be less important for young people, but it becomes increasingly prominent as one tries to give some meaning to life and to consider it as something else than a series of casualties (Sennett, 2001). And there is, of course, the question of what a different impact “bricolage identities” (Carruthers and Uzzi, 2000) may have, depending on the position one occupies in the social structure. They may have very destructive consequences for those lacking either objective or subjective appropriate dispositions. The segmentation of labour markets (Castel, 1997) is something worth considering in this context. The hotel industry provides us with examples of several segments of the market, for its nature demands different categories of workers, too. If that segmentation happens in a way that favours competition and confrontation within the very occupational groups, then traditional socialization practices – formal and informal – as well as other management strategies interrupt if not smash homogeneities within classical professional categories and hinder deep relations among workers, breaking down traditional communities of reference without clearly providing new ones. Alonso (1999, 2000) suggests that the move from collective bargaining strategies to the individualization of the working contract (for each region, area, subsector, company and even for each individual worker) has much to do with such segmentation, which hinders the power of the workforce and of occupational groups in favour of capital. Each segment, anyhow, manages to develop its own vocational rhetoric, often by opposition to other segments and groups. Such rhetoric has a strong weight in shaping vocational identities. The question, then, is which vocational communities arise from this process, what is the “we” defined in each case. Whenever a company shares a primary and a secondary segment in the labour market (Piore, 1983), one stable and one precarious, it needs to adopt at least two different managerial strategies. On the one side, the flexible use of the workforce according to offer and demand (in the secondary segment) while developing a corporate strategy applied to the primary segment with the aim to build a “we” which helps making legible the fragmented and vulnerable experience of a flexible company in the risk society (Beck, 1998). The articulation of common spaces for identification and protection that substitute traditional occupational or class groups is hence very helpful: the “we” is not shaped around common interests of the workers or

professionals, but rather around the company, in a very functional way for its interests, as an “illusion” (Bourdieu, 1999) generated from the dominant positions in the work relations. Of course, socialization practices of the company play an important role here. How those mechanisms work in the hotel industry will be presented in this article. The notion of what may be considered a “good” worker, hence, does not take into account the conditions of reproduction of power and inequalities, as it is generated from above and transmitted via formal ways of socialization, like the structures of continuing training, which often function as re-socialization practices in the interest of the company rather than as real means for technical knowledge update. Training, then, becomes important as part of the dominant discourse of managers, in order to develop identities at work. Vocational identities: a framework for analysis The construction of a professional identity implies the interaction of various factors as experienced by each worker in a socio-culturally defined position in the production process and the organization. The factors relate to the worker’s subjective involvement in work; the objective conditions in which work takes place with the worker’s educational record; his or her understanding of the job and the tasks this implies; and with relationships and groups to which the worker belongs. Several theoretical models have analysed this issue. Paugam (2000) analyses new forms of integration and precarization at work, taking into account both “lived experiences” as well as economic and social conditions in which those happen. In his analysis, experiences of stability and instability of employment are as important as the quality of work, as he understands that professional involvement is affected by recognition of the worker’s contribution to the product as well as recognition of the social rights derived from working. Consequently, involvement in work – or precariousness, on the other pole – is a function of the quality of the working conditions as well as the uncertainty regarding employment. First, integration into work settings is precarious when working conditions are adverse, leading to dissatisfaction. According to the author, the factors contributing to the degradation of working conditions are work intensification; increasing pressure for mobility, efficacy and polyvalence; and, finally, increasing risks of sanction due to higher demands on quality procedures. Dissatisfaction is associated with a lack of intrinsic interest in work and devaluing the worker’s contribution expressed by low wages and low organizational recognition. Second, integration into work settings is precarious when employment is uncertain and does not allow for planning or clarifying future career prospects. Francfort et al. (1995) have used three dimensions to analyse collective working identity. First, spaces of identification that determine the spheres of belonging and reference for individuals and that generate a sense of a somewhat coherent identification. These spaces cover work (identification with its intrinsic content), the company as a place of belonging, professional trajectory (in terms of personal project) and society (as the explicit reference of the working practice). Second, the system of representations that the worker develops around three main areas: principles of legitimisation of authority (practice competence, role of control, leadership, ability to manage autonomy, among others); objectives of work (learning, self-realization, self-expression, being part of a relational network, social status,

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subsistence); and the aims of the company (profitability, expansion, commitment to employment, public service, social promotion, training, developing products, contributions to the local development). Third, behaviours of collective adjustment, that is the type of relations developed within a working group and its norms of behaviour. The rationale of professional communities interfaces with that of the company by managing everyday relations at work. Sociability may be described via vertical relational behaviours with authority or horizontally among colleagues and of varying intensity, type and weight. The third dimension also encompasses attitudes towards work, particularly emotional binding, involvement and commitment. Dubar (1991) emphasises the biographical and the relational dimension in the shaping of identity. He distinguishes between primary socialization and socialization at work and between their complementarities and possible contradictions. He points to various significant elements in the process of identity formation: that is places of reference (work itself, the company, society and training), perspectives in time (stability, progression, negotiation, conflict), types of belonging (individual, collective, internal or external to a group) and ways of relation (alliance, opposition, negotiation, conflict). On this last factor, also Bucher and Strauss (1961) pointed to the need to look at conflict of interests and changes when analysing professions. Finally, from the point of view of the moral construction that sustains work activities, Crespo et al. (1998) highlight three types of discourse about work: a discourse of coercion (work as an imposed need, not internalised, responding to the need to obtain resources); a discourse about the internalised obligation (work is not only a need but also something legitimate, which provides dignity combined with professional pride and a sense of social usefulness, as well as an experience of responsibility); and a discourse on personal self-realization (as a psychological need). The outlined consideration did not intend to fully assume the aspects described by the authors mentioned above. Rather those concepts provide a tool to question (Alonso, 1998) the interviews of our research in the light of having both discourses interacting – the theoretical constructions and the personal narratives – in order to define a series of factors which seem to be relevant in the discourses of workers working in the hotel industry. We have tried to avoid the risk of imposing external categories to the narratives, as well as to limit our analysis to those issues that appear explicitly in the text. The resulting factors appear in Figure 1 and constitute our framework for analysing vocational identities in the hotel industry. The analysis of employees’ interviews led us to identify seven relevant factors in the discourse of hotel workers. First, “involvement in the profession” in line with Paugam (2000), Dubar’s stability aspect (Dubar, 1991, 2002) and Sainsaulieu’s (1996, 1997) emphasis on the personal trajectory, focuses on working conditions and their impact on stability, mobility, time flexibility, functional polyvalence and other change dynamics. This factor also interlinks with satisfaction (with working conditions, work experience, career expectations) and the material and symbolic acknowledgement perceived in terms of the work performed, coming from either meaningful reference groups (such as colleagues or relatives) or from society as a whole – professional pride before social consideration. A second factor deals with “group references” in the sense of group perspectives, the company, the team, professional group, colleagues, etc., with which the individual

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Figure 1. Key factors for a mapping of professional identity

identifies. It covers aspects of belongingness, identification, fragmentation or differentiation, dependency or submission, competency, cooperation, conflict and isolation. This has been pointed out by Sainsaulieu’s (1997) sociability aspect and, to a certain extent, the spaces for identification. It also connects to Dubar’s spaces of reference and relational forms. Third, the “significance of work” deals with the meaning experienced and narrated – hence subjective – that the worker attributes to work in relation to his/her overall life. This can be, for example, an instrumental meaning (wage, security, investment in the future), an instrumental relational meaning (self-realization – be it for the process of work or for its contribution to a common corporate effort, or for self development or further learning), or a meaning oriented towards third parties (provide service for a common good, responsibility and a sense of obligation towards the employment contract or the employing organization). All of this relates to Sainsaulieu and the objectives of work, as well as to the discoursive models defined by Crespo and forms of moral connotations.

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As a fourth factor we suggest “education and training” assessing an individual’s perception of his/her trajectory and training needs, both in terms of general education as well as lifelong learning. This factor deals with learning priorities in terms of content (technical, relational competences, organizational culture), the practical-theoretical orientation, perceived usefulness of training (both in terms of investment as well as application), satisfaction with training experience and commitment of the company. In this sense, Dubar emphasises socialisation as a learning process of skills, meanings and attitudes. Similarly, Meriot (2002) and Sainsaulieu hold the attainment of technical and semantic competencies. A fifth factor refers to “perception and experience of hierarchy” and deals with the modes of representation and legitimisation that individuals develop towards authority and their relations and personal involvement in the hierarchy. The “sense of involvement in the product” deals with elements such as assuming responsibility, perceived autonomy in developing one’s assignments, totality or partiality in the perception of the task and how relevant it is for the overall work process. These are issues that define developing a sense of involvement in the productive process before the experience of a mere interchange relation and “selling” one’s workforce for an alien process. In particular, Paugam points to the importance of recognition of the contribution of the worker to the overall production process. Finally, the seventh factor “personal labour capital” or expertise refers to competencies of different kinds and attitudes that are relevant for the development of the productive activity. This aspect is usually acknowledged by the company and colleagues and has been delineated by Meriot and Sainsaulieu. The objective of this article is to identify major discourse patterns that shape distinct types of vocational identity. Applying the factors mentioned above, we have defined five types of discourse on a qualitative basis. These types should be understood as “pure types”, which, stripped of the nuances that blur their outlines in reality, serve as a tool for analysis (Gallart, 1992). They are not intended as an exhaustive typology; rather they constitute a basic definition of types that allowed us to organise relevant factors that appeared in the interviews. The process of formation of vocational identities happens in the interrelations or transitions among the types defined here, never as a rigid classification within the types. The methodological approach explains how the profiles emerged and define each of the types we suggest by applying the seven relevant factors theoretically grounded. Methodology The fieldwork of the investigation was carried out in 2001/2002 and was based on personal in-depth interviews with owners, managers and employees of different tourist businesses. In Spain, the businesses covered the quality hotel sub-sector, while in the Czech Republic tourist information offices, travel agencies and hotels were chosen. In Greece, studies undertaken on the island of Crete concentrated on small, mostly family-owned businesses which predominate in the sector. The case of Crete also contrasted the other two regions by being a less developed region with a strong weight of the rural community related to ownership of land and property on the island. The first research phase focused on the analysis of the perspective of employers; that is business owners or persons with responsibilities for personnel in their companies. The aim was to verify the methodology used, based on a reduced number

of in-depth interviews with informants who could represent the sector and were capable of providing information about developments the company and the sector are undergoing. These interviews were structured according to the objectives of the project (see the introduction to this issue by Kirpal) and focused on the situation of workers in the company, the overall situation of the sector and the work of the interviewees themselves. The methodology of face-to-face in-depth interviews proved to be an interesting tool to assess interviewees’ opinions, judgements and ways of understanding. The results obtained from these interviews can be grouped under three headings: innovation, human resources and work. In the first category, the interviewees emphasised the changes the sector has been undergoing in recent years, mainly due to the introduction of technological tools apart from social changes. In the second category, the participants evaluated the quality of human resources development in their own company and in the sector in general, including advantages and problems they were facing with respect to levels of qualification and the relationship with the company. Lastly, the complex issue of work covered aspects like employees’ work attitude, their attitude towards learning and training and work organization. The second research phase focused on the discourses of workers in relation to working conditions and identity references. Based on the findings from the previous phase and the viewpoints drawn from an initial literature review, we expected to identify discourses by which employees were experiencing conflicts related to the conditions of work affected also by changes specific to the sector. Also to identify workers’ strategies and responses when facing contradictions in their work experience and how those strategies would affect their vocational identity and work engagement. In total, 50 in-depth interviews were conducted (31 in Spain, 8 in the Czech Republic and 11 in Greece) with interviewees aged between 21 and 57 years, of which 23 were female and 27 male. Most employees were positioned in jobs for which, nowadays, there exists a recognised vocational qualification obtained either through initial vocational training or at university: 13 interviewees worked in hotel reception departments, 7 in hotel kitchens, 9 in restaurant services, 7 in hotel management departments, 4 in hotel cleaning and maintenance, 5 in travel agencies and 5 in other areas related to tourism. Of the interviewees, 19 held some kind of responsibility, mostly in the form of intermediate management. The in-depth interviews were either open or based on an agreed structure, with the aim to engage the interviewees in a discourse about the topics defined as relevant in the preliminary phase. The interviews, once transcribed, were in many cases submitted to a systematic interpretative analysis of qualitative nature around a set of categories defined by the discourse itself and in interaction with theoretical inputs (Beck, 1998). In the case of employees, the preliminary analysis of the interviews allowed definition of a set of factors that seemed decisive in the identity discourses of workers. Based on those factors, and through a process of conceptual construction, we defined different discourse patterns around which vocational identity is articulated. Interpretation of findings The interpretative dimension of the analysis combined a process of articulation of the discourses produced by employees with the theoretical basis, a “move back and forth between the materiality of discourse and the hypothesis arising from the theoretical

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reference frame” (Alonso, 1998). Identifying the most relevant sections from the text was supported by the initial aims of the research and from the framework developed. The objective was not to use a search practice that would bring out the “authentic and only meaning of the text”, but to highlight some of the meanings uncovered that would contribute towards a better understanding of our research topic. To use Alonso’s words, discourses have a polysemic character, and discourse analyses “is the search for a meaning”, among the many which are locked in the discourse. Following the sociological analysis of discourse, an attempt was made to consider the relation of discourses within its conditions of production, both at the level of the micro situation (for instance, the interview situation itself) as well as at the level of the macro situation (for example, the projection of discourses in the light of social relations or its relation to dominant and legitimating discourses). The aim of this approach, therefore, was to go beyond the mere description of the content of the discourse (such as key themes, coherence and structure) by also relating the content to the conditions of labour by which they are being produced. The first step of this process was to prepare the analysis (clarification of key factors linked to theoretical work and the knowledge of the material gathered in the field); the second step consisted of reducing the data through processes of categorisation, codification and fragmentation of the material; the third task focused on the conceptual construction (analysis by themes, construction of concepts, models or types, analysis of material using such constructions as tools) before finally synthesising relevant conclusions (Rodrı´guez, 1996; Taylor and Bogdan, 1994; Valle´s, 1999). This process is further outlined below: (1) Preparing the analysis. First, drawing on the theoretical framework, we tried to clarify what we wanted to find out from the material gathered in order to establish a concept for the text analysis. From there, we started to familiarise ourselves with the material through reiterative reading of the transcriptions of the interviews and the field notes until we were able to master the content. This helped us to point to the key issues that seemed most relevant from our theoretical perspective and to investigate whether the text explicitly or implicitly made reference to those issues or whether interviewees rather seemed to address other issues that demanded further attention and explanation. All these elements were considered in order to check the “global meaning” of the material and to develop guidelines for further analysis. (2) Reduction of the data. The next task consisted of putting the data sets into a systematic order, in accordance with the criteria that had been defined from the initial research aims and theoretical framework. This was done according to the following steps: . Definition of the criteria into separate units by grouping different criteria thematically. This helped to divide the text into sections for analysis by identifying the relevant issues and their key items. . Identification and classification of units – categorisation: defining categories and significant sub-categories that would allow for taking into account all the listed items and their elements. By applying these categories to the text it was possible to shape a “map of meanings” which acted as the guiding outline of discourse. As for the sources of the categories, we opted for a

mixed procedure, neither inductive from the text nor deductive from the theoretical model and the hypothesis. We intended to search for a relation between theory and discourse (moving from the framework to the text and vice versa) by applying categories that would correspond to those used by the interviewees, but that were at the same time satisfying our research aims and theoretically grounded. This approach demanded establishing provisional categories that were then improved, consolidated, modified, broadened, suppressed or better defined from the reading of the material. From there we assigned text fragments to each category, insofar as the meaning of the fragment became a key element of the segment. As we progressed with the analysis, it was necessary to review the rules of categorisation and because those sometimes changed, we had to go back to the material for the purpose of re-categorisation. . Codification: we assigned a code to each unit (or indication) appropriate to the category it belonged, marking the text in order to be able to identify each segment of the text in the original interview. . Synthesis and grouping: we then developed the physical grouping of the units that were part of the same category. This process allowed for a new conceptual syntheses through the creation of categories at a superior level. (3) Conceptual construction. In order to make conclusions from the data obtained, the data had to be arranged in an ordered or operational way according to the aims of the research. The approach taken was to define a typology of “models of discourse” developed from the theoretical framework and nuanced by the systems of categories and their interaction with the data. This typology provided a tool for the analysis as it allowed for developing a coherent structure for the formally disparate elements. This structure facilitated the emphasising of connections, inconsistencies, oppositions and hierarchies and establishing of links between different discourses and their social context of production. Through this process we obtained a significant (re)construction of employees’ discourses. (4) Developing conclusions. Based on the application of the model to the data for the reconstruction of discourses, the embedded meanings were interpreted in several possible ways. These interpretations grounded the conclusions and final recommendations. Mapping professional identities in tourism: analysing employees’ discourses Developing a professional identity is linked to the interaction of various factors that workers experience in a socio-culturally defined position in the production process and the employing organization. These factors relate to a worker’s (subjective) experience of work and the work setting, the (objective) working conditions, the worker’s educational background, his or her understanding of the job and work activities and the interaction with teams and professional communities he or she belongs to. Principal discourse patterns shape distinct types of professional identity. Based on the qualitative material, five types of identity discourses were defined. These five discourse patterns (as outlined below) are herein limiting the analysis to profiles related only to the factor of education and training. As outlined above, the full analysis

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considered seven factors adding to the complexity of the types (see Martı´nez, 2003 for details). The “devoted professional” This type shows a strong professional identity with aspects of autonomy, a corporate sense of the profession and self-realization in a job with an important vocational component and an awareness of one’s value (as human capital) for the company. It is present among workers in positions with responsibility and that require considerable work experience. In terms of education and training, this worker regards work experience as more relevant than training despite the fact that the importance of training is strengthened due to the gradual formalisation of training opportunities and job entering requirements. But “devoted professionals” do not consider themselves as professionals until they have undergone a learning process in the daily practice of real work. This is regarded as an initiation into the world of the profession and allows the worker to judge whether the sense of vocation and expectations about the job were realistic or not. This process of initiation involves the creation of one’s own way of working (conception of work as an “art” in which the professional brings out his or her full potentials) and the re-adjustment of basic knowledge acquired in formal training, which does not always correspond with the reality of work. This discourse type also regards that employees, who trained according to formal training itineraries, are lacking a professional attitude, because such training does not provide opportunities to learn from someone fully integrated into the profession. Reference is made to an apprenticeship model by which learning is the basis for professional practice and that the best way is to learn from people well versed in the trade and capable of transmitting their knowledge, rather than learning from people who are not involved in work practice. None of this implies that a good base of theoretical knowledge is not valuable. It is valuable as it facilitates later learning, but it is no guarantee for professional practice. Continuous training is accepted for the purpose of keeping up to date in a fast changing sector. It allows for acquiring new knowledge that is not used much in daily practice, but still is an important contribution towards the worker’s professional and personal development. Employees in this category typically participate in continuous training to consolidate their professional status when entering the sector. Full-fledged professionals participate less, but would rather use other means like fairs, meetings or congresses to keep up to date. Those events, however, are more regarded as “sharing knowledge with peers” and less as a learning framework. They rather participate in courses as trainers sharing their knowledge and experiences which they value as a gratifying experience and an indicator of professional maturity. Lastly, professionals in large companies, such as hotel chains, do participate in internal courses on relations and corporate dynamics. In these cases, even courses that are purely technical involve some kind of socialisation to the organizational culture and imply the establishment of group/professional relationships within the company (in some cases practically exclusive ones), which, as commented earlier, affect the type of group references that are usually found in this type of worker.

The “high flyer” The “high flyer” centres his/her professional identity around the employing organization as a functional structure for work. This attitude is common for workers with responsibility or with expectations of early promotion working for large companies and hotel chains. These professionals are driven by a strong career orientation. This is a worker with specialist qualifications who values a sound theoretical and technical knowledge base, which should always be kept up-to-date. Emphasis is given to the growing importance of qualifications to access an increasingly competitive and formalised labour market. As regards training versus work experience, a combination of the two is favoured considering that the former is indispensable in order to acquire relevant specialist knowledge, but it is the work experience that allows for adapting the initial basic knowledge to the particular requirements of the job and the company with its organizational structure, procedures and culture. The evolution of a career in the company should combine good up-to-date technical knowledge with practical experience that helps the worker to adapt quickly and efficiently within the organization. To have followed formal educational itineraries that included work placements is regarded as important, as is maintaining an interest in training once in the job through continuous training. Especially larger companies are increasingly offering continuing vocational training and often generate financial resources especially for this purpose. Such training tends to focus on technical innovations, but above all on questions of human resources management, leadership strategies and aspects of the organizational culture. In addition, it constitutes an important mechanism for the work-related socialisation of managers. However, workers often encounter difficulties to attend training courses due to time constraints. Companies are trying to make attendance easier by offering training during working hours, for example. The interest in making a career within the company leads these workers to give priority to internal training over external training offers. The “conciliated worker” This worker adapts his or her vocational identity to the requirements of the job and the company, although this adaptation often causes dissatisfaction. Attitudes that make such a situation acceptable are either related to a vocational approach and “being satisfied with an attractive job” or to the idea that “work itself has a value”. The level of integration tends to be strong, but is also to a large extent dependent on the employment stability the company offers. Learning through experience is highly valued as it conveys security, “know-how” and knowledge of the workplace and its needs. However, growing importance is also attributed to specific training (above all to the possibilities of higher levels of vocational training) that gives access to acquiring a knowledge base in a more systematic way. Training is also regarded as an investment that fosters possibilities for professional development in a competitive labour market. But the perception persists that training is still far away from work reality and learning through daily work practise is regarded as indispensable. Whether more emphasis is given to training over work experience often depends on the personal learning trajectory: older workers without specialist studies attribute more importance to work experience,

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whereas recently trained workers also highly value the training received. In any case, there are only very few cases where either of the two is not valued. Work placements are considered fundamental for learning and acquiring minimal skill levels, although they are seen as deficient by lacking resources or being only of short duration. In some cases companies also have little interest in the students and assign tasks to them that have little learning effects. Although it is understood that placements are not the same as real work when it comes to the level of responsibility or the work volume, they are smoothening the integration into work processes when starting to work. Continuous training implies a wide range of specific courses (such as languages, computer skills or customer service) to complement or update the knowledge of workers. The weight given to languages and customer service is explicitly linked to the idea of the hotel providing services. This puts the customer’s needs and expectations in the centre of the work dynamics. Courses that the companies organize often place emphasis on the organizational culture and the particular needs of each job. However, few workers have attended these courses yet. The effort required by the training is in addition to the effort required by the work itself, so that participation largely depends on the company facilitating attendance during working hours. Particularly workers in unstable employment situations are finding it difficult to realise training opportunities. When it comes to routine jobs or jobs that emphasise order and planning, the degree of innovation at work diminishes so that courses often are not regarded as being vital for the work. They are also not seen as a waste of time, but “work is work”. The “dissatisfied active seeker” This kind of worker develops labour integration in conflict: he/she experiences a tension between his/her aims and interests and the chances offered to him/her that do not meet his expectations. He/she is ready to initiate drastic changes in his/her professional orientation and commitment. This may at the same time bring about major transformations in his/her vocational identity. Two elements seem to be relevant in this context: the assessment of his/her own capacities and potentials, and the perspectives and opportunities that the company and the sector offer. The dynamic between these two elements activate strategies geared towards creating alternatives of accessible opportunities (while alterations in vocational aims are less likely). Education is considered as an investment and a capital for professional development inside or outside the company. The idea is that initial and continuing training has a cumulative effect. Thus, pursuing continuous accreditation is a means to become competitive, enhancing opportunities of professional development (in the sense of “building up my curriculum vitae”). Nevertheless, there is also the experience of frustration of efforts not being sufficiently recognised, particularly because most companies in the sector do not value training and formal education. This also extends to the experience of lack of recognition of one’s own work, insofar as it is not valued in correspondence with the level of qualification that would allow for higher professional aims. Despite this frustration, workers insist that having a formal qualification provides a better knowledge base which can support one’s own role performance and contribute towards professionalism. In addition, the usefulness of real work experience is stressed. Continuing training is valued as an opportunity, yet seldom used, in order to

be more competitive and to understand the company’s needs and what is required for other positions in the company or the sector. The key to survive in a competitive work environment with a high supply of professionals is to accumulate experience based on a minimum of specialized training. This has to be enriched by continuing training throughout working life. But work experience remains the key factor.

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The “newcomer” or “unconsolidated” worker An “unconsolidated” type of professional identity is common in young workers with unstable employment situations and who change jobs frequently. They therefore do not or cannot develop strong linkages with the company. They are in the process of defining their own priorities with respect to their professional orientation and learning at work (which is insecure in many ways) and their main aim is to gain work experience. They work to “earn a living” and learn and build up a curriculum vitae. These workers emphasise the importance of practical knowledge (techniques and basic skills) that they have acquired through formal vocational training. Since the vocational training is sometimes too distant from work practice they show a lot of interest in work placements. But, over and above training, importance is given to learning acquired through different job experiences. The value of continuous training is recognised, but workers of this type are not very willing to engage in continuing training prioritising work itself over studying in addition to their financial and time constraints. Apparently, the need for training is not assimilated to the same extent like the need to fulfil the job requirements in the company. Other difficulties related to training concern the synchronisation between courses and training schedules and periods of unemployment, particularly when temporary work contracts expire. Thus, workers in unstable employment situations seem to be particularly disadvantaged when it comes to benefiting from training opportunities. Furthermore, typically small companies are employing workers on a temporary basis and those are giving least support to the training and professional development of their employees. Workers in unstable employment situations typically belong to the secondary segment of the labour force that is characterised by low qualification, instability and little recognition (both in society and in the company). As a result, the elements that could anchor a professional identity are very weak. Given that the key factors for promotion within companies (based on work experience and a strong identification with the organization) are underdeveloped and conditions of continuous training as a factor contributing to professional development and promotion are disadvantageous (due to incompatibility with working hours, costs and arrangements that are usually targeted to benefit permanent workers), the prospects for members of this segment of the hotel labour market are not encouraging.

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Discussion on findings and implications for further research The hotel industry exemplifies a scenario where demands of working life induce an internal segmentation of the workforce within firms and the sectoral labour market. Hence, companies are challenged to provide different management strategies in order to foster organizational commitment (Baruch, 1998; Baruch and Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002) without the payback being clear on the side of the company. Hotels, particularly international and large ones in trying to provide quality service to selective customers, comprise a working environment in which strong and low commitment is possible. The

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particular features of the business make it necessary for companies to rely on a core workforce that engages in and highly identifies with the organization, but also on an array of workers who may or may not identify with the company or the profession. The latter is typical for work positions that do not require formal qualifications and that are taken up by people who make their way through a different career, but are somewhat forced to remain in that occupation with poor working conditions for a longer period of time. One arising question in this context tackles the issue of what is replacing organizational commitment in this case (if there is anything at all) and what are the consequences for both the company and the worker. This is a topical question for tourism, for it seems that the sector will also continue to rely on a dualisation of the internal labour market and workforce in the foreseeable future. From the company’s perspective, retention of qualified staff is an issue here. Even workers who are holding prestigious positions for the skills they have are driven by the pressures intrinsic to the sector and may start their own business or move to another company. Pressures for mobility do not seem to depend so much on managerial practices and companies find it hard to retain the expertise of their staff. What we found is that occupational commitment outdoes organizational commitment to the extent that the former may determine all other possible forms of engagement and commitment that the worker may develop. In the case of cooks, job satisfaction in the performance of one’s skill is the driver for any other identification anchor. Cooks, however, are the exception and we wonder whether there are also alternative anchors. It seems that there is an internal element hard to externalise, yet the process of adaptation to work is not easy. We have found socialization strategies repeated in the sector by which the company tries to provide elements that the sector itself is hardly able to provide, precisely for the impact of the global market tourism is exposed to. This impact generates high levels of international mobility among highly qualified workers who experience disturbances of their professional identity, no matter how strong their commitment to the company may be. If we turn to the lower job positions with no chances for improvement or refinement, the role of working conditions, as stated at the beginning of the paper, defines the framework for whether at all a vocational identity can be developed or working can be transformed into a career. The paths for movement described by Thomas (1989) can also be applied to tourism, although it is a service sector and hence different from traditional blue-collar careers. Also Defillippi and Arthur’s (1994) competency perspective to boundaryless and bounded careers can be connected to our findings: if employees develop a vocational identity it is likely to be employer dependent. However, for workers exposed to precarious working conditions, with no chances for independency and self-realization, not to identify may be one strategy to gain some form of independence. Workers at the lower end are therefore most likely to neither identify with their work nor with their employer. Also strict hierarchies in work organization and (inter- or intra-firm) mobility that implies considerable costs for the individual and his/her non-working relations are factors that weaken levels of work-related identification in tourism. The hotel industry still provides traditional careers (Sullivan, 1999). While its appearance is that of a boundaryless context for career development, employment relationships remain traditional, benefiting from the current context of working relations where network relations count more than anything else. Employment

relations may be a matter of choice for the management, they are, however, a given for the worker. Permeable boundaries exist in the sector, but they directly connect to issues of the informal market, gender, racial minorities and immigration. Suggestions for human resources policies This paper considered some major challenges and conflicts that define the sector of tourism. Entrepreneurial fragmentation, the speed of changes in demand, levels of qualification of the workforce and precarious working conditions shape tourism as a particular labour space. Emerging issues that the sector has to face relate to the need for diversification of the offer of services to face seasonality, strategies of entrepreneurial merging and policies of mobility and flexibility. These have to be considered in combination with an active policy for social dialogue and the improvement of working conditions to avoid flexibility becoming a synonym for precariousness of employment. The promotion of continuing training for innovation, the development of an entrepreneurial culture and greater recognition of formal vocational education and training are key factors when it comes to developing a professional career in tourism. The discourse about qualifications There is broad agreement in terms of a shortage of professionals who are adequately qualified for working in tourism, particularly temporary workers. Conditions of flexibility, claimed to be key to face changes in demand, hinder the adequate qualification of staff, which at the same time is also considered necessary to be able to deal with those changes. Demands for flexibility and better qualification need to be looked at in the light of this tension. However, demands for flexibility are given priority, while qualification and training falls into the secondary place. There is also agreement in terms of recognising the value of work experience over training. Even so, both employers and employees admit that employees with higher levels of qualification adapt easier to changes and transformations in the market and changes induced by new technologies. Workers agree on the growing need to have a knowledge base, which can be adapted to the company and job requirements later on. The main criticism of tourism-related vocational training refers to its distance from work practice and the company environment. Work placements during formative training are regarded as being too short and deficient. Furthermore, many students experience that companies are not interested in providing good conditions to acquire work experience, but rather use students as a temporary, low-cost workforce. Although employers regard continuing training as important for promotion, mobility and flexibility of staff, most of them do not invest in or provide opportunities for training. This can be confirmed by the low levels of participation of workers in continuing training programmes. Companies justify the lack of investment in human resources development with the seasonality of the work; the high percentage of part-time workers; high staff turnover; the mobility of highly-qualified staff; the working conditions; lack of commitment of employees; limited career opportunities within the sector; lack of social recognition of tourism professions; insufficiency of initial qualification of staff that could be upgraded; and, finally, the weak competitive position of small companies that do not have the financial resources to invest in up-grading the skills of their staff. It is striking that among the factors that make it

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hard to invest in training, employers mention the flexible conditions for those are also dependent, so they say, on training. Workers encounter great difficulties for participating in continuing training. As high demands of the company in terms of commitment of staff rank highest, dedicating time and energy in learning implies an even greater sacrifice of personal time. Hence, employees stress the need to facilitate access to training during working hours and that the employer should take over the incurring costs. Other issues concern the lack of seriousness on the side of many training institutions, lack of qualified trainers and the interference with corporate interests. Despite the above mentioned conflicts particularly large companies show a growing involvement in fostering and investing in continuing training. This engagement also allows them to adjust training courses to their needs, to foster the organizational commitment of their staff and to familiarise them with the culture of the organization. Furthermore, and despite the low index of participation, workers perceive training initiatives as a useful means to adjust to the work context and to seek promotion within the organization. The discourse about the “good worker” The discourse about quality shapes all references as to what the characteristics of a “good” worker should be. In this sense, employers and employees agree to a very large extent. This agreement reveals the importance of socialisation practices to the organizational culture. Communication skills stand among the most articulated requirements. This includes the knowledge of languages and mastering relational skills, particularly with customers. To keep pace with computing knowledge and technological innovations is also critical. Apart from those skills, three desired attitudes are standing out: an interest in the work itself, commitment towards learning and assuming responsibility. In the end, the “good” worker is expected to involve his or her own personality in the work process, in addition to showing some degree of organizational commitment. This, however, often was not unproblematic as many employees experienced “work as a sacrifice” that is very demanding, but hardly acknowledged. Employees’ identification with the policies of the company is highly valued, as well as a global vision of the company’s work environment: knowing the departments, the services offered, the technical equipment, etc. This kind of identification is emphasised via teamwork that frames the worker functionally. The dominant element here is the corporate reference that transforms the company into a “community”. In this discourse workers related to the “community of interest of employees and employers”, motivation to work for a “common effort”, the importance of teamwork, individualisation of systems of reward and communication between the company and the worker or the de-activation of a company-labour discourse. All these elements form part of intense socialisation processes within the company. Employees’ strategies to deal with conflicts at work The analysis of the discourses of workers, apart from their similarities and divergence with those of employers, reveal a number of tensions between sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. Among the satisfactory elements employees mentioned having a vocation towards work; a feeling of belonging to the corporate community

and the team; opportunities for career development; ethics of professionalism (“a work well done”); providing services to the customer; and learning at work. All of these seem to be key factors around which most discourses are shaped to explain the meaning that workers give to the work experiences they make over time. Elements of dissatisfaction in the discourses of workers concern three areas. First, the tension between work and private life, family life in particular, that is often at risk (and may result in a family break-up) due to the high demands on availability and time flexibility of employees. Second, the lack of recognition, both socially and in terms of remuneration (low wages) that does not correspond with the efforts the worker feels he/she is putting into the work. Third, the uncertainty of working life and the employment situation in the light of seasonality, temporary work contracts, limited opportunities for professional development, arbitrary mechanisms of promotion and great demands on flexibility and availability. In the presence of the dynamics and tensions between satisfying and dissatisfying factors, workers develop certain strategies to deal with arising conflicts. Those strategies may be developed individually or collectively. A common strategy could be described as “re-definition” or a new interpretation of their personal work experience by strengthening certain features and hiding or suppressing others. Developing a personal distance to work, resignation or even abandon the profession could also be identified as a form of coping with conflicts. Other possibilities were pursuing horizontal mobility (changing jobs or employers) or vertical (promotional) mobility to foster one’s own professional development. Learning and training often became important tools for workers to increase their chances of mobility. Another strategy can be seen in developing a high level of identification with the company’s aims and placing those in alignment with one’s personal goals and values. In this case, work was defined and valued in an ethical dimension. In any case, it is important to note that most strategies cannot be regarded as pure possible options and choices of employees. The direction they are taking is highly influenced by organizational policies including the company’s human resources strategies; the position, role and status of the worker (including her/his employment situation); and the broader (conjunctural and structural) context of the sector. In this sense, it seems functional and appropriate that labour and training policies segment the workforce and foster corporatism in the companies. That is why we find strategies that are mainly individual, not collective, and which show individualised reactions. Subjective strategies of “re-definition of one’s own experience” developed in the discourse can be interpreted as a compensating mechanism to sort out tensions between satisfying and dissatisfying experiences at work. Such strategies are recognisable in the discourses of workers about their working life and the meaning of work in their lives. As narratives they have allowed us to identify different types of discourses, basically centred around topics that act as satisfactory elements. These include the corporate community, the vocation, career development, service provision to the customer, efficacy at work and learning. The only exceptional type defined is the “dissatisfied active seeker”, whose discourses evolve around conflicts at work. Since this type seems to be rather an exception, we can assume that re-definition processes are mainly shaped around the elements of satisfaction. At the same time, those kinds of re-definition are largely consistent with the key features that the discourses of

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employers point to in their delineation of the “good worker” linked to the socialisation practices in the organizational culture. Even though the workers’ discourses are shaped around the sources of satisfaction at work, while the unsatisfactory elements are nuanced by justifications that diminish them, the qualitative analyses shows the weight that both elements have, neither of them being disposable. The need to make sense of and to cope with their personal work experience generates strategies of discourses that reinforce certain elements and minimise others. These strategies help to generate motivation to perform well under unsatisfactory working conditions by at the same time suppressing tensions and possible conflicts. This mechanism also seems to prove functional for the companies. Nevertheless, not facing the vital tensions that are revealed in the discourses of workers may also have negative consequences for the workers, their work performance and, ultimately, the company. The issue here is that such strategies do not solve arising conflicts, but hide and suppress them, giving room for personal resistance in the short term that may lead to personal damage in the medium term. Risks and consequences The described types of discourse and the strategies that they portray imply a series of social and personal risks. Those need to be addressed in order to ensure the proper development of the sector in the light of quality standards and decent working conditions that international and European institutions are trying to foster. The unbalance between work and private life certainly is one of the major risks for workers in the sector of tourism that can also put family structures and personal ties at risk. Irregular working hours, working overtime and the requirement for availability make workers feel becoming detached from family and friends. As those factors are beyond the control of the employee, planning one’s personal and professional life becomes extremely difficult and uncertain. Such an experience may lead to the devaluation of other positive and satisfactory elements at work. A consequence may be that workers do not perform to their expectations, but rather experience tiredness and routine. On the medium term this is likely to result in de-motivation, deskilling and low interests in learning. The individualisation of communication channels together with the fragmentation of the workforce isolates workers in terms of relating to their employer and restricts forms of collective strategies for bargaining or representation in the company. Such dynamics also bear a risk for the company, mainly because conflicts related to satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work do not only concern workers at the periphery, but also appear among workers who are dedicated and work hard for the company. Major risks extend to lack of commitment of staff and problems in consolidating a reliable, dedicated and qualified workforce. Loss of sense of involvement and responsibility of staff severely affect workers’ work performance and the quality of services. The weight of the human factor in tourism implies that such work attitudes have a negative impact on growth and quality. Finally, the dynamics described above also entail serious risks for the social dialogue. Problems include the individualisation of labour relations and the non-existence of formal regularised ways and rights of negotiation. The absence of collective interests that would address the specific needs of the workers cannot be compensated by company initiatives. Thus, an acceptable and constructive level of

tension that would help balancing different interests cannot be articulated, but is continuously being suppressed, in the end favouring the companies’ interests over those of the workers. These issues point to a series of policy actions that can be summarised in four major challenges: first, fostering vocational education and training that reaches beyond conveying mere technical expertise, but prepares the worker to perform conscious, mature and independent actions; second, generating new ways of learning on the job and supervised learning at work; third, implementing policies that strengthen positive and satisfying elements at work and make those compatible with better and more stable working conditions; and fourth, and that can be regarded as a prerequisite to ensure successful implementation of the other three actions, fostering strong agents involved in the sector and in the social dialogue, and establishing formal and transparent mechanisms of negotiation that do not hide conflicts, but promote the balance of different interests. Vocational identities have been studied in depth, but despite these being shaped, constructed and negotiated in interaction with others they also depend on personal, social and institutional relations that are also influenced by policies. In identifying collective identities in the context of work units, companies and the sector, emphasis has been placed on the individual as the source of information. Creating the link here to the major forces that explain career development is a difficult task. Furthermore, the samples conceal some important realities that exist in the sector, like the hidden economy or illegal workers (AAVV, 2002). When it comes to policy implications of our research we have to acknowledge some limitations. The discourses we presented mainly represented the “voices” of the employees in relation to their employers and the working conditions in the sector. Employees, however, are not necessarily in the best position to drive policies and some recommendations may be more useful for unions and employers. The promotion of social dialogue is one of the main concerns of the International Labour Office (OIT, 2000a,b), and it is considered as the key to achieve decent working conditions in the sector. Another area that we would like to address are policies of vocational education and training in tourism at the European level. European views on vocational education and training and their impact on tourism In some respect tourism can be regarded as a laboratory for vocational training since it only has a short history of formal vocational training paths (CEDEFOP, 2000). Acknowledging its need is not only expressed by companies, but also by employees who are ready to learn despite the lack of training opportunities. One major issue we have outlined is that opportunities for vocational training are favouring the core segment of the workforce. Furthermore, training is also sometimes driven by the company in such a way that it does not contribute towards developing a career. And sometimes it is not even offered at a reasonable payback considering the demanding and difficult working conditions and the personal costs involved. Given the important weight of work experience in the sector it may be useful to explore other sources of learning based on experience and training on-the-job. Continuing training is already benefiting from this emphasis and growing in importance. Despite enhancing the offer of continuing training, the peculiarities in terms of working hours and the imbalance between work and private life require

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innovative solutions that can help to make vocational training more attractive and attendance feasible for workers. European trends on vocational training (Consejo de la UE, 2002) could be applied to the sector of tourism based on examples of “good practice”, like a “Europass for learning in tourism” or a “Handbook for learning areas in the tourist industry”. These would, of course, need to be tested in order to check the accuracy and content of the discourse of the European Union as a knowledge society and to sort out doubts and current criticism (Serrano and Crespo, 2002). Indeed, the importance of counselling and guiding practices is key in this respect. Identification with the sector and work experience are regarded as being more relevant than initial education and training. This is true for employers, but also for large numbers of employees. However, this may change in the future if we consider the growing specialization of the sector into areas such as agro-tourism, health tourism, sports tourism or business tourism. Those specializations are developing in addition to the more traditional summer/seasonal tourism, cultural tourism and business travel. Travel agencies are experiencing strong changes, too. Again, because of the approach of the research and concentrating on certain specializations, it was not possible to further explore the potentials of this development. There has been an important expansion of vocational training in the sector, particularly in some countries. Yet, a certain imbalance can be observed in terms of training offers at different levels of qualification. There has been an extension in university degrees while vocational education at the levels 1 to 3 is still reduced in scope. Yet the labour market offers more possibilities for the latter qualifications and unskilled workers than for graduates. If we consider that formal vocational education and training is nationally regulated in most cases, while tourism is a sector which develops on a regional basis, the problem may even become more complex. The need for improvement in the management and efficiency of training systems has been already claimed with justification worldwide (OIT, 1998). This is particularly relevant if support is to be given to small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector that can hardly compete with the in-service training provided by large hotel chains. Considering the weight of small and medium-sized companies in the sector in Europe and in the context of global competition, this is very important. As regards training we would like to conclude with four very concrete recommendations. The first one is to use training as a tool to foster and promote the role of social actors in the sector, and to invert the weight of the deregulation of labour relations (Cinterfor, 2001). The second is to include identity-related issues in the curriculum of vocational education in the sector. This is an area which does not appear, yet it is crucial at least in the case of initial vocational education, for it is a period in which young people are still exploring and forming their overall identity. Furthermore, this may be a significant contribution towards a more thorough understanding of adult and working life (Plantamura, 1999) than simply knowing the formal mechanisms, such as the usual safety regulations and legal status of the worker. The third recommendation concerns the production of curricular materials or units to address these issues as a contribution to this development. Finally, practical work experience in initial vocational education could foster the reflection on socialisation practices, not only to develop technical skills no matter to what level of mastery. Otherwise, it is very likely that the discourses that relegate labour issues to a secondary level (beyond the

satisfaction of workers when it comes to the work tasks and the interaction with customers) will also be reproduced among newcomers. References AAVV (2002), “Cambios en el trabajo”, Revista Sistema, July, pp. 168-9. Alonso, L.E. (1998), La Mirada Cualitativa en Sociologı´a, Fundamentos, Madrid. Alonso, L.E. (1999), Trabajo y Ciudadanı´a. Estudios Sobre la Crisis de la Sociedad Salarial, Trotta, Madrid. Alonso, L.E. (2000), Trabajo y ModerniDad. El Empleo De´bil, Fundamentos, Madrid. Baruch, Y. (1998), “The rise and fall of organizational commitment”, Human Systems Management, Vol. 17, pp. 135-43. Baruch, Y. and Winkelmann-Gleed, A. (2002), “Multiple commitments: a conceptual framework and empirical investigation in a community health service trust”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 13, pp. 337-57. Beck, U. (1998), La Sociedad del Riesgo, Paido´s, Barcelona. Bourdieu, P. (1999), Razones Pra´cticas, Anagrama, Barcelona. Bucher, R. and Strauss, A. (1992), “Profession in process”, in Strauss, A. (Ed.), La Trame de la Negociation, L’Harmattan, Paris. Carruthers, B. and Uzzi, B. (2000), “Economic sociology in the new millennium”, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 486-94. Castel, R. (1997), La Metamorfosis de la Cuestio´n Social. Una Cro´nica del Salariado, Paido´s, Buenos Aires. CEDEFOP (2000), Changing Occupational Profiles in the Hotel Industry, CEDEFOP, Luxembourg. Cinterfor (2001), Formacio´n Para el Trabajo Decente, Cinterfor, Montevideo, Uruguay. Consejo de la UE (2002), “Programa de trabajo detallado para el seguimiento de los objetivos concretos de los sistemas de educacio´n y formacio´n en Europa”, 2002/C 142/01, DOCE 14.6.02, Brussels. Crespo, E. (1997), “Ide´ologies du travail dans une societe´ en mutation”, Les Politiques Sociales, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 10-18. ´ lvaro, J.L. (1998), “Los significados del trabajo: un Crespo, E., Berge`re, J., Torregrosa, J.R. and A ana´lisis lexicogra´fico y discursivo”, Sociologı´a del Trabajo, Vol. 33, pp. 51-70. DeFillippi, R.J. and Arthur, M.B. (1994), “The boundaryless career: a competency-based perspective”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 307-24. Dubar, C. (1991), La Socialisation. Construction des Identite´s Sociales et Professionnelles, Armand Colin, Paris. Dubar, C. (2002), “La crisis de las indentidades”, La Interpretacio´n de Una Mutacio´n, Bellaterra, Barcelona. Francfort, I., Osty, F., Sainsaulieu, R. and Uhalde, M. (1995), Les Mondes Sociaux de l’Enterprise, DDB, Paris. Gallart, M.A. (2002), “La integracio´n de me´todos y la metodologı´a cualitativa. Una reflexio´n desde la pra´ctica de la investigacio´n”, in Gallart, M.A. (Ed.), Veinte an˜os de educacio´n y trabajo, Cinterfor, Montevideo. Martı´nez, I. (2003), Condiciones de trabajo e identidad laboral en el sector hotelero en la Comunidad Valenciana, Universitat de Vale`ncia, Valencia. Meriot, S.-A. (2002), Le Cuisinier Nostalgique. Entre Restaurant et Cantine, CNRS Editions, Paris.

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OIT (1998), Informe sobre el empleo en el mundo 1998/1999. Empleabilidad y mundializacio´n, papel fundamental de la formacio´n, OIT, Ginebra. OIT (2000a), “La formacio´n para el empleo: la insercio´n social, la productividad y el empleo de los jo´venes”, Proceedings of the Conferencia Internacional del Trabajo, 88ª¯ reunio´n, Informe V, OIT, Ginebra. OIT (2000b), Su voz en el trabajo. Informe global con arreglo al seguimiento de la declaracio´n de la OIT relativa a los principios y derechos fundamentales en el trabajo, OIT, Ginebra. Paugam, S. (2000), Le salarie´ de la precarite´. Les nouvelles formes de l’integration professionelle, PUF, Paris. Piore, M.J. (1983), “Notas para una teorı´a de la estratificacio´n del mercado de trabajo”, in Toharia, L. (Ed.), El mercado de trabajo: teorı´as y aplicaciones, Alianza, Madrid. Plantamura, V. (1999), Trabajo y comprensio´n del mundo, Cinterfor/OIT, Montevideo. ´ ljibe, Rodriguez, G., Gil, J. and Carcı´a, E. (1996), Metodologı´a de la investigacio´n cualitativa, A Ma´laga. Sainsaulieu, R. (1996), L’identite´ au travail, 3rd ed., la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, Paris. Sainsaulieu, R. (1997), Sociologie de l’entreprise, 2nd ed., Presses de Politiques et Dalloz, Paris. Sennett, R. (2000), La Corrosio´n del Character, Anagrama, Barcelona. Sennett, R. (2001), “La calle y la oficina: dos fuentes de identidad”, in Giddens, A. and Hutton, W. (Eds), En el lı´mite. La vida en el capitalismo global, Tusquets, Barcelona. Serrano, A. and Crespo, E. (2002), “El discurso de la Unio´n Europea sobre la sociedad del conocimiento”, REIS, No. 97, pp. 189-207. Sullivan, S.E. (1999), “The changing nature of careers: a review and research agenda”, Journal of Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 457-84. Taylor, S.J. and Bogdan, R. (1994), Introduccio´n a los me´todos cualitativos de investigacio´n, Paido´s, Barcelona. Thomas, R.J. (1989), “Blue-collar careers: meaning and choice in a world of constraints”, in Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. and Lawrence, B.S. (Eds), Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 354-79. Valles, M.S. (1999), “Te´cnicas cualitativas de investigacio´n social”, Reflexio´n metodolo´gica y pra´ctica profesional, Sı´ntesis, Madrid. Further reading European Union (2001), “Un marco de cooperacio´n para el futuro del turismo europeo”, Comunicacio´n de la Comisio´n al Consejo, al Parlamento Europeo, al Comite´ Econo´mico y Social y al Comite´ de las Regiones, Doc. COM 665, Comisio´n de las Comunidades Europeas, Bruselas. Ibarra, H. (1999), “Provisional selves: experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 764-91. ILO (2001), Human Resources Development: Employment and Globalisation in the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Sector, ILO, Geneva. Martı´n, C. (1999), “El paro juvenil no es el problema, la formacio´n no es la solucio´n”, in Chaco´n, L. (Ed.), Juventudes, Mercados de Trabajo y Polı´ticas de Empleo, 7imig, Valencia. WTO (2002), Tourism Highlights, WTO, Madrid.

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Engineering identities

Engineering identities

Alan Brown Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK Keywords Metalworking industry, Workplace learning, Organizational change, Employees attitudes, Europe

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Abstract Employers attempt to shape employees’ work identities through the organisation of work. However, they are partly constrained by employee expectations related to education and training, the occupational structure and the labour market. Employees, individually and collectively, also attempt to influence how their work is performed and play an active role in shaping their own work identities. Work identities are therefore influenced both by structural factors and the agency of employers and employees. This article concentrates upon how individuals working in engineering seek to shape their own work identities. An overview of the broad structural context of working in engineering and metal working in France, Germany, Spain and the UK is given, followed by an outline of how employers sought to shape work identities.

Introduction This article is a qualitative study looking at the development of occupational identities of employees working in the engineering and metal-working sector in England, France, Germany and Spain. Images of identity One way of considering an occupational identity, to which we are adjusted and that is relatively stable over a period of time, is as a psychological “home”. “Home” in this context is a “familiar environment, a place where we know our way around, and above all, where we feel secure” (Abhaya, 1997, p. 2). Viewed in this way it is easy to understand the sense of loss and dislocation that people may feel when they are made redundant, with little prospect of regaining their former occupational identity (Sennett, 1998). On the other hand, religion, literature and film abound with stories of people “breaking free” and “loosening attachments to ‘homes’ of many kinds, be they psychological, social or ideological” (Abhaya, 1997, p. 2). In this sense, after a period of stability, an occupational identity may come to be viewed as a confinement from which the individual longs to escape. That is, what is initially experienced as interesting and exciting may, with the passage of time, lead to “a sense of profound dissatisfaction with the comfortable limits” (Abhaya, 1997, p. 8) of the existing way of life. It was this sense of unease that may set in for an individual with his or her occupation over time that surfaced in a number of our interviews. The challenge was then to represent this change in the way an individual regards the work they do in a dynamic way. After all, Dewey (1916) had seen an occupation as giving direction to life activities and as a concrete representation of continuity: a “home” with clear psychological, social and ideological “anchors”. But what of the process for some individuals where the “anchors” become progressively perceived as “chains”? We need a representation of occupational identity that can theorise change as well as continuity. Studies of occupational socialisation have revealed processes by which individuals may be included (Coffey and Atkinson, 1994; Evans and Heinz, 1994) or excluded (Brown and Behrens, 1995), and the different types of occupational commitment

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(Coffey, 1994) or organisational commitment (Baruch, 1998; Baruch and Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002) that may result. These studies of the processes of becoming skilled have increasingly sought to view individuals as active participants in the creation of a “new” community of practice rather than just passively joining an existing community (Lave, 1993; Wenger, 1998; Billett, 2004). The dynamic model of occupational identity formation proposed by Brown (1997) acted as one of the theoretical cornerstones of the project methodology. In particular, it informed the choice of broad issues upon which to focus the interviews with employers and employees: workers engagement with their work activities; their interaction with others; and their learning and development. Also, the restructuring of work, and uncertainties over prospects of obtaining work in the field for which individuals have trained have increased the importance of transitions discontinuities and shifting contexts of career development (Heinz, 2002). While Heinz (2002) looks at how these processes affect the biographical shaping of early work careers, our study examined the effects on experienced workers with established work identities. The investigation of work identities extended beyond the company to include other sources of identification and non-work commitments that could influence identification with work and work-related commitment. Even within work, sources of identification could vary and include not just the organisation or occupation, but could relate to a specific work group (Baruch and Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002) a particular work environment, a set of work activities, relations with others and so on, all of which may change over time, as may the significance individuals ascribe to them (Brown, 1997; Ibarra, 2003).

Context: learning and working in engineering The prospects for a skilled worker in the engineering industry at all stages of his or her career are now much more problematic than more than a generation ago, when they represented the “aristocracy of labour” in secure, well paid work (Venables, 1974; Tuxworth and Ciechanowsi, 1987). Training places are much harder to find and entry into skilled employment is much more hazardous (Heinz, 2002), to such an extent that, even in Germany, there are concerns that the whole apprenticeship system is being undermined (Kutscha, 1996). As well as problems with initial training systems (Finegold and Soskice, 1988; Marsden, 1995; Mason, 1999; Ryan and Unwin, 2001), prospects for further progression, once qualified, are greatly reduced (Elias and Bynner, 1997a,b). There are far fewer promoted positions because of organisational restructuring, particularly at supervisory and junior managerial levels, and there is increased competition for such posts particularly from graduates (Soskice, 1993; Rolfe et al., 1994; Elias et al., 1999; Purcell et al., 1999). However, the prospects are not uniformly bleak. Although numbers employed in the engineering industry have fallen (Mason and Wagner, 2002), there is a continuing strong demand from employers across Europe for workers with technical skills allied to “modern” skill sets, including abilities to work in teams and communicate effectively (Davis et al., 2000; FAME Consortium, 2003). Similarly, there are still promotion opportunities for skilled workers to supervisory or specialist positions in some companies in all the countries studied, but this depends on them having “modern” skill sets and/or undertaking further training (Drexel et al., 2003).

Many companies have been introducing greater flexibility in work and expect staff to accept resulting changes in patterns of work organisation, often involving team working or attempts to improve manufacturing practice through a focus upon continuous improvement (Edwards and Wright, 1997; Culpepper and Finegold, 1999). In the UK there were sometimes explicit attempts to follow Japanese “best practice”, with an emphasis upon machine turn-round times, “right first time” and so on (Wickens, 1987; Brown et al., 2004). However, as in the USA (Cutcher-Gershenfeld et al., 1994), there was often considerable variation in how these practices were operationalised (Wood, 1991). So although flexibility in work organisation has been a major goal of employers in the sector, there have been major differences in companies’ attempts to achieve this (Doyle et al., 1992; Thompson et al., 1995; Ackroyd and Proctor, 1998; Wright and Edwards, 1998). This means UK discussions of team-working do not necessarily involve use of the more participative production concepts which have been debated in Germany (Wright and Edwards, 1998) or wider European concepts of partnership (European Commission, 1997). Indeed, Ichniowski et al. (1996) highlight how the lack of a legal framework promoting “social partnership” and pressures for short-term returns in market-driven economies, such as those in Britain and North America, make workplace restructuring through team-work particularly difficult. Similarly, there is debate about how far the traditional German skills formation system, supporting diversified quality production, using the abilities of highly skilled workers and engineers, with a focus upon individual performance is compatible with a more decentralised team-based approach to production (Herrigel, 1996; Finegold and Wagner, 1999). The role played by production supervisors varies widely too (Mason, 2000): sometimes their role was enhanced (Wickens, 1987; Brown, 1999), whereas in others the supervisor’s role could be severely curtailed or even eliminated (Buchanan and McCalman, 1989; Wright and Edwards, 1998). However, even the absence of direct supervision of work-groups did not necessarily mean control was decentralised, as teams could still be operating within a structure of continuing management dominance (Geary, 1995), and work could still be fragmented and tightly controlled (Pollert, 1996). Wright and Edwards (1998) point out that in some cases of the introduction of team working the emphasis is more upon work intensification than high performance. Indeed in the UK there were examples of major manufacturers pressurising their suppliers, sometimes through the use of very aggressive year on year cost-downs (Brown et al., 2004). This is line with only a minority of UK firms choosing models of competitive advantage that utilise a high skills route, preferring instead to rely upon cost-based competitive advantage and produce relatively low specification goods and services (Doyle et al., 1992; Williams et al., 1990). Regini (1995) argues a similar case could be made for Europe as a whole. That is, the model of a high skills/high value added strategy allied to a supportive vocational education and training system that can deliver a highly trained workforce, as in Germany, is simply one of a number of viable models available to European firms and nation states (Regini, 1995). Similarly, there is no straightforward pattern as to what happens to the distribution of technical skills following the introduction of team-working, as even where these are redefined and upgraded this will occur in ways which reflect differing social contexts (Thompson et al., 1995). Hence it is unwise to generalise about changes in particular skill distributions for three principal reasons. First, the change to team-working may

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be part of a much broader “bundle” of changes in work organisation, pay and organisational structures (MacDuffie, 1995). Second, the changes made were often in response to significant external shocks (Wright and Edwards, 1998). Third, operatives, craft workers, technicians, supervisors or junior managers may gain or lose duties at any of the boundaries they share with others (Rolfe et al., 1994), depending partly upon how other changes produce variations in the skill mix (Davis et al., 2000). Overall then, the distribution of skills within engineering companies could differ according to the product market strategy followed (Wood, 1999), the forms of work organisation adopted (Thompson et al., 1995) and the size of the company (Scott and Cockrill, 1997). For example, some companies were shifting their focus from direct manufacturing to provision of engineering services and this required changing skill sets for employees (Drexel et al., 2003). However, the changes outlined above, and especially concerns about competitiveness has led to increasing attention being given to work-based learning (Eraut et al., 1998; Rainbird et al., 2004), particularly in relation to team working, continuous improvement programmes and supervisory training (Drexel et al., 2003). In the UK some employer support for learning and development focused upon supply chain development (Brown et al., 2004), while in Germany some employers felt that such co-operation had been a long-standing feature of inter-company relationships (Culpepper and Finegold, 1999). In all countries studied external training and/or qualifications are linked to work requirements, but some employers encourage all forms of learning as part of more general employee development programmes (Maguire and Horrocks, 1994). Some companies in all countries were making greater use of graduate level entry for supervisory or production support positions (Rolfe et al., 1994; Mason, 1996; Drexel et al., 2003). In areas such as aerospace “organisations that deploy a wide range of high performance working practices are also investing much more in off-the-job training – 159 per cent more than those making low use of such practices” (Thompson, 2002). Companies vary greatly in whether regular work activities provide an expansive or restrictive learning environment (Fuller and Unwin, 2004), depending upon how work is organised, the nature of production and the size of the company (Bull et al., 1995; Scott and Cockrill, 1997). Different groups of workers may also have differential access to further education and training. This means that employers’ commitment to learning is very variable, but general competitive pressures and actions across supply chains are driving at least some learning in the workplace (Mason and Wagner, 2002). In the UK in particular, organisational commitment rather than occupational identities drives much of the organisation of work, often with an explicit emphasis on flexibility and multi-skilling (Mason and Wagner, 2002). These trends are noticeable to some extent everywhere, and some German companies viewed the attachment of workers to a single occupational perspective as problematic in attempts to introduce greater team working (Finegold and Wagner, 1999). However, in all countries there are enormous variations in the degree of skills required of workers in different workplaces. Spain and the UK have in the past made more use of low skilled labour than France or Germany, particularly in small or medium-size companies (Prais, 1990). When considering the relationship between the organisation of work and work identities it is important to distinguish between companies where skilled workers are a very small minority and production is largely routine and those where more highly skilled workers play more of a role in production, support and related activities. In the

latter case, companies were making different choices about the appropriate skill mix, particularly in relation to the employment of graduates or those with craft or other intermediate skills (Mason, 1996; Drexel et al., 2003). However, the latter distinction was becoming blurred as countries opened up progression routes so that more individuals had both intermediate skills and graduate qualifications. Interestingly, with the under-development of intermediate skill formation routes and the massive expansion of higher education (HE) in the UK opportunities were available to develop intermediate skills as part of or subsequent to HE study (Soskice, 1993; Mason, 1996; Senker and Senker, 1997).

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Research methodology Context This article is based on material and ideas that have been generated in the Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME) research project. A detailed description of the research methodology is given in the introductory paper of this issue of the journal. The aim of the project was to map the different ways work identities are composed and restructured when employees are challenged to cope with demands for flexibility, changing work situations and skill needs. A qualitative approach was chosen, with key ideas being drawn from the dynamic model of occupational identity formation proposed by Brown (1997). A diagrammatic representation of the proposed model is outlined in Figure 1. Drawing on this model, it was possible to identify the broad issues upon which to focus the interviews with employers and employees: workers’ engagement with their work activities; their interaction with others; and their learning and development. The

Figure 1. Model of occupational identity formation

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relationship between the employers and employees attempts to shape employee work identities could be represented as follows: Employers, while being constrained by competition; interdependence; uncertainty of demand; and complexity of their product or service etc., use organisational structure; vertical and horizontal mobility; flexibility; learning and development; organisation of work; individual scope; power and control in their attempt to shape work identities through the work people do, particularly in relation to: . workers’ engagement with their work activities; . their interaction with others; and . their learning and development. However, in this they are constrained by the nature of societal influences, “offers” and expectations coming from education and training; the occupational structure and the labour market, and by the action of workers, individually and collectively, also to influence how their work is carried out (influence here of work groups; communities of practice; custom and practice; trades unions etc.) and the nature of their work identities. The nature of work identities, however, is also necessarily affected by processes internal to the individual in terms of their self-reflection and appraisal of their current situation. The article focuses upon the development of work identities in the engineering and metal working industry. This sector was chosen because it was one where long established occupational identities are confronted with significant challenges in terms of employer requirements for flexibility and mobility. Also it is a sector where England and Germany could be seen as carriers of very different approaches to work identities. Data collection The aim of the research was to focus upon the structural and individual aspects of occupational identity formation and this was reflected in the research design and the framing of the data analysis. The first research phase involved interviews with 39 managers, drawn mainly from human resources (HR) departments, in companies of varying sizes across the four countries (10 in England; 8 in France; 10 in Germany; 11 in Spain). The intention was to explore the structural context within which they were operating and to glean what the managers expected from their employees in terms of identification, commitment and learning, and whether they were actively trying to shape work identities of employees through their HR policies. The interview results helped to outline the structural context within which work identities were developing. The second phase of the research aimed at drawing out complementary material on work identities, but this time focusing upon the individual perspectives of 132 employees (38 in England; 30 in France; 33 in Germany; 31 in Spain).. The qualitative research methodology involved carrying out semi-structured interviews according to a set of interview guidelines agreed by the project partners. All partners carried out initial pilot interviews followed by mainly individual, in-depth interviews (although occasionally small group discussions with two to six employees were held), usually not exceeding 90 minutes. Typically interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interviews with representatives of HR departments and mangers were conducted mainly in 2001; interviews with employees mainly in 2001 and 2002.

In total, interviews were conducted with 171 employees and managers with varying levels of qualification, specialisation, skill profiles and responsibilities. The interviewees were mainly drawn from companies in the aerospace or vehicle manufacturing sectors. Most respondents worked either for manufacturers or for companies involved in supply chains in the two sectors. Being a gendered occupation over 90 per cent of the participants were men: there were just seven women. The age of participants ranged between 21 and 57 years and they had between 3 and 40 years of work experience. Data analysis The data analysis was informed by grounded theory as a means of eliciting respondents’ own categories (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). These categories were developed within the frame of the broad evaluation categories that the partners commonly identified as being relevant to the development of work identities, following the pilot interviews. For those working in engineering, one very strong strand in the responses of employees related to their strategic biographies, where invariably they explained their current position and attitudes to work in terms of their own past history. This is the strand of analysis that underpins the current article and will be represented by descriptions of some exemplary individual cases. The main focus is therefore upon how employees sought to develop their own identities. However, first this is put in context by a consideration of how employers have sought to shape employee identities. Findings: how employers sought to shape employee identities The implications of the earlier contextual discussion is that there is considerable diversity in product market strategies, skill mixes, organisation of work and patterns of learning and skill development in the engineering and metal working sector in Europe. This was borne out in our interviews with staff. Indeed perhaps there were only two elements common to most companies. One is that some or all the above were likely to be changing, often in the face of increasing competition. The second was that employers in all the four countries studied seemed keen to make employees aware of the need to make changes in the organisation of work in order to make the company more competitive. There was a discourse based around an assumed global vision of effective working processes and practices (FAME Consortium, 2003). The success of this strategy could be gauged from the response of many of the employees interviewed in Germany, Spain and the UK all expressing satisfaction with their work despite significant work intensification. In some cases this was because a smoother production process had ironed out difficulties that had caused problems for workers in their jobs. However, some employees in all four countries also mentioned that they took a pride in the improved effectiveness of their companies, even if this sometimes meant sacrifices upon their part. With all the changes outlined above, some HR staff were consciously trying to reshape the focus of commitment away from an individual attachment to a particular occupation and more towards the team. Identification with the company was encouraged, but often not to the extent of in the past (when workers were expected to work for an employer for a lifetime). This process is evident in all countries, but has probably gone furthest in the UK. Employers are trying to achieve balances between

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autonomy and control and identification with the company without over-identification (and dependence). In many companies in all four countries there is a greater emphasis upon mutual support by employees, whether or not this is associated with team working. The greater commitment being demonstrated to the company is thereby mediated by a desire not to let colleagues down. This means that although attachment (in the sense of an expectation of a long relationship with a particular employer) may be weaker than in the past, de facto commitment in terms of task completion and role fulfilment may be higher. Overall changes in the structural context have meant that occupational identities in engineering and metal working are undergoing significant change, particularly in response to increased competition and changing patterns of work organisation. Occupational identities were particularly likely to be in flux for employees working in multi-functional teams, or as change agents, team leaders, or supervisory staff whose influence had been reduced, or in companies that have shifted from direct manufacturing to providing engineering services. In all these cases the type of work undertaken and the mix of skills required were changing, in some cases dramatically. Identification with challenging work In some instances, challenge was at the heart of the work being performed. This was more likely in some occupations and sub-sectors than others, but where it did occur employer and employee perspectives were generally in strong alignment on three central dimensions: (1) Engagement with work activities: very high – challenging work; high levels of employee autonomy and responsibility; sense of pride in work processes and outcomes. (2) Interaction with others: key relationship is with the employer with high trust and high commitment expected (for example, through willingness to give of own time – either directly, as in unpaid overtime, or indirectly, through thinking through problems or discussing them with others outside work). (3) Learning and development: learning through working as a major form of development, but with training and support for key roles, such as project leaders and system engineers. This was the classic form of “professional engagement” of highly-skilled workers. This was, however, not unproblematic. The focus upon quality, personal performance and identification with a particular type of work could in some circumstances be problematic, particularly where the employer was giving more emphasis upon balancing quality with cost and time considerations. Similarly where multi-disciplinary team-work had been introduced and workers were expected to be willing to undertake a wide range of duties, then strong attachment to particular “traditional” occupational perspectives could generate tensions. Increasing use of graduates The increasing use of graduates in the sector was a widespread trend. In France, the principal driver for some large companies was the desire to get young, more highly qualified workers who were expected to be more flexible in their approach to work,

easier to retrain as required, and willing to undertake a range of work. They were expected generally to display attitudes more in tune with “modern workplaces”. These trends were reinforced where companies were making more complex sub-assemblies and/or selling their expertise in collaboration over design and manufacture, not just selling components. Such changes, evident across Europe, though not in all companies, had resulted in the need for a more extended knowledge base, and this presented a significant challenge, not only in terms of initial qualifications, but also in relation to a continuing commitment to learning and development. These changes favoured the employment of graduates. However, such graduates need not necessarily have entered higher education straight from school. In France, Germany and the UK there was evidence of employers encouraging progression routes that built upon work experience and work-based qualifications and led through to degree qualifications. Whereas the employment of more graduates was relatively unproblematic in France and the UK, this was not so in Germany. There such changes were potentially more disruptive, as they had major implications for those skilled workers looking to become Meisters. The whole structure of a progressive work-based route could be undermined in those companies where work previously undertaken by experienced Meisters was now performed by graduate design and process engineers. One German manager remarked that the company strongly preferred to recruit new graduates and train them in the company way, whereas in the UK the greatest demand is for graduates with some experience. The former was concerned with identity development, whereas the latter were more interested in skill utilisation – the more “work ready” the graduate the better. Employers can attempt to reshape work identities to accommodate various changes at the level of the individual company, but there may be longer-term systemic implications, as in Germany in relation to the relative attractiveness of the dual system, Meister training and HE (Drexel et al., 2003). Desire for employees to have a greater range of communication skills Employers sometimes wanted to reshape work identities so employees interacted more intensively not only internally through project teams and work groups, but also externally through supply chains. This had implications for interactions with others (including working with colleagues from other countries and/or other companies) and learning and development (of inter-cultural communication and co-operation). Marketing in its broadest sense was also becoming more important and many employees had to be able to “represent” the company when dealing with people from outside the company, including of course customers. This meant there was strong employer demand for employees to have a greater range of communication skills than in the past. Accommodation to changing non-work values Some employers actively tried to shape employee identities, but others also sought to accommodate the changing non-work values of their employees. They recognised their employees’ identities at work could be linked to other aspects of non-work identities. This could be manifest in support for various forms of employee development that did not link directly to organisational development. However, there were still many examples of employers sending explicit or implicit messages to staff that non-work

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Employers’ attempts to shape employee identities in the light of structural features of different national systems In France, employers’ attempts to shape employee identities and the structural features of the national system seem broadly congruent. The structural features include the development of the vocational baccalaureate, the strengthening of technical education and training, greater attention being given to employer-directed continuing vocational training and employee self-directed continuing learning and development (including through the bilan de compe´tence). These align with the changes consequent upon employers in the metal sector making greater use of more highly qualified labour, including graduates. In Spain, the apprenticeship system has recovered after a short period of decline, and continuing training, including that offered by suppliers or vendors, seems to be well-regarded. The hierarchy of employment conditions means that the desire to get permanent employment with the “best employers” drives the demand for initial and continuing education and training in this sector. In the UK, apprenticeship and other intermediate skills development routes remain under-developed. However, employers appear to have adjusted to this in their organisation of work and where they are trying to follow a “high value added strategy” or upgrade their skill base they have been making use of the expanded pool of graduates and/or using work-based development strategies. The latter have sometimes been based around formulaic approaches to continuous improvement derived from Japanese manufacturing practices. In Germany there is a sense of a system in flux. The metal working sector has traditionally been based upon strong institutional support, employer interdependence and complexity of (high value-added) products, but the dual system and Meister training are currently under strain (Kutscha, 1996). Also companies are finding that strong occupational attachments of workers are under pressure in relation to the need for new forms of interaction with customers and team working, and this has consequences for learning and development of communication skills and multi-disciplinary co-operation. A wider question is whether employers’ attempts to shape work identities aligns with societal “offers” and individual perspectives in a sustainable way. For example, in Germany should the initial work identities of employees now be based around a more fully developed (graduate) knowledge base rather than on the traditional strengths of “incremental” innovation, linked to the specialised knowledge of work processes and practices based upon advanced craft skills up to Meister level? The model of incremental innovation is itself linked to powerful societal and institutional support, including employer networks, related to the use of medium-level technology and the production of high quality products in established industries (Culpepper and Finegold, 1999). The old skill formation system, however, was also highly gendered and slow to respond to the increasing cultural diversity of the workforce (Krueger, 1999). In this sense, work identity formation has to be linked to identity formation processes in the

wider society. Some of the employee interviews though indicate the resistance encountered in everyday practice by those who challenge stereotyped work identities, even when they are offered a job by employers looking for talent beyond the ranks of young German males.

Engineering identities

Strategic action by employees building their work-related identities The major aim of the FAME project was to answer the question of how employees respond towards changes in their working environment and working lives. So far structural changes and employers’ attempts to shape work identities have been outlined. However, what are individuals’ strategies for coping with these changes and how do they affect their work identities? The intention in this section is to look at individuals’ personal responses, reactions and interpretation regarding changes at work. This will be followed by a commentary upon the policy relevance of the findings. The focus is upon the strategic actions of those working in metal work and engineering, based upon the “strategic biographies” of individuals. This biographical perspective is useful, as for many individuals the nature of their commitment and work-related identity changes over time. Our interviews highlighted that the relationship between individuals and the occupational roles they were required to perform could be represented in terms of their patterns of strategic action across a range of structural, cultural and social contexts (compare Pollard et al. (2000) doing this for pupils over their school career). Their careers could be mapped in terms of their patterns of relationships, orientation and adaptive response to work and it is possible to trace the dynamic development of individuals’ characteristic repertoires of strategic action – their “strategic biographies”. Identification represents the “classical” form of adaptive strategy – the individual identifies more or less completely with work and the employing organisation. Through strategic compliance the individual seeks to satisfy expectations (of employer, colleagues and customers or clients) of how to perform her or his role. They usually accept the conventions of their workgroup and are integrated into their occupational and organisational life. They are likely to remain in the same job for a considerable period of time. For our interviewees this was probably the largest category. But significantly we had a number of (mainly older) people for whom this relationship went sour. In all four countries we also had examples of people starting work in production, maintenance or other technical areas and then in time being promoted to, for example, a supervisory position. This could be seen as a natural progression and need not necessarily interfere with their initial occupational identification, although some promotions do result in a distinct break with the former occupation and involve a re-definition of an individual’s role. Long-term adjustment represents a more conditional form of adaptation – the individual may remain in an occupation and/or with a particular employer, but recognises that this represents a compromise. Typically factors outside work (family commitments, attachment to a particular location) may “hold” an individual in place. The individual may still seek to satisfy role expectations (of employer, colleagues and customers or clients), but typically has some reservations about work. The individual may stay in the job for a long time, but may move on if the “holding” circumstances change. Examples of reasons why interviewees felt “locked into” their current work

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included accommodation to working patterns of a partner; attachment to a particular locality and attachment to their immediate work group. There were also cases of women who really liked their work, but could not fully identify with it because of the extent of the harassment they faced from male colleagues. Short-term adjustment represents a fully conditional form of adaptation – the individual only intends to remain in an occupation and/or with a particular employer for a short time. Because of individual circumstances, choice, career plans or dissatisfaction with work, the individual is actively seeking alternative employment. Some interviewees were looking to change employers. The slack labour market in Germany meant that some companies recruited former engineering apprentices to work in areas like the warehouse and these employees adjusted to work requiring no engineering knowledge whatsoever, while hoping to get skilled work eventually. Strategic careerists see their current occupational position and/or organisational attachment as one phase of a career that involves relatively frequent changes in the nature of work they do. They are committed to “moving on” and see their careers as something that they actively construct (although sometimes the employer has a development plan for an individual on a “career track”). Their attachment to their current role is partly influenced by the knowledge that they are only “passing through”. We did come across individuals who identified with their work, but who were active in re-defining, rather than passively accepting, work-related roles. Re-definition is associated with the same mainstream patterns of achievement and cultural norms as those exhibiting more passive forms of identification (Pollard et al., 2000). However, those using re-defining strategies are operating at the cutting edge of norms and expectations, pushing at the boundaries of expectations of employers, colleagues and others, typically negotiating, challenging and leading their peers in some respect. Such reshaping could come from “within” a role and sometimes from “outside” (or above), and, although rare, there were some examples of redefining their roles. The second form of re-definition occurred when an individual sought to change their occupation and/or employer, because they wanted (or saw themselves forced) to change career direction. There were examples where individuals had changed career direction quite radically, both into and out of engineering. It is possible, building upon these ideas, to construct a model of how individuals could relate to their work, possibly moving from point to point over time (see Figure 2). In the following commentary we give examples of each of these forms of adaptation. Strategic careerists “passing through” occupations There were former engineering apprentices who moved into commercial functions very early in their career and then progressed into management. Such transitions were common in a number of different settings and national contexts. Engineer with strategic career moving between occupations and sectors. Richard is an engineering graduate, in his mid-40s, who worked in engineering, contract electronics, supply chain development and finally moved from the technical side into the commercial area. He worked for a large engineering company for seven years mainly doing project work, and then took a manufacturing management conversion programme for engineers. Richard then returned to another division of the company as a logistics manager, but he decided to follow a developing interest and he switched to

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257 Figure 2. A model of the forms of strategic action of individuals in relation to their work

working in contract electronics, then he moved to an IT company and eventually became a supply chain manager with a large company of drinks suppliers. Richard has always been highly committed to his work that has often involved being part of a project team. He sought to increase his experience in areas that were business-led rather than technical, when he recognised he had much less international market experience than others in the commercial field. On the technical side he had gone as far as he was likely to go. This is a “classic” example of a strategic career with little long-term attachment to either a specific occupation or a particular organisation. While this approach is in some ways identified as a “modern” orientation, in fact this has long been a common route for those seeking to get into senior management positions in the UK. Identification with occupation and employer In all four countries studied many individuals had a strong attachment to their occupation and employer. The identification could be to their chosen technical profession, but the image of the company (precision engineers) or its products (aircraft or luxury cars) could complement their view of themselves as “highly skilled”. This type of identification was most common early in a career, but it was perhaps most complete for those who had been working on more or less the same track for more than 20 years, as the following examples illustrate. These particular examples are drawn from France and Germany, but almost identical cases could be drawn from Spain or the UK. Skilled worker promoted to head of maintenance but with an unswerving identification with occupation and employer. Henri has been head of a production maintenance team of a major vehicle manufacturer for 15 years. He is now in his mid-50s and started with the company in 1976. His work involves planning, animating and co-ordinating the activities of the maintenance team in informal and formal interactions and establishing continuous links with other teams within the plant. Henri was initially trained as a “fitter-toolmaker” at a vocational school. All his subsequent work-related training has been designed to promote adaptability to new products, services, techniques and technological processes.

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Henri has a good working relationship with management and enjoys a relatively high level of autonomy and responsibility in his job. He once exchanged his position with the head of the production team for one year, allowing Henri to familiarise himself with the work of other departments and teams, enrich his personal know-how, extend his relational network and to feel his skills were transversal. Henri is highly committed to his work, the company and the quality of the cars produced, and is quite satisfied with his career. He values job-stability (despite the structural and technological changes), relatively interesting work, and the financial and non-financial rewards his job offers. He believes in achieving a reasonable balance between his attachment to work, his own family and commitments towards his district community. He is active on the council of a local college parents’ association and as a vice-president of a district association working to establish a socio-cultural centre. Engineer promoted to team leader with an unswerving identification with occupation. Ludger is an engineer in his 50s and works as a team leader in a large European aerospace company in North Germany. After completing an apprenticeship as an engine fitter, he studied mechanical engineering at university and graduated six years later. He began work for the company in the late 1970s and is currently a project co-ordinator, writing project proposals, supervising projects and seeing them through to completion. Most of the specialised technical skills required have to be learnt on the job, especially through “learning by doing”. Currently he is working on 14 projects, ranging from small “free research and development” projects through to the International Space Station. It is rather unusual to work on so many projects and in order to cope with the workload his team has been expanded. Ludger works and make decisions independently and his team consists of six engineers. Officially the position of team leader no longer exists. It was axed in order to eliminate traditional hierarchies and facilitate better co-operation between engineers and their superiors. In practice, however, this position is still necessary and Ludger is still referred to as a team leader, someone who co-ordinates projects. Ludger believes that as an engineer he has the will and motivation to construct something new and see the results of his work. He strongly identifies with his work, the products and takes pride in the projects he sees through to successful completion. Formerly, he used to identify strongly with the company, but as a result of numerous organisational changes, including changing the name of the company, his core identity now lies solely with his work and work activities. One very important factor shaping Ludger’s occupational identity is the recognition of his work by colleagues and from collaborating companies. Generally, Ludger is very satisfied with his work. He sees new tasks as a challenge and an opportunity to learn more. Conflicts with colleagues in his team are rare. There are some drawbacks, however. The most obvious conflict arose between Ludger’s approach to work and new demands from senior management. He feels the need to work thoroughly and check and test a product for possible mistakes more often than officially required to be very sure everything is technically sound. This, however, contradicts with the pressure from management for not putting too much emphasis on one single product and not spending more time and money than necessary. In contrast, Ludger’s conviction is that priority should be given to completing a project without mistakes. Although this may initially imply higher costs, Ludger believes it is cheaper in the long run since the clients and engineers can be sure that the product works, thus

considerably reducing the risks of a complete failure. But this principle puts Ludger in a difficult situation, as he is regarded as too cautious with certain technical “solutions” and he fears that this might result in an exclusion of his knowledge and expertise. His decisions have to be well thought over, because he worries about the consequences of possible failures. Time pressure also generates conflicts. The workload is constantly increasing and the time span of projects reduces. Formerly, one project would be completed before starting work on the next. Now several projects overlap and have to be handled at the same time, making work more complex, interdependent and interactive. This leads to an increase in stress, but can also be seen as an opportunity to learn to work on an interdisciplinary basis. Long-term adjustment Long-term adjustment can occur where an individual recognises that her or his current job and/or employer is not ideal, but all in all it is “the best job they are likely to get”. Another form of long-term adjustment could represent a “more explicit compromise”, when an individual could get a better job elsewhere, but is “held” in place in their current job by factors outside work. The following gives an example of the latter type of adjustment. Former engineering apprentice initially adapting to work because of family commitments, then deciding in his mid-30s on a strategic career direction. David is in his early 40s and worked for the same company for 20 years. He started apprenticeship training with the local car manufacturer at 16. He continued with day release at college, leading to technical HE qualifications, and was eventually employed as an engineer working on engine development. David and his wife came from a small town close to the plant and had strong family and other local attachments. His wife was self-employed and had built a loyal client base, so he continued for 18 years to work at the same plant, which was the only large engineering employer in the area. When they had two children the local links were intensified, but he finally decided to move: “I think the only real reason I moved out was because I knew I’d be stuck in a dead-end job for the rest of my career”. David transferred to another plant over a hundred miles away to take a more challenging job in engine design and development. His family did not move, and he commuted at week-ends. He worked there for five years and completed a part-time Master’s degree in manufacturing management. He felt his combination of experience and qualifications were not recognised by the company, so he looked for other work. Going on the Master’s course had extended his horizons and networks and he received various job offers. David accepted a job with another car manufacturer on a “contract basis” for two years, and then he “was gently persuaded” to join a firm of consulting engineers. He recognised “there were opportunities to get on in a young small company and I knew that with my strengths I could develop quite well, and the money was good”. The job as project operations manager was challenging, with responsibility for all stages of the design, delivery and test process, a large team to manage and considerable autonomy. This type of work was only available as a consequence of a major policy change by the manufacturers now favouring strategic partnerships with suppliers who would supply specialist expertise in co-developing major components such as engines.

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There was one major drawback with the job, the commuting involved journeys of four to five hours, starting at 3.30 on Monday morning and not getting back till 9 on Friday evening. He did this for nine months before finally the whole family did move. This time the location was similar to what they had been used to and there were good schools for the children and work opportunities for his wife. Even so it was still hard to move, but “the travelling had been really hard, very very stressful”. He was for the first time really committing to a company. Overall then, he identified with his work as an engineer, but for a long time he adapted rather than identified with his company because of the strength of his family and local attachments. With the new company he felt he belonged. Previously his travelling (and studying) had contributed to feeling that he did not really “belong”, and in the original company he “belonged” to the area rather than the company. However, after making the initial decision to move, he set about strategically building his career in ways that fitted to the new “flexible” working patterns. He took temporary assignments, studied part-time, took contract work to broaden his experience and paid attention to building a network of contacts. It was one of his contacts, who was putting a team together at the engineering consultants in line with the new co-developing arrangements with major manufacturers, who offered him his present job.

Short-term adjustment In cases of short-term adjustment an individual intends working in her or his current job for just a short period and is likely to be actively seeking other work. For example, two of our interviewees were being made redundant, with relatively little chance of work in that sector in that area, while a third had been unable to get back into permanent employment after a series of setbacks. Short-term adjustment to problems at work and an employer switching production. Georgina is in her 30s and is a machine operator at an automotive component manufacturer at a factory in the north of England that was due to close. Production was being shifted to another plant a few miles away. The workers were given the option of transferring to the new facility but on greatly reduced pay, so Georgina, like most workers at the plant, was to be made redundant. She had until recently been a team leader with full responsibility for a components line, including introducing changes aimed at improving performance. However, because she did not get on with her line manager, she had asked to go back to being a machine operator. Georgina had recently volunteered to participate in training designed to improve performance in the company’s supply chain. The training involved workshops and practical experience of how to improve manufacturing processes and practices. She was part of a multi-disciplinary group looking at how to implement such improvements in the company and in its suppliers. Her self-confidence and communication skills improved markedly in consequence. Georgina saw this as a valuable form of personal development. The supply chain course was instrumental in rekindling her interest in more systematic learning: “I would like to study more, but I am not sure what to do next. I am learning to be a driving instructor and I could combine that with part-time study, possibly for pre-school teaching”. She was making short-term adjustments and adapting to her changing work circumstances, while looking for alternative work.

Work role re-definition Those using re-defining strategies are operating at the cutting edge of norms and expectations, pushing at the boundaries of expectations of employers, colleagues and others, typically negotiating, challenging and leading their peers in some respect. An example of this was a relatively young employee who nevertheless tended to know much more about all the new forms of technology than her colleagues and was recognised as the authoritative source of how to use the equipment in practice. This strategy is most viable for those who are recognised to have particular expertise, and/or formal authority and/or high social status. Some interviewees who were “change agents” had both formal responsibility and social influence and were influential in reshaping the identities of others as well as redefining their own role. Reshaping could come from “within” a role and sometimes from “outside” (or above). These were rare, but we did find a number of such examples. Example of a young Turkish supervisor with highly developed communication and technical skills challenging the company stereotype of the background and age of someone in a senior supervisory position. Hasan is a “Meister” in a German steel company with over 4,000 employees. He is in his early 30s and of Turkish origin. His position involves supervising the four different daily shifts and leading the team of “shift Meisters”. He works directly for the production manager and is responsible for 70 staff. Besides the overall management of the division, his responsibilities include the co-ordination of overall shift personnel and resources. As a technical expert he supervises trouble shooting and technical problems of a new plant, with an emphasis on detailed documentation and fault analysis. Hasan started as an apprentice in the company and then worked in maintenance. After six years he felt he could do more and that his job was not sufficiently fulfilling, and he embarked on three-year “craft Meister” training, rather than the more traditional two year “industry Meister”. The latter was “what everybody does” and he would be better qualified with a “craft Meister” qualification. The three years proved to be extremely hard, because it was difficult to meet the conflicting demands of a five-shift working schedule, Meister training and a young family. In his final year of training he applied for a Meister position for a new project, that involved the construction of a new plant. He got the job ten months before the end of his training, upon the condition that he successfully completed the training. The last ten months of his training were a real challenge. This was because he had started a new job with a high level of responsibility, the new plant required a lot of work and commitment (he often worked 10-12 hours daily), and he was in his examination period to finish his Meister qualification. However, he managed this difficult situation successfully. The construction of the new plant required highly qualified workers and a lot of reorganisation of personnel. Hasan had great technical interest in this field and put a lot of effort into supporting work processes and structural changes. In the change process he was promoted again to technical specialist for the new plant, and is increasingly acting for the production manager. He feels he has achieved a lot. He can imagine maybe changing employer after some years, but at the moment he personally is attached to the plant that he helped to build. Hasan is a committed and ambitious worker. Although he does not perform manual work any more, he makes sure he spends a few hours in the factory each day rather

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than the office. His technical expertise still provides the basis for his work, even with the managerial tasks. The biggest challenge is the management of personnel in two aspects. First, staff shortages create a lot of pressure and increase the workload for all staff as all shifts have tight staffing levels. Second, sometimes there are conflicts with other personnel because they have problems accepting him as a very young Turkish supervisor. Older employees can sometimes be very critical. On the other hand, some Turkish colleagues expect favourable treatment from him, because of their common ethnic background. In any case, he always needs to handle staffing issues and interpersonal conflicts extremely carefully. This has not yet become an issue, because the atmosphere and interaction between employees and supervisors is generally very good in his division, a factor that contributes towards his motivation and commitment. Hasan points out that work intensification is the most obvious change in the work context. More work has to be accomplished with considerably fewer staff and work has become much more disciplined with tighter work schedules. But employees show a much more committed work attitude, because responsibilities are delegated and transferred to the individual worker, which also motivates them more. Example of significant changes of role and personal re-definition (as a result of personal choice and as a consequence of discrimination). Steffi works in the same steel company, but in another division to Hasan. She is in her late 20s and is currently in charge of planning the servicing and repairing of machines, a position that requires the Meister qualification (for a process or production engineer). She is doing this job in a team of three, each employee being responsible for a division that comprises approximately 15-20 staff working on a certain set of machines and rollers. Steffi initially studied accountancy and secretarial work at a commercial school but did not like it, and her father, who worked in the company, encouraged her to apply for an apprenticeship as a material tester in the laboratory. When she did not pass the entry test the company offered her training as a skilled worker in mechanics and she accepted. At that time she was the first female engineering apprentice in the company, and she faced considerable discrimination that led her to being very close to leaving a couple of times. As an apprentice and as a skilled worker she hardly received any support from her male colleagues except for one, who encouraged her to persevere. This discriminatory situation continued after completion of her apprenticeship, but finally, one division accepted her, although it was not an area in which she trained so she had to start a completely new learning process. Working there was very hard and she was given the toughest work and was constantly discriminated against. Her immediate supervisors and colleagues hoped that she would give up. Despite her qualification she was never accepted as an equal, although she received some support from her senior manager. Steffi put up with this situation for four-and-a-half years, even though it started to affect her health. Her decision to start a Meister qualification was motivated by hoping to find a way out of this discriminatory working situation. However, after completing Meister training the situation with her male colleagues escalated and on impulse she asked for work in another division where her boy friend worked. They initially recruited her into a position as ordinary mechanic. There, the working conditions were much better and the colleagues to a certain degree accepted her. After one-and-a-half years she applied for her current job, planning repairs and maintenance of machines that required the Meister qualification and got the job.

Steffi enjoys her current job and is very satisfied with the working conditions and colleagues. She is happy with working more independently and not being directly supervised all the time. She particularly likes the challenges involved in major repair jobs that require independent organisation and complex planning and co-ordination, where she plans and schedules her own time and work commitment. But most of her work involves the planning of the regular servicing of machines, with some repair work. When looking back, Steffi feels that although the first nine years were extremely difficult and nerve-racking she was right to work through it. She feels that the harsh working climate has formed her and she is now much more self-confident and assertive. She always liked the work, even the physically very demanding jobs, and that made her stay. She is proud of her achievements, and although she sometimes misses the physical work, she enjoys working on the computer and “assembling parts and tools in her head”. Work forms an important part of her overall identity and links with being independent, financially self-sufficient and able to face challenges. She also values the external recognition her work brings. Steffi hopes to stay with the company until retirement. She believes her work profile may change, but is confident that her skills will be needed in future. If she decided to start a family, she would try not to be away for more than two to three years. Successful “change agent” whose role and responsibilities were re-defined. The first two examples of re-definition concerned cases where it was individual characteristics related to gender or ethnicity allied to impressive work performance that presented other workers with challenges to their ideas about who should undertake particular roles. In the following case, however, it is the performance and potential of a single individual that caused the company to reshape their role definitions so as to optimise his value to the company. Edward is in his mid 30s. He has recently been appointed business development and personnel manger at a precision engineering company in England that has 200 employees and produces pumps for industry. He has worked for the company for 20 years since leaving school. He completed his apprenticeship, worked on machines for two years, then in planning production and was quality manager for seven years, before combining roles as business development and quality manger for a year, prior to being given his current job. Being identified as the company “change agent” meant he was working closely with a major customer, undergoing a mix of training and learning through working on problems throughout the supply chain network, and he started to get “more ideas of the problems and solutions of other companies”. This led to swapping development ideas and he found that: . . . personally this has given me a new lease of life and a new learning focus. It has also led to recognition in my own company . . . I also now have increased patience following the change agent training, better organisational skills and I am more willing to challenge fixed ideas.

Edward believed this was significant in terms of his own personal development: “I will consider furthering my education. I hope to expand my business development role to director level. There have also been benefits to me in my out of work roles.”

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The company was going through a tough time and: . . . there have been 25 redundancies – hence my current dual role. We could use more people in the business improvement teams. We are looking at our own suppliers too – they are at the crux of some of our own non-delivery problems. The improvements will pay for themselves if we can sustain 80 per cent Overall Equipment Efficiency.

He is therefore seen as crucial in bringing about change in the company. Edward is enthusiastic and committed to his work and the company. His success has led the company to redefine his last two work roles, and the current combination of business development and personnel manager was specially designed for him. Personal re-definition The second form of re-definition occurred when an individual sought to change their occupation and/or employer, because they wanted (or saw themselves forced) to change direction. Examples of this included people with a short-term attachment following or prior to a major re-definition. The example given below, however, represents not only a substantive personal re-definition, but also involves a role re-definition from an organisational perspective. Major career change. This is an example of a woman who became very purposeful about her own career development after the age of 30. She has highly developed communication and organisational skills and challenges the company stereotype of a production manager. Her gender and lack of a technical background led her to re-define the role of production manager in an engineering company. Sally is in her early 40s. She completed a Sports Science degree in England, worked in outdoor pursuits for a year and then chose to train as a PE teacher, as she was having a problem getting a decent job, and didn’t know what else to do. However, her teaching career lasted less than a year: “I discovered I didn’t like kids.” Next she worked in local authority leisure provision for five to six years. She left her last post with a plan to live abroad, but this plan did not work out. She needed work, so did some temporary office work for a couple of years. One of these jobs was with a small German-owned specialist automotive components manufacturer. She started as a temporary clerical worker in 1990 and then got a permanent job in “customer scheduling”. The job consisted of calculating and costing customers’ requirements and keeping track of what was being produced and what had been dispatched. She took the job because she needed the work and it seemed to be a reasonable company. Sally was eager to leave her first job there as she felt it was not utilising all her skills, and did not give her the level of responsibility which she wanted. After three years she was promoted to “head of logistics” managing six clerical staff. The only company training she received was at her own instigation; she asked to go to head office for a two-week period to orientate to the work of the company. They gave her this time, but it was left to her to structure this period for herself. She spent the time walking around the factory and talking to people, finding out for herself what was being done and by whom and why. She found this period very informative and helpful. She was promoted twice more: first to logistics specialist and then in 1995 to production manager for a major customer group, with complete responsibility for resourcing the production and delivery of orders for this car manufacturer. She manages 100 permanent, mostly full-time, staff on a three-shift system, plus seven

support workers based in the office. Her work involves the ordering and control of all materials, responsibility for the production process itself, staff management and customer liaison. When the post became vacant, she had been encouraged to apply for it by her then bosses, and she got the job, although: I encountered huge difficulties as I had no knowledge of engineering production whatsoever. I knew nothing of production planning or engineering prioritising. Nothing.

Sally had had no university training relevant specifically to her new job: “My skills acquisition at this time was mainly on the job training; finding out as I went along.” The company did provide training opportunities over time to help her to cope with her new responsibilities. She found the training very relevant, and it helped her to build skills to tackle her job. It was as she began to “get a handle” on her job that she decided to do a Master’s degree so as to gain a greater understanding of the underpinning of the technical work of her department. On her own initiative, she had enrolled for two evening classes – one on the Japanese view of the auto industry, the other on leadership and self-management. Sally chose post-graduate study in engineering to get the technical underpinning she was seeking to underpin her management role in engineering: “I wanted to understand what lay beneath what I was seeing on the shop floor, and what I was controlling in my job.” The company paid for the course. Much of what she learned on the course was relevant at three levels – business, technical and operational. She has now fully grown into the job as a production manager, and is well paid. When Sally reflects on her career she says: . . . my career has gone every which way. It has gone differently to what might have been expected. I think there was a lot of luck involved in finding myself as a temp at my present company – being in the right place at the right time.

She is very satisfied with her salary and enjoys her job, although there are frustrations linked to working in what is still very much a man’s world. “It’s not so much a glass ceiling as a huge steel ceiling.” She felt she could have done more but for gender prejudice. Indeed the prevailing environment constrains her: I find myself coping with it by taking on some of the male attitudes, and this makes me feel guilty. I think I confront it with aggressive behaviour, and people don’t always understand why this is happening.

Sally had never expected to enter the engineering world: The last place I wanted to work was a factory . . . but I have come to realise is that it doesn’t much matter what the workplace is, or where it is, or what it makes, most of the processes for getting something resourced and produced and delivered are the same.

She is still looking to develop her skills: maybe in assertiveness to deal with the gender problem. “Some influencing skills training is probably what I need.” She also wants to follow-up on work she did on the MSc around issues in leadership and dealing with frustration. “I need to learn how to deal with getting shouted down if I confront issues around gender discrimination.” She has been very proactive in building her career after 30: a sharp contrast with her earlier drift. However, even with restarting at 30, she is doubtful that she would want to have missed the good times she had. Sally enjoyed her Sports Science course and

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being at university, and quite enjoyed some of her work in the leisure industry. She feels she has learned a lot through her various experiences, and whilst things have gone differently than she might have expected, she is where she is now . . . “and I’m fairly happy with that”.

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Implications for policy and practice An individual’s pattern of strategic action regarding work could and did change over time. An individual may become disillusioned, leading to a change from identification to adjustment, or an individual may follow a strategic career path for part but not all of their working life. Reactions to work could also change in response to particular events, such as promotion or redundancy, or changes in other areas of life (birth of children, death of a spouse and so on). The identification of different forms of strategic action did help us give meaning and shape to our interviewees’ career histories by outlining what we found to be relatively coherent repertoires of strategic response to the challenges of constructing work-related identities. Occupational identity formation processes and patterns of strategic action relate to a number of issues at the level of the individual, the organisation and society as a whole. For example, there is a degree of interdependence between the structures of the labour market, the work environment and working conditions and occupational identity of employees. The product market is important here: where a sub-sector is undergoing very rapid change, especially in its product markets, then companies may wish for employees to have flexible occupational identities (FAME Consortium, 2003). In these circumstances great attention is then given to learning while working. Considerable resources and support for skill development and socialisation go into the formation of initial occupational identities (Reuling, 1998), but all parties (employee, employer and state) should recognise that the reshaping of these identities to fit changing contexts also constitutes a major task. While continuing education and training can play a role, it is perhaps more important to support processes of learning while working (Billett, 2004). This could be achieved in formal ways through support for systems of mentoring. However, it could also be achieved through paying close attention to the composition of development teams, such that employees taking on new, and especially hybrid, roles can be given some support in moving towards full engagement with the new roles. This could be accomplished through association and working with those further on in the process. The interesting point here is that development is a process and focusing upon outcomes such as qualifications may draw attention away from the process (Brown et al., 2004). For example, in the UK it is clear that employees, especially graduates early in their career, learn by moving from company to company, and this process leads to a transfer of “tacit knowledge” that can benefit both the employee and the companies (Mason and Wagner, 2000). “Teaching company schemes” are another example of where there is support for a process – in this case (mainly engineering) graduates are attached to small companies to give the firms access to skills and expertise they do not normally possess. The graduate should act as a “change agent” facilitating processes of business improvement (Senker and Senker, 1997). The key point for identity formation is that from the outset the (new) graduate learns that her or his role is about producing change – forging an identity, creating a role, helping others change – rather than fitting into a pre-ordained “slot”.

Whilst some companies have found a high-value niche position in traditional markets, many firms still operate with fairly fixed product systems and produce to demand predictions (Doyle et al., 1992). However, even then there are pressures on employers to achieve greater flexibility in their patterns of work organisation. This means many individuals are being expected to use hybrid skill sets (Davis et al., 2000). Organisational considerations rather than occupational identities often drive the organisation of work, with particular emphasis being given to flexibility and possession of a broad set of skills and competencies (FAME Consortium, 2003). One consequence is that technical skills increasingly need to be aligned with business skills and social skills, particularly for those operating in customer facing settings (Davis et al., 2000). Changing patterns of work organisation have frequently led to increased delegation of responsibilities, greater team working and the need for learning processes, which are related to more complex thinking and to assuming a broader responsibility for the whole production process (Brown, 1998). Once again this means that technical skills need to be developed in combination with communication skills, the ability to learn independently and in teams, IT skills, business skills and abstract thinking. One implication of this for initial VET is that such skills may best be taught in combination and in context. This is one factor behind arguments for the development of complex learning environments within apprenticeship training in Germany (Achtenhagen, 2001). Elsewhere there are similar arguments on the need to focus in initial VET on the core problems of practice that have these mixes of skills embedded in authentic problems (Onstenk and Brown, 2002). Such arguments emphasise that an occupational identity needs to be forged in engagement with the complexities of practice, not something that is developed prior to such engagement. The latter approach seems to store up trouble for many individuals because of its naive model of skills transfer and development. In the longer term, it may be that people with “modern” skill sets able to undertake a range of work may look for horizontal mobility across occupations or sectors rather than vertical mobility. This can be facilitated by allowing individuals greater access to careers guidance and personal skills auditing, such that they are encouraged and supported in looking across the labour market for opportunities to use their skills, rather than necessarily remaining within particular sectors and specific patterns of thought. Overall then, if individualisation is a trend, it is important to develop guidance to support the individual in successfully responding to demands for flexibility and mobility and to enable the individual to move between occupations. The intention would be to give individuals confidence in their own abilities and to empower them to become agents of their own professional development – aspects of the French Bilan de Compe´tence may be relevant in this respect (Bjørna˚vold and Brown, 2002). The foregoing is not an argument against the initial development of a strong technical knowledge base – this remains important. Indeed it was noticeable that most employees in the German sample stated that they had no problems in keeping up with technological innovations and the required technical learning processes. This capability is surely rooted in the advanced technical skills that the German skilled worker acquires during her or his apprenticeship (Finegold and Wagner, 1999). Indeed in a slack labour market, as in Germany, employers can stipulate a formal skilled

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qualification even for less skilled work (Brown and Behrens, 1995). The rationale for doing so is that such employees are quick learners and are easier to motivate. One further consideration in thinking about the identity formation processes of skilled workers in metal-working relates to the issue of career development. Should a skilled qualification be seen mainly as a final qualification or should it be regarded as a stepping stone for further development for those interested in progression. In Germany the “Meister” position is critically discussed and in some companies already replaced where work organisation uses flatter hierarchies (Drexel et al., 2003). However, the “Meister” qualification is generally still required in order to assume a team leading position. It also enhances chances of employment when changing employers or of keeping employment if a company sheds labour (Drexel et al., 2003). The “Meister” qualification also entitles the skilled worker to become self-employed and to employ and train other skilled workers, and it also entitles the skilled worker to study in a related field at a technical college or even university. The latter development is now common across Europe as a qualification a skilled worker needs to allow both further technical development and progression into higher education. Although these routes are open, they could be more actively promoted, for example, through the provision of greater financial support for individuals following these pathways. Employees working in the metal-working industry predominantly identify with their work tasks and related skills, the company and the professional community. However, the very strong identification and attachment of a generation ago are less common with the realisation that you are no longer effectively guaranteed a job for life. Identification with the “output”, as in the aerospace and automobile industries, or the “process”, if their work was particularly challenging and required specialised skills, could be important. Challenging work can still generate identification and commitment – significant numbers of people still want work-related identities that give them a sense of control, purpose and direction. States have traditionally been reluctant to intervene in what happens inside a company, but maybe public policy should seek to support companies that do offer challenging work. Trade unions used to play an important role in the sector and still do to some extent. It is an interesting question the extent to which one of the key components of the “bundles” of practices of the high-performance workplaces that European policy is so keen to promote is “high involvement” and whether this will lead to a re-invigoration of the role of trade unions. The trade union role could also be strengthened in regard to supporting members’ interest in further learning and development. In the metal-working sector in all the four countries studied, the business environment was changing rapidly and new or adapted product development was often vital. Companies were keen to discover new ways to create added value for their customers and this sometimes included sharing or selling their developing expertise. This often meant that key staff had to shift the focus of their attention. They were being expected to identify with a broader supply network rather than a single company: identifying with a mission as “change agents” rather than an occupation or a single organisation. Preparation for, and participation in “network change agent” roles requires considerable learning and a sophisticated framework of learning support, as it bridges individual learning, changing work cultures and organisational change (Brown et al., 2004).

One final comment is worth making in relation to the patterns of strategic action adopted by employees building work-related identities in engineering. The temptation in considering policy recommendations is to focus almost exclusively upon the requirements of organisations and the economy as a whole. However, the calls for employees to respond to demands for flexibility, mobility, and new patterns of working and learning present significant challenges for individuals. The relationship between individuals and their occupational roles could be represented in terms of their patterns of strategic action across a range of structural, cultural and social contexts. Individuals developed characteristic repertoires of strategic action and these included identification; long-term adjustment; short-term adjustment; adopting a strategic career perspective; and re-definition. What those making policy often assume is that identification and strategic career development are the states that can “normally be expected” from those working in a particular sector. In practice, for a variety of reasons, many workers will see themselves as adjusting to work, over a shorter or longer time frame, rather than identifying with it. Any form of state-supported learning and development should therefore recognise the need to give the individual a significant “voice” in choosing the direction in which this should go, rather than assuming development should be aligned to their current work. We should pay particular attention to individuals who are using re-defining strategies operating at the cutting edge of norms and expectations of employers, colleagues and others, typically leading their peers in some respect. We need to know more about the process of how work-related identities are transformed and such individuals could play a key role in helping us increase that understanding. Another form of re-definition occurred when an individual sought to change their occupation and/or employer, because they wanted (or saw themselves forced) to change direction. Much more could be done to support individuals in this process, rather than regarding this more or less as an aberration. Access to impartial advice and guidance could be critical in this respect. This idea of support for the development of individuals on their own terms is valuable in its own right. However, in engineering it also offers the prospect of building on the very positive developments associated with employee development schemes, fairly common in the UK, open to all. In such cases, workers at all levels are encouraged to study for further qualifications in their own time, with employers offering some financial support. Encouragement should be given to extend support for employee development schemes more widely, because, for example, there are limited opportunities available for German workers to study for additional qualifications if they have not completed an apprenticeship. Policy makers could look for further ways to build on the interest in “second chance” education among existing workers when considering proposals for workforce development and opportunities to undertake a personal skills audit may be one way forward.

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Work identities of nurses Between caring and efficiency demands Simone Kirpal

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Institut Technik und Bildung, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany Keywords Work identity, Health services, Nurses, Skills flexibility, Europe Abstract This paper reports on a comparative qualitative study across four European countries which explored the formation of work identity amongst nurses and other professionals in the field of health care. Within this sector, it identifies trends towards a more flexible, more highly skilled and more mobile workforce. Conversely, however, it is becoming difficult to recruit and retain staff due to increasing workload, decreasing job satisfaction and comparatively low pay. Occupational identity is theorised as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, with structural, social and individual-psychological components. A number of emerging common themes across the three dimensions and across the four national settings include structural conflicts between cost efficiency and quality of care, and individual conflicts between the core activity of caring for patients and the increasing demands of administration and other peripheral work. The study identifies a number of strategies used by nurses to balance these conflicting demands. Overall, the professional identity of nurses remains strong, but it is important for policy makers to be aware of the potential negative effects, in terms of staff turnover, mobility and job (dis)satisfaction, of the current state of the health care sector.

Career Development International Vol. 9 No. 3, 2004 pp. 274-304 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1362-0436 DOI 10.1108/13620430410535850

Introduction Work identities are closely linked to forms of identification individuals develop with their job, work setting or their employer: among other features, occupational identity manifests itself through elements of the work context with which individuals identify[1]. It is primarily identification with the work environment, the company, the company’s objectives or the work-related activities and tasks which individuals perform that make individual and collective productivity possible. Research has shown that even under the most severe and restrictive working conditions, a certain level of identification with work is still recognisable, despite the ambiguity of the experience (Hoff et al., 1985). Much has been written about the interdependence between identification with work and work commitment. In particular, theory and research about organizational commitment has been given considerable attention in the management and behavioural sciences, as it is believed (and has been tested) that commitment towards the employing organization correlates with a set of desirable outcomes such as loyalty and motivation of employees; workforce stability (less turnover, more attendance); improved work morale and better performance results (Steers, 1977; Cohen, 1993; Whetten and Godfrey, 1998). Most of these studies, however, take an organizational or management perspective. While the pressures of market competition, rationalisation and downsizing during the past two decades have created new demands for greater flexibility and mobility of all actors – firms and employees – the psychological contract is changing (Reilly, 1998; Raeder and Grote, 2001), bringing into question some of the earlier commitment patterns. Recent studies suggest that in times of severe economic constraints, organizations tend to undermine commitment to their

employees which in return results in both parties investing less in building mutual, trust-based relationships (Baruch, 1998). While inter-firm mobility increases (Kanter, 1989; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994) and new forms of flexible work arrangements emerge (Gottlieb et al., 1998) job security and long-term company attachment are becoming concepts of the past. This trend can even be observed for Japan where lifetime company attachment used to be the norm (Nakane 1998; Cheng, 1991). Rapid technological innovation, the tertiarisation of the economy and competitiveness lead to new, flexible employment patterns. For the individual, this means that developing a professional orientation and planning a progressive career become complex and difficult processes (Beck, 1994). Today, employees are challenged to plan and organise their own individualised careers away from long-term company attachment and pre-structured career patterns. In this context the German researchers Pongratz and Voss (1998; 2003) postulate that the “entrepreneurial” employee will become the new prototype, gradually substituting for the classical type of worker, who used to rely on a standard set of occupational, predominantly technical skills and stability of work settings. Instead, the new “entrepreneurial” type of worker is characterised by individualised sets of skills, internalised control mechanisms through self-discipline and the prioritisation of transferable over technical skills. The individual’s responsibility to produce and market those competencies in order to increase his or her own employability with changing employers is a key concept here. What is new about this hypothesis (which may after all not be so innovative for the Anglo-Saxon work context, but can be considered quite topical for the German labour market) is that this pattern no longer restricts itself to highly qualified professionals or employees working in certain sectors (such as ICT or multi-media). The authors argue that this model, increasingly applies to the “ordinary” skilled worker and is fusing into what has until now been considered the “norm” in manufacturing and service sectors. Of particular relevance to this trend is that HRD (human resources development) specialists and managers increasingly favour this entrepreneurial type of employee as the ideal model (FAME Consortium, 2003). As patterns of “organizational socialisation” are losing significance and careers become individualised and “boundaryless” (DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994; Mirvis and Hall, 1994), the concept of work identity may provide a useful tool to get insight into individuals’ strategies as they try to make sense of their constantly changing work agenda and to integrate their work experiences into a coherent self-picture. Sennett (1998) has illustrated that this process can present quite a challenge to the individual as it creates internal and external conflicts that need to be resolved in order to secure successful integration, not only into work, but also into society as a whole. Investigating work identities extends the concept of identification with work and work-related commitment beyond the company. It acknowledges that work-related identification and commitment may include the company, but also the occupation, the professional community, the work team, a particular work environment, work actions performed by individuals, etc. (see also Baruch and Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002), all of which may vary in significance for individuals over time (Brown, 1997; Ibarra, 2003). In addition, the concept of work identity as presented here incorporates possible sources of identification with non-work commitments that a working person may have, such as commitments to family and friends.

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This article is a qualitative study looking at the manifestation and development of the occupational identities of nurses in Estonia, France, Germany and the UK. Facing a conflict between incompatible caring and efficiency demands in providing health care services, nurses are challenged to re-define their professional roles and identities at work. They experience significant work intensification and time constraints, and nurses are thus facing a conflict between providing patient-oriented care and fulfilling emerging demands for rationalisation. This conflict is affecting nurses’ occupational identity as new standards of professionalism and required skilling shifts also bring into question some of the core values of nursing. The paper discusses some individual strategies in dealing with those conflicts in terms of changing identity patterns at work and possible career implications. Concepts of identity Identity, a relatively recent concept in the social sciences, was introduced and developed through two different currents: the tradition of American social psychology (Mead, 1934; Goffman, 1959) views identity as a principle of social organisation, whereas the tradition of psychoanalysis, primarily represented by Erikson (1970, 1973), conceptualises identity as a principle of psychological organisation. According to Erikson, shaping an ego identity or a psychosocial self-definition demands distinction from others and is a crucial developmental step. The awareness of having an identity is tied to the “perception of one’s own sameness and continuity in time and the related perception that others also recognize this sameness and continuity” (Erikson, 1973, p. 18). Goffman further developed the concept of identity as a principle of social organisation. He refers to “personal” and “social” identity that is ascribed to the individual through interacting with others. “Personal identity” stresses the uniqueness of an individual, for example, through her or his distinctive and clearly identifiable biography, habits and attitudes. The individual obtains a “social identity” through the attribution of certain characteristics by others that have the nature of normative expectations (Huber and Krainz, 1987): the individual is expected to act in conformity to these expectations and to behave as others would do in the same social context. This implies the performance of clearly defined social and professional roles as they relate, for example, to being a “good” mother or doctor. Acting in conformity with a role takes place within a given social context such as an occupational group. Benefits for acting in conformity with the expectations of the occupational group may include, for example, recognition and acceptance by other group members. These processes of social acknowledgment act as external guidance that helps the individual to build up certain dimensions of identity that can be shared with others. In these concepts, work is considered as an important medium for transforming the individual into a social being through socialisation processes (Leitha¨user and Volmerg, 1988). Socialisation into the work context plays a decisive role here, because the entry into working life helps the individual to find a place in society (Heinz, 1995; Silbereisen, 1997). The work context offers pre-defined roles, which help the individual to create a concept of oneself as a particular professional role is taken up. Accepting a role also implies taking an identity and helps the individual to integrate into a work-related community and to display certain features that distinguish one group from another. According to Goffman (1959), being integrated into a work context and pursuing an

occupation become the primary or at least a major source of the feeling of one’s own value, and the means through which someone presents her/himself to the outside world. Habermas’ third stage or “ego identity” makes reference to the ability of the adult to build up new identities and integrate them with those overcome (Habermas, 1976). As labour market demands for greater flexibility and mobility of workers challenge the individual’s ability to integrate increasingly changing and divergent work experiences into a coherent picture, this concept should deserve some attention in the context of identity formation processes at work. It creates linkages to the concept of “bricolage identity”, a term originally stemming from Levi-Strauss and adopted by Carruthers and Uzzi (2000), which “involves the decomposition of existing identities into their constituent components and their recombination into a new identity” (Carruthers and Uzzi, 2000, p. 486). A bricolage identity perspective may help to understand how individuals as actors take part in actively shaping their own career paths. As research shows (see Witzel et al., 1996), the status passage from school to work, for example, is not only a structurally determined, situated problem that assigns individuals to their life paths; rather, it is co-shaped by the actors themselves and thus must also be examined as a complex process by which external selection is complemented by self-selection. How individuals choose to modify and shape their own occupational biographies in ways that do not follow exactly the paths suggested to them is an interesting question for further research. The individual’s ability to shape, modify and adjust her or his own career path is what Habermas has described as a highly cultural achievement: the ability of an adult to build up new identities and to integrate them with those left behind. Ultimately, any identity formation process is an achievement of the individual. It can be described as a complex process whereby societal influences and individual dispositions meet and generate an internal process that leads to the formation and manifestation of identities. This means that the process of composing, decomposing and restructuring identities is determined by two interlinking factors: the societal conditions that provide a framework and shape the individual on the one hand, and the individual’s capability, capacities, inclinations, interests, etc., on the other. This same process also takes place in the work context: an individual’s work-related identity is the result of the individual’s response to the work environment, external and societal influences and expectations. In its extreme forms, the response can be positive, manifesting itself in acceptance of, and adjustment to, the structural environment, or negative, indicated by the individual’s rejection or resistance. This article acknowledges the close interdependence between work structures and individual self-definition processes. Individuals are agents of society that actively reflect upon external conditions (Giddens, 1991). This means that work shapes the individual, but at the same time the individual shapes work processes and structures. The self is not an autonomous agent, but is socially and culturally constructed and certain elements of a person’s identity will always be collectively imposed (Cohen, 1994). However, the individual possesses the ability to act consciously and purposefully, choosing between roles and performances. It is the element of choice that creates a difference with respect to the degree of self-regulation. An unemployed person, for example, is put in a situation of constraints and limited choices, which is

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likely to result in stigmatization, whether it be external stigmatization, self-stigmatization or both. The longer this situation persists, the more difficult it becomes for the individual to develop alternative positive forms of identity. In a situation of restricted life possibilities at all levels, such an identity may become stable and may lead to frustration and exclusion (Littlewood, 1999; Sennett, 1998). Occupational identity: a multi-dimensional phenomenon For the purpose of developing a comparative perspective, this article conceptualises occupational identity as multi-dimensional, distinguishing between three different dimensions. These dimensions are regarded as significantly influencing identity formation processes at work and guide the analytical structure of this article. The structural dimension accounts for the fact that (individual and societal) concepts of work, training systems, patterns of employment, etc. are culturally embedded and largely shaped and influenced by national contexts and historical developments (Laske, 2001). Despite some significant globalising influences, persisting national characteristics define, for example, occupational categories, labour market stratification, industrial relations, vocational education and training systems and the role of professional communities in a given environment. From an international perspective, this dimension takes account of the national and cultural embedding of work identities. In addition to connecting the issue to the economic framework and current labour market developments, global trends such as demands for greater flexibility and mobility at work will also be analysed as two important structural variables in this context. The social dimension underlines that occupational identities are in the first place understood as collective identities that are developed in interaction with other individuals (i.e. colleagues, supervisors, clients), groups (i.e. working teams, communities of practice) or institutional bodies (i.e. institutions of training systems, companies, trade unions) at work. Rather than conceptualising identity as a form of psychological organisation (Erikson, 1970; 1973), this article investigates the collective character of identity formation largely influenced by interaction with others, group membership and professional roles (Strauss, 1968; Goffman, 1959). Group dynamics and a feeling of “us” and “them” that generates a sense of sameness with some and difference from others are important here (Tajfel and Turner, 1985). One central aspect of collective identities therefore is to hold on to demarcations. If those demarcations are based on certain vocational traditions and become stabilised over time, they foster continuity and stability in how individuals relate to their work context. To the extent, however, to which those demarcations produce rather narrow and closed professional cultures they may become resistant towards change leading to inflexibility in its extreme form (Kern and Sabel, 1994). The social dimension also emphasises the role of vocational education and training (Heinz, 1995), communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) and company affiliations (Whetten and Godfrey, 1998) and how those affect an individual’s work commitment and work attitudes. Furthermore, this dimension makes reference to issues linked to the social status of a profession (for the nursing profession see Benner, 1984; Seidl, 1991). Finally, the individual-psychological dimension takes account of an individual’s career history and professional development on the one hand, and the individual’s perception of the work context and her or his work attitude on the other hand. It relates

to the meaning of work by making reference to the interface between working and private life (Hoff, 1990; Minssen, 1999) and underlines the notion that an occupational identity may just be one of a number of other possible identities that make up the overall identity of an individual (Keupp et al., 1999). Thus, occupational identities may vary in the intensity with which they are held and in the significance individuals ascribe to them over time (Brown, 1997). The dynamic nature of identity formation processes at work, and the aspect of choice, draw attention to the personal resources and preferences deployed when individuals adjust to work settings and demands. There is thus a complex process of negotiation between (external) structural conditions and individual orientations (Giddens, 1991; Ibarra, 1999). The individual-psychological dimension is designed to assess the aspects and features of work which the individual perceives as being important and how changes at work affect the overall meaning of work, and an individual’s work attitude, commitment, motivation, learning and performance at work. These aspects are assessed from a subjective point of view; that is, how the individual perceives them over time.

Methods Research context This article is based on material and ideas generated from the research project Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), funded under the 5th EU framework programme between March 2000 and May 2003. The aim of the project was to map some of the different ways in which work identities are composed, decomposed and restructured when employees are increasingly challenged to cope with demands for flexibility, changing work situations, shifting skilling needs and new professional roles and expectations[2]. A qualitative approach was chosen to obtain an overall understanding of the phenomenon, as well as to acquire in-depth knowledge of specific issues that would emerge from the data. The study was designed to generate ideas and hypotheses for further research through inductive methods, not to test theory. In order to represent the variety and diversity of Europe with regards to the cultural, socio-economic and political embedding of work concepts and occupations, the project consortium consisted of partners from seven European countries. The core partners, Estonia, France, Germany, Spain and the UK conducted large sample interviews carrying out the major investigation, while Czech Republic and Greece assumed the role of critical observers. Both countries also conducted small-sample empirical research. The project focused on investigating the manifestation and formation of work identities of employees at the intermediate skills level (mainly skilled workers) across different occupational groups representing a wide range of specialisations, work experiences and job profiles. In order to ensure diversity of work contexts and occupational traditions, four contrasting sectors were chosen for conducting the research: the metal-working industry, health care, telecommunications/IT and tourism½3
. This selection was based on the assumption that each sector not only represents a different professional tradition, but also encounters very different dynamics and challenges in terms of flexibility and mobility. Each national project partner conducted an empirical investigation in at least two different sectors½4
.

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Nursing. Dynamics of work identities in health care were investigated in five partner countries. However, for the comparative analysis presented in this article, only the material generated in Estonia, France, Germany and the UK was considered. This material included qualitative data, case studies and contextual background information that each project partner generated, summarised, evaluated and intensively shared with the other partners at various stages of the project. This process implies that the research findings presented here are based on a secondary analysis of the material produced by the Estonian, French and British partners, whereas for Germany I conducted and interpreted the empirical investigation myself. Providing a contrast to the other sectors, health care was chosen to represents a traditional service sector with strong historical roots. For employees at intermediate skills level, the focus was on the nursing profession as one of the core occupations of this sector. Nurses have long-standing occupational traditions, with related identity patterns that can be traced to the time when nuns, charitable organisations and groups like the Red Cross started to provide health care services by building and running hospitals and other care institutions. These historical foundations have influenced work roles and have established a more or less universal image of what attitudes, qualities and skills a “good” nurse should possess (Chiarella, 2002; Rafferty, 1996). Since the 1980s, the nursing profession has undergone significant change. Cost pressure, rationalisation and new quality standards induced a reorientation from hierarchical structures and strictly regulated professional roles to a new work organisation that also involves the outsourcing of services. Changing work demands, new skills profiles and a tendency towards professionalism in providing quality health care are questioning and opposing the traditional nursing image (Brown and Kirpal, 2003). Today, the provision of health care is a growing sector due to demographic shifts and an aging European society. New demands and expectations also challenge nurses to become more flexible and mobile. Today, health care needs and provision must be seen from a broader perspective, looking at staffing and skilling demands across countries, but also shifting the focus from simply providing care, to prevention, counselling and the support of a patient-oriented self-help approach (Benner, 1984). As work organisation, standards and expectations of nursing are undergoing significant change, continuities of professional roles and identities are also challenged. Research steps. The three dimensions outlined above were conceptualised as a tool to assess the interplay between structural, context-specific conditions and the individual’s orientation in identity formation processes at work. The aim was to address the issue of occupational identity formation from two perspectives: the structural and the individual. This aim is reflected in the design of the empirical investigation and the development of evaluation categories for the data analysis. The first phase of the empirical investigation was conducted with representatives of human resources (HR) departments of private and public health care providers and hospitals. This part of the investigation had two objectives: first, to explore current structural conditions such as organisational changes, work profiles, skills requirements and demands for flexibility of employees; the second objective was to identify what HR managers expect from their employees in terms of levels of identification, commitment and learning and if managers are actively trying to shape work identities of employees through HR and recruitment policies. The interview results provided the material for developing case studies for each employing

institution. In detail, these case studies concretised institutional data; aspects of work organisation; newly emerging professional profiles, skilling needs and recruitment principles, provision of initial and further education and training, opportunities for career development; and demands for greater flexibility and mobility of employees. This material helped to outline the socio-economic and structural embedding of work concepts and occupational identities in the countries of investigation. It also facilitated the identification of some topical issues that were later addressed when conducting interviews with employees. The second phase of the research aimed at assessing the social and individual-psychological dimension of occupational identities by conducting interviews with employees. This research phase was designed to complement the findings of the first phase by connecting the work setting and the expectations of managers with employees’ individual resources, dispositions and preferences. The focus here was on how the individual perceives and copes with changes to work organisation, professional profiles and skilling needs. Do those changes, from a subjective point of view, influence the meaning of work, professional orientation, work attitude, learning patterns, commitment, and ultimately, work identity in that elements of identification with work (including the employer) are questioned, re-defined or stabilised? Of particular importance in this context were the negotiation and selection processes that the individual performs in order to find a balance between structural and individual conditions. This involved identifying individuals’ responses and problem-solving strategies for dealing with inner conflicts caused by a changing work context. When presenting the findings, these negotiation processes will be presented in the form of “strategic actions” or specific “coping mechanisms” of employees that ultimately manifest themselves in the shaping of occupational identities. The systematic division between the dimensions involved in identity formation processes is a theoretical one. When conducting the interviews, all project partners encountered a considerable degree of overlap. Managers expressed ideas about what they thought was important for their employees in terms of levels of commitment and identification with work; whilst employees also made assessments of the work setting and manager’s expectations,. This added to the complexity of the issues when doing the analysis. Another problem was that, in practice, it was not always possible to make a clear-cut distinction between the two sample groups. As Figure 1 shows, the samples also covered employees who held intermediate management positions (for example, head of departments or team leaders) and who in fact represented both perspectives. This was particularly the case when those individuals also assumed responsibilities for personnel. Data collection The methodological approach consisted of qualitative research applying semi-structured, problem-centred interviews. The project partners reached common understanding on a set of interview guidelines that were slightly adapted according to the particularities of the respective national contexts. All partners carried out initial pilot interviews for each empirical research phase to pre-test the interview guidelines and the feasibility of applying semi-structured interviews. Depending on the situation, these were either individual, in-depth interviews or focus group discussions with two to six employees, usually not exceeding 90 minutes. With some exceptions, interviews

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Figure 1. Health care sample composition (n ¼ 166)

were conducted at interviewees’ workplaces either during working hours or in their own time (for example before or after work). Typically interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Where participants expressed concern, project partners took hand-written notes that were transcribed as soon as possible after the interview. Interviews with representatives of HR departments and mangers were conducted in the first half of 2001; interviews with employees between November 2001 and June 2002. In order to ensure close linkage between the two phases of the empirical investigation interviews with employees were to be conducted as far as possible at the same institutions that were selected for the first research phase. For health care, this applied to roughly nine out of ten employing institutions in all four countries of investigation. Sample. In total, interviews were conducted with 166 health care professionals (of which 141 formed part of the comparative analysis) with varying levels of qualification, specialisation, skill profiles and functional responsibility. As (apart from representatives of HR departments) the focus was on nursing, mainly nurses were interviewed, but also smaller numbers of doctors, radiographers, physiotherapists and health care assistants (see Figure 1 for details). About 80 per cent of participants worked in hospitals, the others worked for domiciliary health care providers, care institutions for elderly people or in community roles. More than 90 per cent of the participants were women, although in Germany a relatively high number of young men go into nursing (up to one in five entrants), and nine out of 43 were male. This is partly attributable to the large number of young men opting for “community service” rather than “military service” after being “called up”. A significant number of these young men subsequently enrol for nurse training. Project partners attempted to capture a wide range of employees’ backgrounds and work experiences. Typically, the participants were pre-selected by the employing

institutions in coordination with the HR departments or team leaders. This process was based on common selection criteria followed by all partner countries. These called for employees representing different specialisations, occupational backgrounds and levels of work experience, from learners and the newly qualified, to employees with many years of work experience. Participants ranged between 20-59 years of age, with from 1-30+ years of work experience.

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283 Data analysis Data analysis followed an inductive, grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) that was complemented by collective case studies (Stake, 2000). This material was synthesised according to evaluation categories that the partners commonly identified as being relevant for identity formation processes at work and that were adjusted and refined in the course of conducting the pilot interviews and the first empirical investigation with managers of HR departments. The common evaluation categories for the first research phase covered: . learning (role of vocational education and training, formal and informal continuing training, companies offering a rich/poor learning environment); . organisational features (company data, work organisation, job profiles); and . the individual (skilling demands, gender issues, employee’s autonomy and types of responsibility, features of identification with work and commitment). The interviews with managers and representatives of human resources departments helped to identify major issues for the next phase of interviews and evaluations. Evaluation categories for the larger sample of the second phase were similar, but emphasised the employee’s perspective on: . learning (occupational background, skills and orientation – positive or negative – towards formal and informal learning); . work organisation and relation to work (work attitudes, performance of roles, elements of identification with work and commitment); . interaction with others (relation with colleagues, supervisors, clients, customers and others); and . appraisal or evaluation of current situation (self-reflection, projected professional development and career plans). Those categories were related to flexibility and mobility, again looking at these from two perspectives: the company and the individual. While companies are challenged to respond to changing organisational demands, to create a rich learning environment and to support employees in adjusting to changing work settings, they are in a position to restrict or actively encourage specific work attitudes of employees and thus also have an influence on shaping work identities (FAME Consortium, 2003). At the same time, the individual is challenged to adjust to new work settings. Organisational changes, technological innovations and a strong customer orientation put pressure on employees to develop advanced communication skills, the capacity to deal with conflicts and the ability for continuous learning. In terms of mobility, we distinguished between geographical or spatial mobility, horizontal mobility and vertical mobility. Demands on employees to be spatially

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mobile address the need and/or the possibility to change workplaces, to be transferred to a new location, to travel for the job or to have a long commute on a regular basis. Horizontal mobility relates to changing employer or departments, practising job rotation, acquiring certain specialisations or engaging in team work. Finally, vertical mobility encompasses the capacity, interest and opportunity for personal career development by taking advantage of further education or in-house promotion, for example. Horizontal and vertical mobility both connect closely to opportunities for continuous professional development and work-related learning. Migration can be considered as a special form of mobility usually related to changing employer and occupation. Although being a topical issue for nursing, project partners decided not to consider migrant workers, as their case in developing an occupational identity may be very special. In times of severe economic constraints, flexibility and mobility were in the first place regarded as demands that put pressure on companies and employees. However, both features also create opportunities in terms of the learning environment at work, job profiles, professional and career development, autonomy and self-realisation. Companies’ organisational strategies may open up new opportunities for employees or they can create pressure, for example, through work intensification – a prevalent feature that was mentioned throughout all sectors of investigation. The study revealed that dynamics of flexibility and mobility are experienced and valued quite differently in different occupational groups, and also how this affects identity formation processes at work. During all research phases the project partners aimed for close coordination of the research steps and the methodological approach. A high level of coordination could be realised at the level of sampling, applying common interview guidelines and techniques, evaluation categories and the national presentation of research findings. Working with common evaluation categories has been very important. Those categories built the ground for further categorisation that each partner developed on the basis of the transcribed texts. By following grounded theory method (categorisation, codification, fragmentation of texts, re-conceptualisation and interpretation) the four national studies reached a high level of convergence. The research findings were put into a contextual perspective, first per country and then sector-wide, incorporating the data and findings generated by each project partner (including part of the row data, case studies and national summaries of research findings). This article presents the integration of the national results for the sector of health care with an emphasis on the nursing profession.

The structural dimension Health care in national settings: contrasting Estonia, France, Germany and the UK Estonia. Estonia is a country where the post-Soviet transition represents a “civilisation shift” (Lauristin, 1997). In making the transition from a state-controlled economy during Soviet times to a democratic society with open markets, job profiles and skills requirements of the nursing profession are being re-defined (Loogma and Vilu, 2001). The new political system and its structural, organisational and educational reforms went along with a new distribution of labour and human resources according to employment and deployment on demand, in public hospitals and elsewhere. At the

same time the entire health care sector has been challenged to implement new medical technology. For the nursing profession, the drivers for change during the 1990s were the foundation of private hospitals and the implementation of a new curriculum for the education and training of nurses. Nurses in Estonia not only had to deal with major changes in employment policy including employment insecurity, but they also had to adjust to new technological, organisational and educational demands. Today, nurses who trained during Soviet times have to undergo a retraining process and pass examinations according to the new curriculum to raise their status and market value as qualified staff. In addition, the new system allowed nurses to become unionised and to found nurse associations in order to foster their status in the political dialogue. This step has been very important for the development of a new concept and profile of the nurse profession, as nurses can now influence educational policy in cooperation with medical schools and government. The process of lobbying and the diversification of occupational paths and opportunities due to the possibility of employment in private hospitals have led to the creation of new occupational profiles of nurses and new training programmes. However, these developments do not automatically imply a general upgrading of the socio-professional status of nurses, as wages remain uneven, depending on the employment contract and the employing institution. For example, larger hospitals do not only provide more complex and expensive services, but they can also offer higher wages. This often makes them a more popular employer than small hospitals, although the latter tend to offer a more modern and flexible work environment. While public hospitals are still to a certain extent characterised by structural, organisational and habitual features of communist times, private and small hospitals tend to cultivate a new organisational culture fostering new work concepts and occupational profiles. This approach goes along with a new set of values influenced by the demand for commercialisation of the health care sector that also include greater responsibility and independence of nurses, a stronger emphasis on the quality of care and working in small teams. With regard to continuous professional development, nursing in Estonia has established itself as an independent discipline with the possibility of following an academic career in nursing. But traditional ideas about what qualities and skills a “good” nurse should possess are predominant in society and amongst employers. That is, nurses should be devoted primarily to working under the supervision of doctors. In addition, safety and stability in respect to work and the workplace seem to be values of growing importance in an unstable economic environment. Germany. The German health care system also underwent important structural reforms in the 1990s that affected the nursing profession by setting new standards for the financing and organisation of health care provision. After a period of expansion, specialisation and implementation of the latest technologies during the 1980s, the costs of the German health care system spiralled. The government then enacted legislation in the 1990s to restrict and control expenditure for health care services, a move that resulted in major organisational changes for health care providers. This implied that subsidies for public hospitals would now be determined by medical case and outcome, whereas previously hospitals were given lump sum allowances per patient and hospital day. Favouring out-patient pre and post treatment over in-patient treatment is

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reducing the number of (expensive) hospital days to a minimum. All hospital processes and structures have become subject to quality assessments and evaluation requiring service providers to document every intervention and prescription of treatment. Hospital wards organised as profit centres with flat hierarchies and high professional standards increasingly emphasise customer orientation, high quality of care and economic efficiency. However, these developments, which not only affect hospitals, but also other health care institutions and domiciliary health care providers, do not seem to be unproblematic. Health care staff often find themselves exposed to conflicting demands, the restrictions of health insurances on the one hand and patients’ expectations on the other. Patients and nurses increasingly complain that, above all, social interaction and communication with patients suffer. Quality control is increasing the amount of administrative work nurses have to perform which, in practice, results in nurses having insufficient time to provide direct patient care. Time constraints and the cutback of in-patient treatment result in more responsibility being transferred to the individual patient, encouraging the patient’s capacity for self care. In the UK we could observe the same shift from a directive “control” approach, towards an “empowerment” approach to care that relies on trust, support and development. This concept, however, requires nurses to adopt new attitudes and knowledge on how to best support patients in activating their self-healing potential. Patient’s demands have also changed as they demonstrate a more pro-active attitude, getting involved in decision making about their medical treatment and expecting high quality care and service. This attitude of patients also demands better information exchange, bringing a new focus on consultation, guidance and counselling into the health care process. As a consequence, counselling methods have become an important aspect of the training of nurses and other medical staff. Another feature is the shift from hierarchical structures towards self-organisation and the autonomy of patients and nurses. As nursing is becoming geared towards professionalism the dominant images of nurses as “ ministering angels” or “domestic servants” (Chiarella, 2002, p. 31) is fading away. Today, nurses want to be acknowledged as experts in their own field. In this regard, opportunities for continuous professional development play a key role, and an academic career path has recently been introduced. Nursing strives for equal partnership with medicine, especially now that nurses increasingly take over responsibility for the economic aspects of hospital organisation. An important factor in Germany that supports the change of role models in nursing is the increasing proportion of male nurses (currently approximately 15-20 per cent) and the more professional work attitude of recently trained nurses. Legislative reform as the driving force for change forced all kinds of health care institutions to develop new work concepts and organisation to cope with limited financial resources. One consequence has been the deployment of large numbers of nurses in hospitals and other health care institutions. Most hospitals today operate with a pool of highly mobile and flexible staff to meet peak work loads in different wards or to compensate for staff shortages. Working in health care increasingly requires a high degree of flexibility. This, however, still needs to be recognised by the vocational training system that remains organised according to three different vocational specialisations in nursing: general nurse, nurse for the elderly and child nurse. This concept is increasingly questioned, as a more unified educational path is

believed to increase flexibility and international competitiveness of German nurses. Furthermore, nurses face increasing complexity at work as information and communication technologies and the management of complex data processing, combined with a new approach towards customer orientation re-define the traditional profile of health care services. On the other hand, skill requirements and patient-related core activities in nursing change slowly, with many work processes being highly ritualised. Thus, innovation and the introduction of new approaches in health care are difficult to put into everyday practice. France. According to a WHO assessment, the French health care system is rated as one of the best in the world in terms of four basic criteria: the overall level of health attainment of the population; (limited) extent of health inequalities; responsiveness towards change and patient satisfaction; and the distribution of the financial burden. The system seems to be well equipped to satisfy these criteria. Within this system, nurses form a well established occupational group, although as in most other countries they lack social recognition compared to the medical profession as represented by doctors. They also have comparatively poor salaries considering their increasing work load and responsibilities. Doctors primarily have functional (medical) responsibilities whereas health care services and routine work in hospital wards are mainly organised by senior nurses. Nurses’ work identity is based on a strong identification with the ethics of their profession in two ways. First, through the “acte propre” that relates a nurse’s caring mission with autonomy, responsibility and a high level of interaction with patients. Second, through the “acte prescript” that relates to the medical mission, characterising a nurse’s daily work as interactions with doctors within hospitals or clinics. Morale was reported as generally high and skills profiles were seen as supportive of continuing learning and the introduction of innovations in health care and the use of modern medical technology, but not of changes in work organisation. Nurses working in the public sector (mostly in hospitals) are employed as civil servants with a high level of job security and unionisation. The health care system, however, is undergoing structural change, and cost reduction is a major issue. The emergence of out-patient medical treatment, auto-diagnostics and home care services has effectively decreased patients’ short-term stays in hospitals. Concurrently, the need for long-term hospitalisation has increased due to partially or fully dependent patients. Regional hospital authorities have been attempting to create centres of excellence by merging hospitals and closing down, if necessary, hospitals with occupancy rates of less than 60 per cent. Staff are then transferred between hospitals. The introduction and implementation of the national 35-hour maximum working week has significantly affected work organisation in hospitals. This regime, although welcomed elsewhere, has increased the work burden and involuntary time allocation for hospital staff, especially nurses. The cross-border mobility of French nurses has increased, as their desire for higher salaries and better working conditions creates interest in job opportunities outside of France, particularly for nurses working for the private sector. Nurses in the Alsace region, for example, seek work in Switzerland where salaries are relatively higher than in France. The “Service de Compensation et de Supple´ance” facilitates greater flexibility of nurses in order to compensate for temporary staff shortages in hospitals. As a voluntary system, the “pool” recruits nurses on the basis of permanent work contracts.

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Generally, ordinary nurses are functionally and horizontally mobile, according to demand, between different departments of public hospitals. In the light of different departmental needs of temporary work or replacement, the “pool” distributes them between its members according to their profile and their pre-planned time for shift work (proposed two months in advance). Nursing in France is regarded as a profession of high status protected by unions and integrated into a strictly regulated system. Nurses generally are well qualified and flexibly respond to the necessity for continuous learning. In both segments of the sector, public and private, nurses show a strong identification with the quality of services provided to customers. Although, as in other countries, structural changes challenge work profiles and organisation, they do not seem to induce major shifts within the French health care system. There is no sense that the nursing profession is undergoing a re-definition process. The UK. In the UK, flexibility in work organisation had been a major goal of employers in pursuing the NHS modernisation agenda from the mid-1990s (Department of Health, 1997). Since the 2001 general election, however, the emphasis is upon recruiting and retaining more staff, making the approach to flexibility more employee-focused rather than employer-centred. Significantly, there is less talk of driving through change and more attention is given to staff as if they are part of the solution rather than being the problem. One example of the previous approach occurred at the height of attempts to impose greater flexibility and changes in work organisation, and involved a single radiographer being on-call all night for the full range of possible duties across a hospital. This practice proved problematic, as many of the radiographers did not feel confident to undertake the full range of duties that may be required of them when they were on-call alone and had no one with whom they could consult over possible problems. In the UK, nurses and professions allied to medicine have strong occupational identities, and in many hospitals recruitment and retention of these groups of staff are major concerns. Professionals in both groups increasingly move to other hospitals, particularly on completion of initial or further training or for promotion. In addition, personal circumstances and locational factors (high cost of housing; less attractive working and/or living environments) can combine, such that for some posts hospitals receive very few applicants. Managers have used access to further training as a means to encourage applicants. The possibility for promotion as extended scope [nurse] practitioners (promotion that involves continuing in practice rather than moving into management) is also seen as an aid to retention of staff. Many hospitals are facing staff shortages and face challenges to retain the staff they have. Staff shortages have led to the recruitment of nurses from overseas and the introduction of greater flexibility in work organisation. There are, however, limits to the scope for flexibility in the medical profession, because the employment of medical staff is subject to national regulatory frameworks. Human resources policies react to the problems of recruitment and retention of professional staff by, for example, changing the skill mix between consultants and employees and making greater use of assistants. This was occurring within a context where there was an explicit attempt to put greater emphasis upon team working, involving doctors, nurses and other medical staff such as physiotherapists or radiographers.

Managers’ perspective is that individuals are being given more autonomy and responsibility, in a context of increasing demand for services. Individual commitment has always been strongly identified with the occupation and the department or service. Some human resources staff are consciously trying to reshape the focus of commitment more towards the inter-departmental team, so as to improve overall quality of service to the patient. However, there is also recognition that individuals and departments are under increasing pressure because of increasing demand for services coupled with staff shortages. Reflections. In all four countries the national health care systems have been challenged to deal with structural changes during the last decade. These structural changes have also affected health care professionals, particularly through adjustments in work organisation and HR policies. In Germany, the factor driving change is the financial burden of health care that led to reform of the financial framework of the health care system. These interventions have affected the organisational structures of hospitals and other health care providers, work profiles and to a certain extent the interaction between medical staff and patients. The highly regulated French health care system seems to benefit from a strong potential for learning and openness for the implementation of technical innovations in the medical field by simultaneously promoting rich learning environments and a strong ethical dimension. More flexibility is introduced through the private sector, institutionalised inter-professional exchange and a more flexible allocation of nurses through the “Service de Compensation et de Supple´ance”. In the UK, the demand for high flexibility of staff has become less of an issue in the light of persisting problems of recruitment and retention of qualified medical staff. It seems that human resources policies play a key role for encouraging, recruiting and retaining health care professionals. Improved working conditions, interdependency of staff, team work, further training and promotion are major tools to combat the staff shortages that occur throughout the UK health care sector. Reforms of the Estonian health care system have been pushed forward through radical changes in the political and economic system during the past ten years. In the Estonian case it may become most obvious how structural changes can affect work profiles and work identities of employees. Here, different national bodies are actively supporting the establishment of a new nursing profession that complies with the present economic and labour market demands. Major tools for promoting a new nursing profile have been the liberalisation of the health care sector by establishing private hospitals and the implementation of a new curriculum for the education and training of nurses. Concurrently, emerging nurse associations and unions advocate a new concept of nursing and give nurses a previously unheard public voice. These associations also play a key role in the development of a new sectoral structure. The social and individual-psychological dimension The role of learning and skills development in identity formation The nursing profession relies on a highly formalised education and training system, which is fairly standardised in all member countries of the European Union according to common guidelines enacted 1977 (Leo´n, 1995). This applies to certified general nurses as well as to specialised nurses like head nurse, intensive care specialist, surgical nurse, nurse instructor, etc. The duration of the initial formal vocational

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training for nurses typically consists of three years learning period in an accredited nurse school that involves theory and practice. In France, the successful completion of the initial training leads to obtaining the “Nurse State Diploma” which is regarded as equivalent to a university degree, but still needs to be complemented by a one-year internship in order to become a registered nurse. In Germany, the nurse school attendance is complemented by regular hospital practice where nurse apprentices rotate between different wards. In order to establish health care as an independent profession, increase its status and broaden the career prospects for nurses, all four countries have established an academic career path in nursing. The initial vocational education and training period provides a basis to socialise the individual into the nursing profession, familiarising the apprentice with the work environment, the daily work tasks, the community of practice, etc. In nursing, this learning period did not seem to be of major significance in establishing nurses’ occupational identities, particularly in the long term. One reason was that nurse apprentices do not take full responsibility for their work. The level of autonomy and responsibility was a central element of nurses’ identification with the work, in particular with relation to direct interaction with patients. As soon as nurses assumed full responsibility for their actions, after completion of their apprenticeship, they also regarded their occupational role very differently. This transition also marked the moment when they became a full member of the professional community, another key element for the manifestation of nurses’ occupational belonging and identity. Nurses’ occupational identity is formed and developed over time. Thus work experience is a crucial factor, as are continuous learning and training and gradually maturing into becoming an “expert”. In nursing, the dominant mode of learning is learning-while-working (training on the job, learning by doing, self-directed learning) and implicit knowledge and competencies are expected to grow with work experience. In addition, further qualification is important and instrumental for both employees and employers. For nurses, further qualification through formal training predominantly plays a motivational role. It helps them to develop expertise, supports the process of becoming confident, facilitates the professional exchange with colleagues and balances the daily work routine with new options for broader learning. Interviewees in this study confirmed that the courses were very useful in imparting valuable background knowledge and supporting daily work processes. In addition, further qualification facilitates horizontal mobility and, to a much lesser degree and depending on the specific training, vertical mobility. In the UK, opportunities for learning and further training have become an important tool for managers in an attempt to retain and motivate staff. In France, Germany and the UK, most hospitals and other health care providers offer a rich learning environment and a variety of short and longer term training courses for skill enhancement and further qualification. In Estonia, private hospitals seem to be better positioned to offer a rich learning environment than the public ones. In France, the opportunities for further learning and training are highly formalised and generally nurses have to leave the work environment in order to dedicate themselves full time to further education, whereas in Germany these courses are attended parallel to work commitments. The enhancement of competencies through further training fosters nurses identification with their work and their profession. It is not, however, systematically linked to career development and job promotion. The predominant mode observed in

nursing is internal horizontal mobility and not vertical mobility. One option may be to change wards within the same hospital every three to five years, because it can be one way of gaining more expertise and fostering one’s own professional development. This choice can also be an alternative strategy to being promoted to head nurse. The opportunity for horizontal mobility and flexibility in hospitals was frequently mentioned as a positive aspect of the nursing profession and linked to the context of hospitals providing a rich learning environment. In this sense, short courses and specialised training courses increase flexibility and horizontal mobility of staff, but since they are not systematically linked to promotions, they are regarded as an individual choice rather than as a requirement for good work performance. This may be different in Estonia, where the kind of training received is linked to a nurse’s professional status. In line with the preference for horizontal mobility was the lack of interest in team leading positions. Those positions typically imply responsibility for personnel, higher stress levels, predominantly administrative and organisational tasks (instead of working directly with the patient) and less flexibility regarding working hours. In Germany, for example, head nurses are required to be present during the day and thus lose allowances for working in shifts, a loss that balances out any salary increase related to a higher level job position. Another aspect was that working and interacting with the patients was a central category of identification with work, whilst performing predominantly administrative and managerial duties was not regarded as attractive. The major reason why nurses would move into such job positions is the fact that direct patient care can become physically and psychologically very demanding after a few years. Then a team-leading position may provide one of the very few alternatives within the professional field. Lack of opportunities for professional development and job alternatives were seen as a negative aspect of the nursing profession, particularly in Germany and Estonia. Here, providing training for nurses as instructors or attending health-care-related university courses seemed to be the only alternatives to regular nursing. In this respect the UK and France offer a broader range of choices as registered nurses can, for example, become independent practitioners by opening their own practice or work as counsellors in the field of health promotion and counselling. The connection between the level of qualification and vertical mobility also tends to be stronger in the UK, where nurses generally are more flexible and mobile. UK nurses move more frequently in and out of the profession, regarding nursing as a temporary or transitional work situation rather than a life-long occupation. Continuity and commonalities between the countries of investigation exist when it comes to the key nursing competencies.. Very good interpersonal and communication skills, particularly with regard to providing direct patient care, were given top priority. The “empowering” approach that encourages the patient’s capacity of self care has provoked a shift from providing direct care to a stronger supportive and counselling role of nurses, so that communication and interpersonal skills are further strengthened. These competencies, however, are not strictly regarded as professional, but are linked to the ideal of expressive caring as one of the qualities a nurse should have. As Benner (1982) stated, the lists of required skills or behaviours related to the tasks to be performed in nursing can seem never ending, but still not get to the heart of professional practice. When nurses feel overwhelmed with performing a variety of

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caring tasks that, from a professional point of view, do not form part of their responsibilities, this contributes towards lowering their professional status, particularly compared to other medical staff such as doctors who are not expected to perform such roles. This conflict addresses fundamental issues about the shape and direction of health care and the occupational identity of nurses. Many of those engaged in health care philosophy, policy and practice are trying to come to terms with changing ideas about relational and caring constructs. Ethics and values are therefore necessarily involved in judgements about service delivery and skill utilisation and development in health care. Patients, professionals, managers and the general public all have views on the skills and attitudes of staff required for effective and caring service delivery. But amidst this debate about effective delivery of health care, the newly qualified practitioner seeks to develop a stable work identity. In order to accomplish this, an individual has to move towards a position where he or she is happy that his or her personal values align sufficiently with the professional values broadly espoused by the community of practice to which he or she belongs. For professionals working in health care there is broad agreement that, ideally at least, the job should be about more than just technical competence. Providing health care services is not just instrumental caring, but also contains a more explicit affective dimension that should reflect respect for each individual patient. This concept is a key motivational factor for choosing to become a nurse in the first place and can be regarded as a core element of the occupational identity of nurses. However, Oakley (1993) draws attention to the paradox that the increasing technical competence associated with greater professionalisation may distance practitioners from those for whom they care. In Germany, for example, the new emphasis on documentation, administration and assuming responsibilities for the economic aspects of health care has not only evoked an expansion of skill requirements, but also can take up two thirds of the total working time of nurses in hospitals. These tasks are taking a considerable amount of time and attention away from direct patient care, a matter of great concern for nurses. Physiotherapists in the UK also pointed to the conflict that arises between the time-consuming “empowerment” approach with its focus on encouraging the patient, versus the “control” approach, where the practitioner is less patient-oriented and much more directive, but may be able to cope with large numbers of patients. Induction and training certainly has a role to play when it comes to how nurses experience changing skills requirements and new forms of work organisation. While the documentation of health care interventions presents an additional work load and a “burden” for some, it may be a process that supports routine work and reflection on work performance and quality of care for others. Nurses who had been trained in documentation valued this process as a supportive tool. As technical competencies are receiving more attention, the policy response of emphasising more person-centred models of care has not always been in step with how to facilitate this in training and implement it in practice. German nurses, for example, criticised the lack of interpersonal and communication skills development in probationary training. Attitude towards work and strategic actions to deal with conflicts The focus on the enhancement of technical competences and professionalism could be observed in all countries and resulted in a fundamental conflict that significantly

affects nurses’ occupational identities. This conflict is between a patient-oriented work ethos, and work organisation and structures that increasingly allocate the time and energy of medical staff to more technical, instrumental, administrative or coordinating tasks. Motivational factors like “wanting to help others” and structural features such as job security, the universality of the profession (“nurses are always needed”; “it is a profession that is needed everywhere”) and a high level of responsibility and independence at work are key reasons why people opt to become nurses in the first place. Flexible working hours and part-time arrangements make the job compatible with family life. This is one reason why nursing is attractive for women. Even after a long period of maternity leave it is relatively easy to re-enter the job without being significantly disadvantaged against nurses who worked continuously. On the one hand, this is due to general staff shortages, and on the other, because the core qualities and tasks of nursing do not change significantly over time. Interacting with others and working in teams were also important motivational factors providing for mutual encouragement and recognition between colleagues and within the professional community. These were key elements fostering nurses’ work attachment and identity. Among the negative aspects of nursing, however, were the low status of the profession (within the medical field and in society), time pressure, heavy daily work loads and the fact that the job is physically and psychologically extremely demanding, particularly when pursued as a life-time profession. Furthermore, in all countries nurses had to struggle to come to terms with the personal costs of caring, unconditional service and authenticity of feelings. This was evident in the balance required between their own psychological need to care about their patients but, at the same time, the dangers of “caring too much”. Newly qualified staff have particular difficulties in balancing those demands, and pressure for high standards may even have a negative affect when practitioners feel that they do not live up to the model. Morrison (1992) points out that those working in the caring professions have to deal with issues of emotional involvement, stress, work constraints and role uncertainty. This reinforces the importance of having mechanisms in place which enable individuals to talk these issues through with colleagues and supervisors. From the study it became clear that, in most institutions, such mechanisms were absent or not implemented in a way that would really support nurses in coping with demanding work processes. Thus the support of colleagues and teams becomes crucial and is often the major source of motivation and encouragement, particularly when dealing with extreme situations of psychological stress like the death of a young patient. From the interviews in Germany, it was striking that the majority of nurses encountered “burn-out” and lack of motivation after having been in the profession for a certain period of time, typically between eight to ten years. They experienced conflict between high levels of dedication and job commitment under an ideal model of caring, and an inability to perform according to this ideal. These conflicting demands induced a major crisis in nurses’ occupational identity that in most cases not only significantly affected their work performance, but also their personal life. Nurses encountering those conflicts developed different coping mechanisms or strategies that are illustrated below. It is not an exhaustive list, but exemplifies some typical “solutions” such as leaving the profession, changing work attitude, or developing a specific strategy to balance professional and private life. In a situation of crisis, one option for women

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would be to start a family, after a working span of eight to ten years (typically between the ages of 26 to 30): . Re-definition. This strategy involves the development of a more distant approach to caring for patients, geared towards finding a new balance between unconditional care and not “caring too much”. Some participants also called this strategy “developing a more professional approach” and it was stated that recently trained younger nurses are often better prepared to practice such an approach than the older generation of nurses. The latter found it particularly difficult to initiate a process of re-defining one’s own role, because hardly any institutional support is given and work routine and time pressure do not support learning and practising a different approach towards caring. . Retreat A – long-term adjustment. Long-term adjustment represents a conditional form of adaptation by which nurses somehow accept their current work situation as a compromise. In pursuit of job security and maintaining a certain level of stability, they would remain in the same work situation for a considerable period of time, sometimes ten years or more, despite the dissatisfaction they encounter at work. At this stage, they may subordinate their own career and working life to other aspects of life, generally attributing less significance to their work identity, at least for a while. While continuing the daily work routine, they hope that (external) structural changes in work organisation, a new supervisor or new colleagues may induce positive changes and an improved work motivation. . Retreat B – leave the profession. Particularly in Germany and the UK, an increasing number of qualified nurses leave the profession, either on a permanent or a temporary basis. This may also involve deciding to work part-time. This decision may often coincide with family plans, or subordinating personal professional plans to the career demands of the partner, as could be observed in the UK. Leaving the profession may also involve seeking employment in a neighbouring field such as social work, working with children, health care counselling, etc., on a temporary or permanent basis. . Horizontal mobility. Frequently changing wards or departments, changing from a public hospital to a private institution or opting to work for a domiciliary health care provider may be one strategy to enhance job motivation. The French “Service de Compensation et de Supple´ance” demonstrates that this can be an appealing and successful solution to flexibility demands for both employers and employees. The readiness of nurses to change employing institutions also depends on how strongly they identify with the hospital structure and environment. If the hospital is the place where a nurse experiences professional “belonging”, then horizontal mobility between different wards is the predominant mode. To the extent that hospital structures are perceived as restrictive, changing between different private health care providers is likely to be preferred. . Professional development. As mentioned above, further training plays a key motivational role and it was often during a period when nurses questioned basic elements of their occupational identity that they would opt for pursuing further training within the hospital context. In Germany, for example, the course for

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becoming a certified head nurse or an instructor takes two years alongside work commitments, thus reducing the number of working hours and direct interaction with patients for the sake of investing time and energy in learning. Exchanges and interaction with colleagues from different departments, who are pursuing the same course, further add to job motivation. In addition, this choice fosters opportunities for continuous professional development and vertical mobility, if desired. Vertical mobility. Another possible strategy is to pursue further qualifications outside the hospital context, that is, studies at university in a related field (public health, health care management), perhaps whilst working part-time with different private or public employers. The advantages of this alternative compared to “professional development” lies in independence from the current employer and significantly broadened individual career prospects, including those outside the health care field. This choice implies an alienation from direct patient care, one of the core elements of nurses’ professional identification. Typically nurses who personally experienced direct patient care as psychologically too demanding, or hospital structures as restrictive, would opt for this strategy.

Flexibility and mobility In all countries under investigation, nurses experience pressure to be flexible in terms of changing work positions, wards and tasks. In most private and public health care institutions nurses are expected to be re-deployed according to staffing demands and staff shortages. It seems that in France and the UK, nurses are well prepared to adjust to these demands. In Estonia, the need for a high level of functional and organisational flexibility of nurses has developed in the course of reorganising the entire health care sector. In particular, specialised nurses are often asked to relocate to other hospital wards on demand, as their skills may be rare. German nurses are a special case when it comes to the issue of flexibility. There still exist a considerable number of nurses who, very early in their careers, discover a particular field of interest and decide to stay with the same ward and in the same position for their entire professional life. Thus, adjusting to demands for flexibility and horizontal mobility was still regarded rather as an individual choice than as a necessity. However, the tendency towards merging wards to meet new efficiency criteria is becoming more and more common, redefining the aspect of free choice. Such a situation requires nurses to become more flexible, particularly with regard to increasing their spectrum of work tasks, and some nurses encountered great difficulties adjusting to this situation. This new setting also requires a high responsiveness towards a very complex social environment at work and varying personal demands from patients, colleagues, supervisors, families, etc. With the “Service de Compensation et de Supple´ance” France has established an interesting model to deal with the increasing demand for flexibility due to staff shortages. Being a voluntary institution, the “pool” recruits general, assistant and a few specialised nurses (on the basis of permanent work contracts), who are functionally and horizontally mobile on demand between different departments of public hospitals. Depending on departmental needs for temporary work or replacement, the “pool” distributes them between its members according to their profile and pre-planned time

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for shift work. The “pool” functions in effect as an internal “temporary employment agency” whose employees are permanent workers, but who are assigned to different wards on a temporary basis. What does this work situation mean for the occupational identity of nurses who join the “pool”? Members of the “pool” generally showed a strong dedication towards the nursing profession and were responsive to changing work requirements. Through these daily demands for adaptability to different care situations and working conditions, nurses learn to become highly flexible. Nurses who joined the “pool” are much more attached to their profession than to a specific ward or hospital. They valued being more independent and free in their choice of work, and being able to develop personal human capital of “know-how” based on polyvalence and transversality. Another advantage was seen in being able to choose and pre-plan the time of their work shifts. However, the typical duration of less than two months for each assignment was regarded as having both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, nurses were experiencing fewer conflicts and less tension (and hence stress) than when permanently attached to a regular working team. To be more mobile and to continuously develop new kinds of relational interactivity were also seen as positive factors. On the other hand, the short assignments make it impossible to develop lasting relationships within working teams and result in a lack of integration into work processes and the work environment as a whole. Constant temporary replacement also hinders professional development and the ability to deepen one’s knowledge in a particular domain. On the interplay between flexibility and learning, nurses of all ages generally show a positive learning attitude and an openness to innovation and flexibility, particularly in France. There was also a considerable desire to hold on to traditional caring concepts and work routines (“what was good then cannot be bad today”). The motivation of employees for learning and accepting innovations generally decreasing toward the end of their working lives, but sometimes it was employers who did not encourage learning processes. In Germany, for example, there was a case of a 55-years old hospital nurse wanting to attend a training course, but was refused because the employer considered her “too old”. Demands for spatial mobility of nurses are generally low in France and Germany, resulting in nurses staying with the same employer for a very long time. However, general staff turnover in Germany is high, because of the percentage of female nurses who go on maternity leave, sometimes for ten years or more; the increasing number of young nurses who leave the profession; and the high number of non-certified nurses caring for elderly people or working for domiciliary health care providers. Spatial mobility was more of an issue for nurses in the UK and Estonia. Similar work profiles and core professional tasks, as well as similar salary levels across health care institutions, are other reasons why incentives for changing employers are low. Newly qualified younger nurses are generally more eager to gain work experience with different employers and work in different work settings in order to increase their professional experiences and competence. Although nurses do not tend to change employers frequently, they also do not develop a strong sense of commitment towards the employing institution. Strong commitment was more often expressed at the team, ward or division level.

Discussion Nurses generally do not develop a strong identification with, or attachment towards, the employer, whereas the field of specialisation and the immediate (team) and broader professional community (nurse association) are key elements of nurses’ occupational identity. Also quantitative analysis supports that “individuals may identify with their immediate group, but not with their organization” (Baruch and Winkelmann-Gleed, 2002, p. 149). Another source of occupational identity steams from the direct interaction with patients and the ethics of the profession itself. Placing the patient at the heart of the nursing profession is an attitude that evolves gradually over time with work experience. Probationary and newly-qualified nurses expressed a general interest in medicine as the key motivating factor for becoming or being a nurse. In contrast, nurses with a longer employment record put direct patient care in the centre of the work context. Emphasising the caring aspect was typically linked to a certain set of values and work ethics. Patient-oriented nurses preferred to be horizontally mobile and work directly with the patient instead of assuming administrative or managerial functions. The combination of assuming high levels of responsibility in connection with nurses’ relative autonomy in direct patient care leads to a strong commitment towards their work and the ethics of their profession. If the above mentioned elements constitute the core elements of nurses’ occupational identity, one can conclude that these elements are relatively independent from structural changes. However, as has been illustrated in the first part of this paper, changes in work organisation, division of tasks, demands for greater flexibility and mobility, structural reforms, medical innovations, etc. do considerably affect nurses’ daily work agenda, skills development and the time allocation for different tasks including direct patient care. Nurses experience increased pressure and time constraints, leading to a conflict between providing patient-oriented care and rationalisation. This conflict is affecting nurses’ occupational identity in that trends towards professionalism also question some of the core values of an idealised model of nursing that also includes full personal dedication. Nurses who feel overwhelmed with an over-demanding caring situation may welcome professionalisation as a relief. Whatever their personal perceptions may be, the problem is that it is almost entirely left to the individual nurse to find a balance between caring and efficiency demands. The individualised character of this process constitutes a considerable burden for all kinds of medical staff. For the nurses interviewed, finding this balance often proved to be extremely difficult as they are generally not getting enough support from their employer or other associated institutions, like training schools. Dealing with psychological stress is a major field where nurses do not feel sufficiently supported in their work context. In addition, nurses’ occupational identity is often unstable due to “burn-out”, quite a common phenomenon among caring professions. Thus, the need for supportive strategies in re-defining occupational roles of health care professionals is also inherent and intrinsic to the profession itself, and this feature is not so much dependent upon the structural context. It is interesting to see the different conflicts arising around this issue. For example, in Germany it was the younger nurses who generally displayed a more “professional” attitude and who were better prepared and trained to balance an idealised model of caring with a more distant caring approach. However, one problem in all countries was that newly qualified nurses are increasingly leaving the profession

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within the first three years and lack the dedicated attitude and commitment towards direct patient care that is highly valued by patients and employers. In Estonia, managers held very strong views about how the modern skills profiles for nurses still include a sense of vocation. This mixing of role and personality could still be observed in all four countries. Where Estonian managers identified skill gaps these were attributed to employees having the “wrong personality” or failing to realise that “ . . . nursing is a mission. It is hard for people to work as nurses because of the low wages if they don’t understand the work as a mission”. Nurses who retrained, but who retained their “old” attitudes, were well regarded by managers. This approbation was because only those with a really strong nursing-centred identity were likely to invest their time and money in retraining for such a poorly paid vocation, with the result that the managers believe that “the old nurses with new qualifications are the best” (Brown and Kirpal, 2003). Despite increasing lobbying, the low status of the nursing profession within the medical field, but also in society, remains a major issue in all four countries of investigation. The conflict nurses experience between a high level of responsibility and the lack of recognition for their work remains a major factor negatively affecting their self-esteem and occupational identity. The reasons for nurses perceiving their work as being undervalued are several. Historically, nurses traditionally provided charitable services as a mission, largely without remuneration. In this role they were subordinated to doctors with a diffuse job profile, assuming all sorts of charity and health care tasks and responsibilities. That the job profiles of nurses lack coherence and clear definition still remains an issue today (Chiarella, 2002), particularly in contrast to medical doctors, for example, who have clearly defined competencies and responsibilities. Despite the tendency towards equal partnership between all groups of medical staff, it is often hospitals with established hierarchies that still perpetuate the subordinated role of nurses, although nurses’ associations are increasingly lobbying for equal recognition of nurses as “experts in their own field”. This struggle is unequally advanced in the different countries, but even in France where the nursing profession is comparatively well established, the low status of nursing remains an issue. Establishing nursing as an independent profession is reflected, for example, in academic career paths for nursing or nurses’ associations that lobby for clearly defined work profiles and equal partnership. However, these institutional mechanisms do not compensate for the significantly lower salaries nurses receive compared to medical doctors. Lack of financial incentives and low remuneration for nurses remains an issue in all four countries. Maybe the emerging lack of interest among young people in pursuing a nursing career, increasing staff shortages in all countries and problems of retention and recruitment of professional staff will ultimately improve the working conditions and salaries of nurses on a long-term basis. In all countries under investigation, the health care sector has become more diversified during the last decade, making public and private health care providers compete for customers and the provision of good quality services. With an aging European society it is mainly financial pressure that drives demands for efficiency, rationalisation and quality control. By supporting the decentralisation of health care services this process also demands a higher level of flexibility of health care professionals and re-defines work profiles and responsibilities. These developments

also question traditional hierarchies and occupational identities, opening possibilities for equal partnership of all medical staff and in particular a re-definition of the traditional nurse profile. Being the mediator between the doctor and the patient, nurses assume a key function that increasingly requires a good balance between technical and social skills. Both types of skills are at the same time becoming more complex and are amplified by incorporating administrative and managerial proficiencies on the technical side, and counselling and mediating functions on the social side. When it comes to the deployment of health care professionals in the different European countries, one recurring theme is the challenge of finding enough people with the full range of skills and qualities managers believe to be desirable. This challenge revolves around the tension between technical and cognitive skills development and values associated with expressive caring. If nurses’ identities principally derive from their role as expressive specialists, with particular skills, knowledge and understanding of therapeutic relationships – and that is what most experienced nurses identified with in their work context – then it is important that the curriculum for nurse training also facilitates the development of a discourse about feelings, psychological stress and care, particularly to support newly qualified nurses. And it would suggest that the values underpinning expressive care need to be developed during initial training or, as some of the interviewees argued, that those recruited to the profession should already have developed these values. However, concerning nurse training, we could observe that with very few exceptions (such as specialisation as child nurse in Germany) these increasing cognitive demands remain underdeveloped in most training programmes and curricula. As a consequence, any shifts in practice towards more expressive caring are largely dependent upon the degree of personal commitment of staff. In this case it is important that personal and professional values are in broad alignment. It was interesting to see that technical proficiency is often taken as a given, and little attempt is made to examine the simultaneous interplay of caring and technical competence. In practice, it is often work experience that bridges the gaps. Respondents pointed out that, particularly in complex non-routine situations, the newly qualified were “less expert” than the more experienced staff. Thus a balanced mix of “experts” and “novices” (Benner, 1984) within work teams supports smooth work processes and facilitates mutual learning. The newly trained nurses often possess the most up-to-date and “technical” knowledge and theory, whereas experienced nurses provide [a sense of] security and competence in difficult situations through their many years of experience. Even their slower working pace often turns out to be in line with a more patient-oriented caring approach. It has been outlined that those working in caring professions are exposed to emotional involvement, stress, work constraints and role uncertainty. This reinforces the need for having mechanisms in place that allow individuals to talk these issues through with colleagues and supervisors. When it comes to situations of psychological stress, colleagues are the most important source of support, particularly when institutionally that kind of support is lacking. Although from the managers’ point of view most hospital departments had certain support mechanisms in place, nurses perceived these mechanisms as inadequate and not being supportive in practice. At this point more guidance and support is needed at all levels (from the employer, the

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training system, at the institutional level, etc.), particularly in the light of difficulties of recruitment and retention of qualified medical staff in all European countries. For the foreseeable future the supply of “natural carers”, with highly developed cognitive and technical skills, wishing to work in nursing or other professions allied to medicine, is likely to be less than the demand. In the light of the demographic shifts taking place in Europe, and the anticipated staff shortages in all sectors of health care, enhancing opportunities for continuous professional development and broadening the range of occupational tasks and profiles of nurses will become a key challenge in the future. In most European countries, pursuing a nursing career is still a “one way street” without many professional alternatives. Work profiles are becoming more complex and flexible by, for example, shifting the focus from “cure” to “prevention” or increasingly incorporating counselling and coordinating roles. These developments need to be taken into account when developing curricula and training programmes for nurses and other professions allied to medicine. In addition, facilitating opportunities for vertical mobility should be more strongly combined with financial incentives. In most countries, nurses who assume higher level managerial responsibilities, including staff supervision, are not necessarily rewarded with higher pay. Thus the motivation for taking on more responsibility and stress is almost entirely based upon personal commitment and/or professional interest. Mobility in nursing is not generally put in the context of “career-building”, but by enriching professional competencies and skills, for example, it is also important to create opportunities for mobility. Last but not least, raising the status of the nursing profession will become a key challenge in the light of recruitment and retention of professional staff in the future. Professional pride and self-esteem are key elements of occupational identities and need to be supported for the nursing profession. Certain institutional mechanisms may be one way of achieving status elevation (like, for example, establishing academic career paths, increasing nurses’ salaries, reforming the curriculum, etc.). However, some of these measures may ultimately be counterproductive. For example, the formalisation of training for elderly care nurses into a three-year training course in Germany has raised the status of the profession, but has at the same time created high job entrance requirements. This should be considered when it comes to severe staff shortages. In the UK, the creation of an academic degree for radiographers has led to over 50 per cent of graduates from some courses failing to enter the profession since with a science degree they also have an abundance of other job opportunities in the UK labour market. Thus one may also consider other options, such as supporting the increasing number of nurses’ associations in lobbying for the profession. Notes 1. Reference is made to “occupational”, “vocational”, “professional” or “work identity” as any kind of identity formation process that develops through the interaction between the individual and the work context (including vocational education and training). In this article the terminology is used in an interchangeable manner with the aim of encompassing all the different aspects of the work setting and work-related learning. 2. For a more detailed description of the project, including method and findings, see my introductory paper to this issue of CDI. 3. Research findings for the other sectors are also presented in this CDI issue. 4. For details, see the introductory paper (by Kirpal) to this issue of CDI.

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Heinz, W.R. (1995), Arbeit, Beruf und Lebenslauf. Eine Einfu¨hrung in die berufliche Sozialisation, Juventa, Mu¨nchen. Hoff, E.H. (1990), “Identita¨t und Arbeit. Zum Versta¨ndnis der Bezu¨ge in Wissenschaft und Alltag”, Psychosozial, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 7-25. Hoff, E.H., Lappe, L. and Lempert, W. (1985), “Arbeitsbiographie und Perso¨nlichkeitsentwicklung”, Schriften zur Arbeitspsychologie, No. 40, Huber, Stuttgart. Huber, J. and Krainz, E.E. (1987), “Identita¨t”, in Grubitzsch, S. and Rexilius, G. (Eds), Psychologische Grundbegriffe, Rowohlt, Reinbeck. Ibarra, H. (1999), “Provisional selves: experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 764-91. Ibarra, H. (2003), Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Kanter, R.M. (1989), “Careers and the wealth of nations: a macro perspective on the structure and implications of career forms”, in Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T. and Lawrence, B.S. (Eds), Handbook of Career Theory, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, pp. 506-22. Kern, H. and Sabel, Ch.F. (1994), “Verblasste Tugenden. Zur Krise des deutschen Produktionsmodells”, in Beckenbach, N. and van Treeck, W. (Eds), Umbru¨che gesellschaftlicher Arbeit, Sonderband 9 der Sozialen Welt, Schwartz GmbH, Go¨ttingen, pp. 605-24. Keupp, H., Ahbe, T., Gmu¨r, W., Ho¨fer, R., Kraus, W. and Mitzscherlich, B. (1999), Identita¨tskonstruktionen. Das Patchwork der Identita¨ten in der Spa¨tmoderne, Rowohlt, Reinbeck. Laske, G. (Ed.) (2001b), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen. Lauristin, M. (1997), “Contexts of transition”, in Lauristin, M. and Vihalemm, P. (Eds), Return to the Western World: Cultural and Political Perspectives on the Estonian Post-Communist Transition, Tartu University Press, Tartu. Leitha¨user, T. and Volmerg, B. (1988), Psychoanalyse in der Sozialforschung, Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen. Leo´n, M.W. (1995), Krankenpflegeausbildung in Europa, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart/Berlin/Ko¨ln. Littlewood, P. (1999), Social Exclusion in Europe: Problems and Paradigms, Ashgate, Aldershot and Brookfield. Loogma, K. and Vilu, R. (2001), “Institutional development and work-related identity in the context of post-socialist transition”, paper presented to Journal of Vocational Education and Training (JVET) Conference, Telford, July. Mead, G.H. (1934), Mind, Self, and Society, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Minssen, H. (1999), Begrenzte Entgrenzung. Wandlungen von Organisation und Arbeit, Editions Sigma, Berlin. Mirvis, P.H. and Hall, D.T. (1994), “Psychological success and the boundaryless career”, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 15, pp. 365-80. Morrison, P. (1992), Professional Caring in Practice: A Psychological Analysis, Avebury, Aldershot. Nakane, C. (1998), Die Struktur der Japanischen Gesellschaft, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main. Oakley, A. (1993), Essays on Women, Medicine and Health, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

Pongratz, H.J. and Voss, G.G. (1998), “Der Arbeitskraftunternehmer. Eine neue Grundform der Ware Arbeitskraft?”, Ko¨lner Zeitschrift fu¨r Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 131-58. Pongratz, H.J. and Voss, G.G. (2003), Arbeitskraftunternehmer. Erwerbsorientierungen in entgrenzten Arbeitsformen, Editions Sigma, Berlin. Raeder, S. and Grote, G. (2001), “Flexibilita¨t ersetzt Kontinuita¨t. Vera¨nderte psychologische Kontrakte und neue Formen perso¨ nlicher Identita¨ t”, Arbeit-Zeitschrift fu¨r Arbeitsforschung, Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitspolitik, Heft 4/2001, pp. 352-64. Rafferty, A.M. (1996), The Politics of Nursing Knowledge, Routledge, London. Reilly, P.A. (1998), “Balancing flexibility – meeting the interests of employer and employee”, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 7-22. Seidl, E. (1991), Pflege im Wandel. Das soziale Umfeld der Pflege und seine historischen Wurzeln dargestellt anhand einer empirischen Untersuchung, Maudrich, Wien/Mu¨nchen/Bern. Sennett, R. (1998), The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism, Norton, New York, NY. Silbereisen, R.K. (1997), “Das vera¨nderungsoffene und grenzenbewusste Ich – seine Entwicklung u¨ber die Lebensspanne”, in von Weizsa¨cker, E.U. (Ed.), Grenzenlos? Jedes System braucht Grenzen – aber wie durchla¨ssig mu¨ssen sie sein?, Birkha¨user Verlag, Berlin and Basel. Stake, R.E. (2000), “Case studies”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA/London/New Dehli, pp. 453-4. Steers, R.M. (1977), “Antecedents and outcomes of organizational commitment”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 46-56. Strauss, A.L. (1968), Spiegel und Masken. Die Suche nach Identita¨t, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main. Tajfel, H. and Turner, J.C. (1985), “The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour”, in Worchel, S. and Austin, W.G. (Eds), Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 2nd ed., Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL, pp. 7-24. Wenger, E. (1998), Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Whetten, D.A. and Godfrey, P.C. (1998), Identity in Organizations. Building Theory through Conversations, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Witzel, A., Helling, V. and Mo¨nnich, I. (1996), Die Statuspassage in den Beruf als Prozess der Reproduktion sozialer Ungleichheit, Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen. Further reading Charmaz, K. (2000), “Grounded theory: objectivist and constructivitst methods”, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 509-35. Dench, S., La Valle, I. and Evans, C. (1998), Supporting Skills for Care Workers, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton. Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds) (2000), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Heinz, W.R. (2002), “Transition discontinuities and the biographical shaping of early work careers”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 220-40. Jenkins, R. (1996), Social Identity, Routledge, London.

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Laske, G. (2001), “Profession and occupation as medium of socialisation and identity formation”, in Laske, G. (Ed.), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen. McAleer, J. and Hamill, C. (1997), The Assessment of Higher Order Competence Development in Nurse Education, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey. May, C. (1990), “Research on nurse-patient relationships: problems of theory, problems of practice”, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 15, pp. 307-15. Sarup, M. (1996), Identity, Culture and the Postmodern World, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.

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Vocational identities in change in the telecommunications sector

Vocational identities

M’Hamed Dif BETA/Ce´req Alsace, University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg, The European Pole (PEGE), Strasbourg, France

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Keywords Work identity, Telecommunications, Europe, Employees attitudes, Career development Abstract During the last decade the telecommunications sector has undergone an accelerated structural change in work organisation, qualification profiles and the mode of socialisation at work. Telecommunications is taking the lead when it comes to the dynamics of vocational identity transformation. Classical models of vocational identities are declining in favour of a new “negotiator-network/mobility” mode of socialisation at work. The latter is mainly taken in charge by a new generation of telecom employees who are mobile, flexible and proactive in constructing their own work identities and project-based work activities. This paper examines the key findings of the FAME project investigation in the telecommunications sector in France, Germany and the UK. The first section focuses on the employers’ perception of the contextual background for change. The second section examines employees’ responses to these structural changes and new modes of socialisation at work. The concluding section highlights some overall trends and implications.

Introduction The following article draws upon the qualitative investigation of the FAME research project[1]. The project investigated how managers and employees at intermediate skills level perceive and cope with changes at the workplace instigated by increasing demands for flexibility, mobility and work efficiency and how such dynamics affect the development of employees’ work identity. The content of the article is based on project partners’ reports, sample case studies and critical feedback. The sector of telecommunications was chosen to represent a traditional service sector. When it comes to identity formation at work, this sector exemplifies the emergence of a new generation of employees with occupational identities based upon internalising change and instabilities at work. Shift towards nomadic careers Careers have been traditionally considered as a central source of vocational identity (Thompson and McHugh, 2001). They have been looked at from the perspective of the internal labour market where both blue-and-white collars workers can climb up the hierarchical ladder and make a career (Tremblay, 2002) within the same company and the same profession. Yet, with the increasing lack of job security and the dismantling of the conventional forms of career paths (Herriot and Pemberton, 1995), this locus of identification is becoming problematic. The concept of career has evolved rapidly in recent years (Amherdt and Dejean, 1998), especially within the telecommunication sector, leading a number of career theorists to start thinking about a different notion of careers. Some of them have even referred to the emergence of a new paradigm: the “boundaryless approach” (Arthur and Rousseau 1996), translated by some researchers as “nomadic careers” (Cadin et al., 2000). According to Cadin et al. (2000), three different

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components of competencies are used to account for career development in knowledge-based economy. Like the “Resources-based Strategy” of the firm (founded on core competencies, networks of partnerships and organisational identity), the nomadic career approach makes use of three types of competencies which are continuously interacting with each other: (Cadin et al., 2000; Tremblay, 2002): (1) Knowing how which refers to knowledge, skills and even acquired routines. (2) Knowing whom which implies privileged relationships, social networks and contacts. (3) Knowing why in order to take into account the individual’s areas of interests, passions, values and identity formation. As highlighted by Cadin et al. (2000), the other important aspect of this approach is that it considers careers on the basis of different social spaces and communities of practice (Sharp, 1997). It opens up career understanding, learning and identity formation processes, to other informal communities with which individuals are associated and in which information, ways of thinking and seeing things are transmitted (Cadin et al., 2000). According to this emerging approach, the nomads (cross-boundary workers) “are mostly people who are not strongly attached to their organisation and even less interested in union representation, but who are more concerned about the challenges offered by their work”. For them “projects and professional experience serve to develop their career competencies and professional network (knowing how, when and why) which will give them career capital, making them largely ‘independent’ in the labour market” (Tremblay, 2002). This shift towards nomadic or boundaryless careers is reinforced by the emergence of new concept of work: the “user-provider” concept of work (where the traditional distinction between employers and employees are more or less blurred). This concept is based on a new form of employer-employee relations, according to which the worker is considered as client and/or as a supplier for the firm (Dubar, 2000b; Dif, 2003). It allows employers to have an effective direct access to labour flexibility and mobility and hence to avoid the usual costs and constraint inherent to the traditional model of human resource development and management. Methodology This article focuses on the development of vocational identities in the telecommunication sector. The telecommunication sector was chosen for the field investigation because it represents the sector that has been transformed in the last two decades by major changes in technology, product market, and industrial, organisational and occupational traditions. Many occupations in this sector had long-standing occupational traditions with related identity patterns, but during the last 20 years, these too have been transformed. The field investigation within this sector was carried out during the period 2001-2002. It was based on personal semi-directive interviews (45-90 minutes) in two stages: interviews with employers and interviews with employees. Both types of interviews were conducted within telecommunication companies of varying sizes: small, medium and large telecom companies across the three countries: France, Germany and the UK. However, it is important to note here that the sample of

interviewees in telecommunication/IT comprised a lot of “overlapping” cases due to an increasing move towards providing more integrated telecom and IT solutions. Moreover, the two categories of interviews were preceded in all partner countries with a set of pilot interviews, in order to prepare and agree on a common ground criteria for conducting the investigation and analysis of the results obtained. Stage one: The first stage involved interviews with 22 managers (seven in France, seven in Germany and eight in the UK) drawn up mainly from human resources departments in companies of different sizes. The basic aim of this stage was to explore the structural context in which these companies operate and to identify what employers expect from their employees in terms of learning, identification, commitment, relational and work interactivity. The common ground investigation and evaluation criteria for this first stage covered: . Learning: how formal and non-formal learning are perceived by employers and managers. How do they, in practice, appreciate qualifications of employees acquired through the initial formal learning system? How do they promote access to learning and take into account further non-formal work-related learning? To what extent does the workplace constitute a poor or rich learning environment? How does the learning environment affect employees’ work-related identity formation and development in particular, and their socio-professional promotion in general? . Organisational aspects: dominant organisational structures of the institution, including work organisation (project or team-based work organisation, externalisation, etc.), forms of related labour flexibility/mobility and their effect upon employees’ identity formation at work, learning and socio-professional promotion. . Individual considerations: autonomy, communicability, responsibility, empowerment, time and functional flexibility, mobility (promotional, horizontal), dominant forms of identification (team, product, service, culture of the enterprise), including their effect on work performance and employees’ conception of work. The interviewing results of this stage helped to: . outline the structure of the contextual background within which vocational identities are developing; and . identify the major issues for the next stage of investigation (employee-interviews). Stage two: On the basis of the contextual background obtained from employers’ perspective, the employees’ perception and responses to change were also investigated through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. In this second stage, 76 in-depth interviews were conducted with mainly two groups of telecom employees: telecom “sellers” and telecom “technicians/engineers” (30 in France, 31 in Germany and 25 in the UK). Most of them were men, representing 92 per cent of the interviewees. Their age ranged from 20 to 57 years old with an acquired work experience of one to 40 years. With the exception of the UK, most of the employees interviewed were basically from the same companies which were investigated during the first stage. Given the

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increasing number of telecom companies which are explicitly crossing the border of their initial domain towards providing integrated telecom/IT services, the sample of interviewed employees included also “overlapping telecom/IT” cases. Three sets of interrelated investigation/evaluation criteria were used, in this stage, to identify the basic characteristics of telecom employees’ mode of socialisation at work and their responses to change, namely via their individual (Dif, 2003): (1) Learning trajectory (initial education and training background and work-related formal and informal/non-formal learning). (2) Relational and work-interactivity, flexibility and mobility. (3) Perception and evaluation of the work situation and its implications for personal as well as professional development and identification. .

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The inner validity of this qualitative investigation has been based on the following considerations (Denzin and Lincoln, 1997; Savoie-Zajc, 2000; Bryman, 1992): . The validity of a qualitative research is based on the “process of saturation”. According to this process, when the respondents start repeating each and bringing out familiar patterns, the saturation point is attained and the data collection can be stopped (Alasuutari, 1995). . The results obtained are context specific and cannot be generalised to other (different) contexts and occupation groups (Bryman, 1988). However, the triangulation process can be used to solve the generalisation issue. It helps to identify what might be considered as “typical” through a process of identifying cases with similar features and patterns. . Following the “principle of unexceptionality”, the findings should be valid for the whole corpus of data (Alasuutari, 1995). According to this principle, if the results obtained do not fit into to constructed patterns, the latter need to be specified and reconstructed. Contextual background: employers’ perspective According to the results of the first stage of FAME investigation (FAME Consortium, 2003; Dif, 2003), the telecommunications sector is observed to be characterised by the emergence of a new generation of occupational identities capable of internalising change and transferring it directly and indirectly to other sectors of the economy. Companies in the sector can be differentiated according to two basic variations: the case of well-established large telecommunication firms on the one hand, and small companies including small and medium-sized subsidiaries of multinational firms on the other hand. Both segments of the sector are differentiated according to the nature of employees’ identification with work, the characteristics of the implied model of flexibility/mobility and their implications for change, learning and socio-professional promotion. In France, large telecommunication firms seem to still be relatively anchored to their traditional organisational structure and mode of human resources management and development. However, they have been undergoing, during the last decade, important structural changes due to privatisation, globalisation and technological development with regard to the product market. They are introducing greater flexibility and mobility in the patterns of work organisation by increasingly loosening the link

between job profiles and qualification requirements. Individuals are more and more assigned to jobs that require a combination of functional flexibility and mobility and the use of transversal competencies. In addition to their involvement in the two components of CVT promotion (employee self-directed learning and the dominant employer-directed CVT), including the accreditation of experiential learning, these large firms are also involved in the initial (alternating) vocational inclusion schemes such as apprenticeship and “vocational training contracts”. The latter concerns basically candidates for high technician diplomas whose training contracts can be transformed into work contracts (e.g. France Telecom). Small firms (including small and relatively autonomous subsidiaries of transnational companies) show more flexible and simple organisational structures, where individuals are highly autonomous (with greater responsibility), mobile and attached to their work as “telecom professionals”. Within these firms, work- and product-related learning and training is usually secured at the level of the telecom constructor or product supplier (with the aim of promoting punctual, functional, internal flexibility and mobility). They are also involved in CVT, especially employer-directed CVT. Through certification-based CVT, many technicians can gain access to some sort of promotional mobility, including higher professional status such as the grade of engineer. On the whole, the average size of telecom companies has been decreasing during the last decade since the liberalisation of the telecommunication market in Europe resulted in both break-ups and the emergence of new firms. It has also been observed that, in general, the decreased size of companies has been accompanied by a decreasing level of unionisation and bargaining coverage. Moreover, the increasing rate of external and internal functional and spatial labour mobility within the sector has been accompanied by an increasing demand for employees with a high level of both technical and hybrid skills. The German telecommunications sector underwent a process similar to France, transforming from a state monopoly to a liberalised market. This move initiated considerable transformation processes through organisational restructuring and privatisation with shareholder interests. However, given its overwhelming size and the historical domination of German Telekom in the sector, it is expected to take some time before other small competitors and providers will become established and gain market share. Additionally, the efforts undertaken to meet the requirements of change and to promote competition within the sector might be hindered by at least two basic factors: the attachment of German customers to the well established products and services of the German Telekom on the one hand, and the lack of highly qualified telecom workers on the other hand. Extensive retraining programmes have been launched for employees in order to promote their professional conversion to meet new qualification standards. For example, more than 100,000 employees from the former German Post have been retrained to become telecom sales staff, technicians or ICT experts. Moreover, in order to keep pace with the changing nature of work (within the continuous process of structural reorganisation), Telekom and other telecommunication providers have created new occupational profiles in accordance with new qualification needs, most of which have been integrated into the German dual system[2]. Although the process of privatisation and restructuring of British Telecom started earlier than in France and Germany (in the early 1980s), the whole sector is still

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undergoing rapid change, especially with regard to its product markets. As in the other countries, there have been three principal drivers of change: technological development, changes in the product markets and deregulation of the sector. Demand for integrated solutions from customers push for telecom companies to recruit more people with hybrid technical and soft skills. Communication-related skills and team working are required as employees are expected to become increasingly flexible. Technological convergence and inter-connectivity are driving the need for transversal competencies. One market driver is that customers are often looking for suppliers who can deliver “complete solutions” for their telecom needs. The skill development strategies are increasingly making use of university graduates and work-related continuing learning while working. Transfer of skills and knowledge, including tacit knowledge, is facilitated by staff mobility when changing jobs. One implication of this trend is that there is a decreasing attachment to particular organisations or occupations. This is compensated by employees’ willingness to consider work in the light of particular opportunities available and their own self-understanding of the skills and abilities they possess. Major issues affecting occupational identities include the utilisation and management of sub-contracting, including the use of staff from temporary employment agencies. Work-related interactivity is high within the telecommunications industry, not only due to deregulation and the need for standards, but also because people are moving around. In the UK, large companies may even encourage technical staff to be taken on by suppliers, thus facilitating better exchange of information, know-how and contacts. Learning In the three countries of investigation, formal qualifications acquired within the initial education and training systems are increasingly appreciated by large as well as small telecom employers. This is linked to the increased demand for qualified workers such as advanced technicians and engineers. In order to keep pace with the changing nature of work, Germany has developed and integrated into its dual system new professional profiles. For employers, the three to three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship programmes also constitute an important recruitment mechanism. In France and the UK, telecom employers’ recruitment strategies increasingly favour the employment of young graduates who possess advanced technical qualifications and hybrid skills. As for work-related continuing training, there are some variations. Its nature and scope are observed to depend upon the size of the company and to some extent upon how informal/non-formal learning is valued and recognised. Most of the large companies investigated are involved in the two main forms of employees’ continuing vocational training (CVT): the dominant (obligatory) employer-directed training and learning and the (voluntary) employee self-directed training and learning. Within small firms, it appears that there are some variations as well. For instance, in Germany CVT is basically self-directed, while in France it is practically limited to employer-directed learning (mainly product and service linked training and apprenticeship). It is also important to note that from the employers’ perspective, CVT is provided in the context of clear expectations and geared towards facilitating a process of professional adaptation and re-integration of employees within firms that are undergoing significant structural change such as mergers, break-ups and privatisation (especially within national large firms with a multinational dimension). In the last case

for instance, France Telecom provided intensive CVT to support its less qualified employees (who generally have the status of civil servants) to up-date their qualifications to the new requirements of change. This policy was also adopted by Deutsche Telekom with the help of large-scale retraining programmes for employees’ professional re-deployment and re-integration. In addition, CVT is put in the context of promoting flexibility and mobility of employees. In this case, it is important to note that short-term, “just-in-time” flexibility and mobility are basically the result of product-related training. By contrast, self-directed CVT and learning and long-term employer-directed CVT programmes tend to lead to promotional and spatial mobility in particular, and socio-professional promotion in general. However, on the whole, access to further CVT and learning (especially of a medium to long-term nature) still strongly favours employees with initial high qualifications. This tendency has effectively led to internal labour market segmentation by creating, on the one hand, a “core” segment of employees who are more able to cope with the requirements of change, flexibility and mobility (leading to better access to all kinds of socio-professional promotion). On the other hand, we find at the “periphery” the development of another segment made up of socio-professionally disadvantaged individuals, whose work is undervalued and who are less prepared and often unable to cope with turbulence of change and who are, consequently, more exposed to involuntary re-deployment or redundancy schemes.

Organisational aspects As for the organisational aspects, the research confirmed an overall move towards simpler and more flexible organisational structures within telecommunication firms: flatter organisational structures based on team working and relational interactivity, flexibility and mobility. This tendency is reinforced by the fact that medium-sized and large firms are increasingly concentrating on a few “core” activities while at the same time outsourcing and externalising most of the rest. However, the national case studies show two basic variations. On the one hand, ex-state monopoly companies (such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and British Telecom) attempt to combine focusing upon their well-established core domain (with a relatively secure market share and regular customers) and externalising other activities. At the same time they follow a strategy of acquisition and merger to gain access to new skills, technologies and markets. Although these large traditional firms are still somehow anchored to their heritage concerning the mode of work organisation, they are explicitly trying to loosen the link between job description and skill requirements in order to become more flexible. Private small- to medium-size companies and some subsidiaries of foreign multinational firms, on the other hand, rather represent the general move towards a flexible mode of identification and work organisation patterns. Employees are expected to adjust to change, to be pro-active and functionally and horizontally mobile according to work requirements. In the construction of their occupational identities, employers expect them to intensify their work-related relational interactivity with customers (with high levels of autonomy and responsibility) and to identify with the products and services they provide.

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Individual considerations From the employers’ perspective patterns of identification with work are seen to fall within the range of two basic and interconnected variations: an overall trend and a set of intermediary variations within this general move. For employees working in telecommunications, the overall trend is exemplified by the move towards a more “individualistic and market-oriented approach” of work-related identity formation. It is a new generation of telecom employees who represent this tendency. Those are regarded, by their employers, as “neo-careerist network/mobility professionals” basically working in small firms and some of the relatively autonomous subsidiaries of multinational firms. They are multi-skilled, mobile and flexible with high degrees of autonomy and responsibility and show a pro-active attitude when it comes to constructing their (rather independent) professional identity. However, apart from this overall move towards more flexible identification patterns we can also find some variations. For instance, in Germany, it has been noticed that identification of employees with the company persists, often related to high quality products and services provided to customers. This is connected (especially for technicians) with specific work tasks and work place security. Job security and a good reputation of the occupation often provide the basis for work motivation and commitment of employees. On the other hand, it is also argued that the reorganisation of working patterns towards more flexible organisational structures and HRD concepts has also generated significant change in the process of work-related identity formation. Such change and re-definition processes are often accompanied by special retraining programmes that acknowledge those developments. Deutsche Telekom, for example, supports special retraining programmes that facilitate the adaptation to the requirement of flexibility and mobility. Overall it can be assumed that classical forms of work identities are undergoing a process of transformation towards more flexible patterns of identification and, particularly in the UK, an “individualistic” approach by which telecom employees are becoming less attached to either particular occupations or companies they work for. They are more inclined to consider work in the light of career opportunities available to them according to their self-understanding of the skills and competence they possess. Particularly, young qualified graduates are not that attracted to working in large formal settings, but rather prefer the challenging nature of working in smaller companies. This is why larger companies are willing to use different strategies, such as sub-contracting work to smaller companies, or even taking a stake in them. Changing patterns of vocational identity: employees’ perspective In the light of the overall results of the second stage of the investigation (from employees’ perspective), two basic manifestations of vocational identities could be identified within the telecommunications sector. Fist, the decomposition of classical forms of occupational identities (based upon a profession/career-based mode of socialisation at work); and second the emergence of a more flexible, individualistic type of work identities (in accordance with a “negotiator network/mobility” mode of socialisation). These two are bridged by cross-border re-definition strategies (defensive/retreat and offensive). At this stage and for the rest of the development of the paper the term “socialisation” is understood as the “process of identification and construction of identity” (Dubar, 2000a).

The decline of classical forms of occupational identities The decline or rather the decomposition of classical forms of vocational identities in the telecommunications sector is linked to a new role and function of socialisation at work that was traditionally linked to large national telecommunication companies formerly in monopolistic positions. Changing socialisation patterns of the formerly classical occupations in telephony resulted from processes of major reorganisation and restructuring as described above. Currently, one can distinguish between two basic intermingled variations within this mode of socialisation: the declining “fusion corporatist” and the blocked “traditional careerist” models. The “fusion-corporatist” type is represented by employees who are traditionally attached to their acquired work status within the organisation. They use the strategy of opposition and alliance against the introduction of major changes that would adversely affect the continuity of their career trajectory within the domain of their usual work and competence. Particularly within the ex-state monopoly telecom companies some employees have been able to conserve until now their previous work status (generally as civil servants) and have found a niche with persevering traditional job profiles. In these positions, learning requirements are not very demanding and employees still identify with their classical work tasks. However, due to the structural, organisational and technological change during the last decade, these kinds of occupational identities are very unsteady and gradually breaking down into categories of micro-communities (“categorical identities”) in which individuals’ learning and career trajectories are increasingly subject to involuntary discontinuities. Most of their members, especially less qualified and relatively aged employees (over 40 years old), are forced into alternative solutions leading to uncertain job conversion, undervalued employment or redundancy and exclusion. The “traditional careerist” would be found among highly qualified executives who invest heavily in their work with a relatively high level of commitment to the corporate identity and culture in return for employment security and internal promotional mobility. With the process of reorganisation and restructuring within the telecommunications sector and, subsequently, a significant reduction of opportunities for internal promotional mobility, this model has been eroded. It lost its attractiveness to executives and qualified employees who, under the increasing threat of unemployment, are more inclined to adopt a re-definition strategy based upon the internalisation of change and the acceptance of the new requirements for both internal and external (horizontal and functional) flexibility and mobility. The emergence of flexible work identities The emerging type of flexible work identities is interchangeably described by some researchers in the field of sociology of professions as an “uncertain”, “individualistic”, “network” or “mobility” model (Dubar, 2000a, b; Dubar and Tripier, 1998; Sainsaulieu, 1996, 1997, 1998). This type is also usually referred to as the “negotiator network/mobility” model (Dif, 2001, 2003) and is aligned to a new mode of socialisation at work. The adherents to this model are usually made up of qualified young telecom technicians or sales engineers possessing both highly developed technical skills (increasingly incorporating ICT skills) and transversal competencies. They consider themselves as “telecom professionals” or “experts” and are more able to

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cope with the requirements of rapid technological change, flexibility and mobility (functional and horizontal). Given that the opportunities for upward mobility within companies are increasingly reduced due to flatter hierarchies, they are inclined to secure their career progression through project-based personal strategies founded on a high level of work-related interactivity, flexibility and mobility. Their relational (network) investment is primarily oriented towards the achievement of their personal professional projects than to those of the community of practice or the organisation. They are more committed to improving their relational interactivity with the clients and the quality of products and services provided. Their involvement in trade union activities is low. This model is also linked to a new form of employer-employee relations based upon a “user-provider” concept of work which increasingly considers the employee as a client of one or many suppliers and at the same time as a service supplier to one or many clients. According to this emerging concept of work, the traditional distinction between employer and employee is becoming blurred (Dubar, 2000b; Dif, 2003; FAME Consortium, 2003). The link between the emerging mode of socialisation at work and the decomposing one can be schematically represented by the model shown in Figure 1. Due to the intensity and dynamics of change in the telecommunications sector during the last years and an accelerated decline of classical forms of occupational identities, most of today’s employees’ forms of responses and identification for the countries of investigation can be grouped according to two basic types of strategies (Dif, 2003): (1) Strategy of network/mobility neo-careerists. (2) Retreat strategy. Network/mobility neo-careerists’ strategy As schematically illustrated in Figure 1, the emerging and dominant mode of socialisation concerns, in its turn, two types of telecom employees: (1) Affinity-network newcomers. (2) Cross-border re-definition strategists.

Figure 1. A model of vocational identity transformation and development: towards a new mode of socialisation at work

The “affinity-network newcomers” are represented by newly recruited young telecom technicians and sales engineers (in their 20s and early 30s) who possess a high level of technical (specific) and hybrid (general) qualifications. They are highly motivated to become telecom professionals, primarily committed to their basic field of activity with a strong affinity towards other closely-related domains and environments such as IT. They are inclined to use either well-established telecom companies or small dynamic telecommunication/IT firms as a “pass-through point” in the process of constructing their career project. They are convinced that work-related learning, relational interactivity, flexibility and mobility have a “cumulative effect” on the construction of their career in terms of knowledge and competence development and improved working conditions. They regard their current occupational position or organisational attachment as one building block of a larger career project that involves frequent changes in the nature and mode of work to be performed. They are committed to continuous adaptation and internalisation of change by adopting a strategy of “moving on” regarding their career as something they can actively and non-linearly construct. They are confident in their skills and do not regard themselves as being threatened by the turbulence of change. Given the increasing number of telecommunication companies which are explicitly seeking to cross the boundaries to other related sectors (e.g. the combination of telecommunications with computing, on line-education and entertainment) some employees (including telecom/IT freelance experts) are similarly crossing between different areas of work. In this context, the distinction between whether they are working in telecommunications or IT, for example, becomes fairly arbitrary (except maybe when making reference to their original basic field of activity). Employees who are crossing the line between different fields of activity and sectors as a response strategy to the requirements of change within the overall trend towards the “negotiator network/mobility model” can be categorised as “cross-border re-definition strategists”. This group is represented by employees who are challenged to re-define their occupational identity due to changing work requirements. Being generally trained and socialised under more traditional work schemes (until the late 1980s) they were formally recruited as executives on the basis of relatively high level, specific technical qualifications as telecom technicians. They are committed to good work performance, work-related learning and relational interactivity based upon a high level of commitment to the organisation, its culture and corporate identity in return for negotiated internal hierarchical and/or functional promotions (including the guarantee of employment security and improvement of working conditions). However, due to the lack of internal promotional opportunities as a result of reduced layers of the hierarchies within the organisation, they were forced to abandon the traditional model of vocational identification (i.e. the traditional “fusion-careerist” model) and adopt a new approach for their career development. An observed offensive response to this situation is to adopt a pro-active role in re-defining work-related roles and identities instead of pursuing linearly constructed career progression. In this context, continuous training (including the accreditation of experiential learning), flexibility and mobility and developing more transversal competencies are regarded as important instruments to get out of the trap of an initially over-focused vocation. In addition, spatial inter-firm mobility and individual negotiability to deal with tension and conflict situations at work is increasingly

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supplanting traditional forms of collective bargaining. On the whole, those employees are more oriented towards the construction of a broader and open vocation based upon a combination of technical knowledge and mixed soft-skills (communication, analytical, decision-making and managerial skills). This usually takes the form of a partial or full change in work profiles and even working status, such as the conversion into telecom and IT-related managerial or consultancy activity.

Retreat strategy The “retreat strategy” can be described as some sort of a “refuge” or a “survival” strategy against the turbulence of radical change. It is usually adopted by telecom employees who encountered being disadvantaged in the process of rapid technological and organisational change and transformation, which has been and still is taking place in the telecommunications sector, especially in its traditional segment (ex-state monopoly companies). The individuals concerned either have received less initial education and training (as in France) or they have experienced a drastic devaluation of their initial skills and competencies (as in Germany). Most of those employees have accumulated a long working experience in areas that predominantly require mechanical skills with no, or very limited, computer-based work and low demands for flexibility, mobility and further learning. Most employees with this profile were over 40 years old and felt overwhelmed by the increasing demands for being flexible and mobile in a fast-changing (now almost exclusively computer-based) learning environment. Their age and partially weak learning background (amplified by their lower access to further CVT and learning) makes them more affected than the other employees by the changes taking place in the sector. In this context, they are constrained to take refuge in the “retreat strategy”, which can take two different variations: (1) A retreat in the status quo (i.e. preservation strategy). This strategy was mostly adopted by telecom employees who are still possessing the status of civil servants, but have difficulties coping with the requirements for change of work profiles and related forms of flexibility and mobility. This may be due to their age (over 40 years old), low qualification background and/or their general resistance towards change. The only advantage they possess is their acquired work status as civil servants, which makes it difficult for the employer to make them redundant before the legal age of retirement (or early retirement). They are inclined to use their employment status as a refuge instrument to remain employed according to the employer’s usual redeployment schemes and working conditions. (2) By contrast, the second variation concerns telecom employees who, in addition to being equally disadvantaged (as is the case with the first variation), are ordinary contractual workers without life-time employment guarantee. Since they are more exposed to redundancy and exclusion schemes than the civil servants, they are usually forced into seeking precarious retreat solutions that encompass uncertain job conversion, undervalued work or atypical employment.

Conclusions: overall trends and implications In the light of the qualitative analysis of changing work identities in the telecommunications sector in France, Germany and the UK, some general interdependent trends and implications seem to be important to underline. With regard to overall trends aligned to the process of transformation, the telecommunications sector is increasingly becoming a principal component of the whole societal infrastructure and a driving force towards change in all kinds of socio-economic activity, learning and knowledge development. It is the sector that has been and still is undergoing rapid structural change. This is partly due to the following interrelated factors: . The emergence and rapid development of converging technologies in the field of telecommunications and ICT in general leading to the creation of a spill-over effect to other sectors of the economy. . Developments in the product market are accompanied by an increasing demand of businesses and households for “integrated technical solutions and services”. This makes many telecommunication firms move away from the provision of traditional “pure telecom services” in favour of more “integrated solutions” such as linking telephony, networking and software applications. . Increasing instrumentalisation of merger and acquisition, especially in the case of larger traditional telecommunication companies, to gain rapid access to new skills, technologies and markets is reinforced by the move towards re-focusing on high value-added activities (in which they have comparative advantage) and externalising the rest. . Rising preference of all kinds of telecommunication firms for the employment of executives (as telecom technicians or sales engineers) who possess both specific and mixed core skills and who are effectively in control of their capacity and willingness to be functionally and spatially mobile. . Increasing use of new forms of employer-employee relations based upon a “user-provider” concept of work, by which the employee is increasingly considered as a client of one or many suppliers and at the same time as a service supplier to one or several clients (Dubar, 2000b; Dif, 2003). This concept allows employers to have effective direct access to labour flexibility and mobility avoiding the usual costs and constraints inherent to the traditional model of HR development and management. However, this approach also implies the exclusion of individuals who cannot or do not have the means to be part of the “user-provider” category, either because they lack the required qualifications/competencies or because they come from a disadvantaged socio-economic background (as it has been exemplified with the “retreat” case). . Telecommunications is taking the lead within a general move towards a “negotiator network/mobility” model of work identity formation and development. This model implies a new mode of socialisation based upon a high level of work-related learning, interactivity, flexibility and mobility with openness towards change and a strong identification with the quality of the products and services provided to customers. It is basically being adopted by a new generation of employees in the sector who are viewed as “telecom professionals” who are more mobile and flexible and pro-active in the

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construction of their own professional identities. This group of employees, especially commercial technicians and executives, are taking charge of their work-related assignments and tasks with a high level of autonomy and responsibility. They engage less in trade union activities as this seems to be at odds with the construction of their occupational identities as independent “telecom professionals”. In order to avoid blockages that may be created by the “trap of technically over-focused occupations” (inherited from the declining traditional model) most of the highly qualified telecom technicians (i.e. traditional careerists) are increasingly adopting an offensive re-definition strategy. According to this strategy, they are increasingly orienting themselves towards the construction of a broader and open vocation based upon a combination of technical knowledge and mixed soft-skills (communication, analytical, decision-making and managerial skills). This usually takes the form of a partial or full change in work profiles and even professional status such as conversion to managerial or consultancy positions as “telecom/IT professionals” (instead of purely telecom or IT technicians/engineers).

On the whole, all these trends of transformation within the telecommunications sector are expected to facilitate workers’ access to socio-professional promotion and the society’s overall move towards a “learning society”. However, these structural tendencies are also being accompanied by processes of polarisation and exclusion, namely: . Polarisation between two contradictory models of work organisation. On the one hand, there is an increasing demand within “learning organisations” for flexible work tasks requiring a high level of competencies, creativity, adaptability and mobility. On the other hand, there is a resurgence of “Taylorism” for standardised technical and repetitive tasks with very limited learning contents. . Polarisation between two types of employment status within the traditional sector of telecommunications inherited from the ex-state monopoly telecommunication companies (e.g. France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom). The first group comprises a “core” segment (the dominant one) made up of civil servants (distributed between the two declining traditional models of work-related socialisation: the blocked “fusion-corporatist/careerist” model and the “retreat” model). The second group is made up of contractual employees who were generally recruited during the process of restructuring and privatisation. Most of them belong to the generation that has internalised the new model of socialisation at work: the “professional negotiator network/mobility” model. . Polarisation within the mode of working time flexibility: on the one hand, the working day is increasingly extended; the rhythm of work is more intensive including the de-synchronisation between effective working time and social life time (increase of stress). On the other hand, there are new forms of work flexibility (e.g. distance work and consultancy) which allow for the creation of some balance between working life and personal social life. . Double polarisation in the learning and training process. First, polarisation concerning the type of learning provided and second, polarisation in the access to it.

Concerning the first type of polarisation, learning is mainly employer-directed, short-term CVT which is prompt and product or service related. Long and medium-term CVT is increasingly left to be taken in charge by the employees themselves as employee self-directed learning. As for access to CVT, including the accreditation of experiential learning, it is observed that most of the beneficiaries are those who are the skilled workers (especially in terms of initial education and training). Amplified by a cumulative effect of the other types of polarisation (as indicated above), it has led, in its turn, to a polarisation in the process of socialisation at the work place. This is why most of the individuals who identify with the “professional negotiator network/mobility” model (as “cross-border re-definition strategists” or “affinity-network newcomers”) are those with strong initial educational and training backgrounds, who formerly had and are still having access to all kinds of employer as well as employee-directed CVT. Older and less qualified employees with limited access to CVT are often left behind in the processes of transformation and are directly and indirectly either excluded (through redundancy schemes) or taking refuge into the “retreat” segment of the declining traditional model of socialisation at work. Moreover, a tendency could be observed within the overall move towards individualisation and “merchandisation” of labour services (in accordance with the emerging “user-provider” concept of work). This tendency has the following implications: . the traditional distinction between employer and employee is becoming blurred due to increased externalisation, sub-contracting and just-in-time use of labour services; . classical professional and career-based vocational identities are diluting and are becoming unstable or uncertain; . spatial inter-firm mobility and individual negotiability are increasingly supplanting traditional forms of collective bargaining to deal with tension and conflict situations; and . polarisation of time flexibility (including horizontal mobility) is leading to stress and lack of involvement in compensating leisure activities and family life, especially within organisations where the requirements for flexibility and mobility and related forms of work organisation are rapidly changing. Structural forms of polarisation and social exclusion are accompanying the overall trend towards individualisation and the emergence of a “user-provider” concept of work. However, effective policy action at the sectoral, national and European level may help to prevent some of the polarising and excluding mechanisms that have been outlined above. With regard to training and skills acquisition, reinforcing learning path fluidity and complementarity within and between initial education and work-related CVT could be one important tool in this process. This could be achieved through implementing curricular flexibility based upon the development of a balanced mix between specific and transversal generic/soft skills. In addition, the accreditation of prior experiential learning (“APEL regime”) would allow for voluntary and effective access to further learning as well as promotional and horizontal mobility. Given that individualisation is

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a trend we tend to observe, a competence audit regime (like the French Bilan de Compe´tences) could become an effective guiding instrument to support individuals to successfully respond to demands for flexibility and mobility and empower them to become agents of their own socio-professional development. When it comes to employment policies, the establishment of more comprehensive and active socio-vocational inclusion/re-inclusion programmes based upon effective and individualised accompaniment and continuing follow-up could help to harmonise the different employment status between civil servants and contracted employees. As could be well exemplified for the sector of tourism (see the article on tourism in this issue) the employment status has a significant impact upon the formation of work identities, commitment and work performance. Particularly, unstable and precarious employment situations can adversely affect commitment and work performance of employees. This also extends to different access criteria to employment and work-related learning due to factors that the individual cannot control, such as age, gender or ethnic belonging. It is important that employers and learning institutions encourage the development of self-initiated and self-directed learning to support individuals’ self-guided socio-professional development. This will certainly contribute towards reducing the existing imbalance between, on the one hand, employer- versus employee-directed learning and, on the other hand, medium- and long-term oriented learning versus the provision of “just-in-time” knowledge. The reinforcement of the individual’s position towards the new mode of socialisation at work according to the emerging “negotiator network/mobility” model should be made accessible to all kinds of employees. Notes 1. Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market funded under the 5th EU Framework Programme with partners from Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK. 2. As a response to the rapid technological change, the German vocational training system introduced the new IT-professions in 1996, which today also provide the basis for qualified workers in the telecommunications sector. Through this initiative, approximately 50,000 new IT jobs were created in Germany between 1996 and 2002. References Alasuutari, P. (1995), Researching Culture: Qualitative Method and Cultural Studies, Sage Publications, London. Amherdt, C.H. and Dejean, K. (1998), “Le concept de carrie`re: identification et e´volution des repre´sentations collectives a` l’aide des cartographie cognitive”, Actes de 10e`me congre`s international de psychologie du travail de langue franc¸aise, Universite´ de Bordeaux, Bordeaux. Arthur, M.B. and Rousseau, D.M. (Eds) (1996), The Boundaryless Career: A New Principle for New Organisational Era, Oxford University Press, New York, NY. Bryman, A. (1988), Quantity and Quality of Social Research, Routledge, London and New York, NY. Bryman, A. (1992), Quantity and Quality of Social Research, Routledge, London and New York, NY.

Cadin, L., Bender, A.F., Sain-Giniez, V. and Pringle, J. (2000), “Carrie`res nomades et contextes nationaux”, Revue de Gestion des Ressources Humaines, Paris, AGRH, Paris, pp. 76-96. Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (1997), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. Dif, M. (2001), “On the dynamics of identity formation and development in active citizenship”, in Schermmann, M. and Bron, M. Jr (Eds), Adult Education and Democratic Citizenship IV, Impuls Publisher, Krakow, pp. 80-90. Dif, M. (2003), “Work-related identity, flexibility and mobility in the telecommunication sector from employers’ perspective: the case of Czech Republic, France, Germany and the UK”, in FAME Consortium, Work-related Identities in Europe: How Personnel Management and HR Policies Shape Workers” Identities, ITB Working Paper Series No. 46, University of Bremen, Bremen, pp. 54-70. Dubar, C. (2000a), La socialisation: construction des identite´s sociales et professionnelles, 3rd ed., Armand Colin, Paris. Dubar, C. (2000b), La crise des identite´s: l’interpre´tation d’une mutation, 2nd ed., Presse Universitaire de France, Paris. Dubar, C. and Tripier, P. (1998), Sociologie des Professions, Armand Colin, Paris. FAME Consortium (2003), Work-related Identities in Europe: How Personnel Management and HR Policies Shape Workers’ Identities, ITB Working Paper Series No. 46, University of Bremen, Bremen. Herriot, P. and Pemberton, C. (1995), Competitive Advantage through Diversity, Sage, London. Sainsaulieu, R. (1996), L’identite´ au travail: les effets culturels de l’organisation, 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1977), Presse de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, Paris. Sainsaulieu, R. (1997), Sociologie de l’entreprise – organisation, culture et de´veloppement, 2nd ed., Presse de Politiques et Dalloz, Paris. Sainsaulieu, R. (1998), “La construction des identite´s au travail”, Sciences Humaines – Hors Se´rie, Vol. 20, mars/avril, pp. 40-3. Savoie-Zajc, L. (2000), “Use of qualitative research in contemporary research in education: North American experience for the Baltic countries”, presentation at Use of Qualitative Research in Contemporary Research in Education seminar, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, 27 June. Sharp, J. (1997), “Communities of practice: a review of the literature”, March 12, available at: www.tfriend.com/cop-lit.htm Thomson, P. and McHugh, D. (2001), Work Organisations, Macmillan, Basingstoke. Tremblay, D.-G. (2002), “Organisational knowledge and learning in the context of the knowledge-based economy: networks as a source of learning and contacts in the multimedia sector”, paper presented at the 3rd European Conference on Organisational Knowledge, Learning and Capabilities, OKLC-2002, Athens, 2-5 April.

Further reading Bidet, J. and Texier, J. (1995), La crise du travail, PUF, Paris. Brown, A. (2001), “Draft summary of interim report on employers’ interviews: telecommunications sector”, FAME working paper. Brown, A. (2002), “Draft summary of interim report on employee interviews: telecommunications sector”, FAME working paper.

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DeFillipi, R.J. and Arthur, M.B. (1996), “Boundaryless contexts and careers: a competence-based perspective”, in Arthur, M.B. and Rousseau, D.M. (Eds), The Boundaryless Career: A New Principle for New Organisational Era, Oxford University Press, New York, NY. Derr, C.B. (1986), Managing the New Careerists, Jossey-Bass, London. Dif, M. (2001), “Forms and implications of work-related identity transformation: preliminary findings of FAME project investigation in the French case”, in Dif, M. and Manning, S. (Eds), VETNET ECER 2001 Proceedings, available at: www.b.shuttle.de/wifo/abstract/ difmh02.htm FAME Consortium (2002), “Annex 2: National Summaries of Evaluation I”, FAME Periodic Progress Report, University of Bremen, Bremen. Ibarra, H. (1999), “Provisional selves: experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 44, pp. 764-91. Kirpal, S. (2002), “Draft summary of interim report on employee interviews: telecommunications sector”, FAME working paper, University of Bremen, Bremen. Laske, G. (Ed.) (2001), Project Papers: Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME), ITB Working Paper Series No. 27, University of Bremen, Bremen.

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Identification-flexibility dilemma of IT specialists

IT specialists

Krista Loogma Institute of Educational Research, Tallinn Pedagogical University, Tallinn, Estonia

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Meril U¨marik

Estonian Institute of Humanities, Tallinn, Estonia, and

Raivo Vilu Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Tallinn Technical University, Tallinn, Estonia Keywords Information personnel, Work identity, Career development, Employees attitudes, Vocational training, Europe Abstract Information technology (IT) is a new service sector characterised by an intensive dynamic that puts high demands of learning, flexibility and mobility on IT specialists. This article identifies two features that are decisive for the formation of work identities of employees working in the sector: first, an “entrepreneurial” employment model that transfers responsibilities for skills acquisition, professional development and risk management to the individual; and second, a conflict between a strong identification with IT-related technology and flexibility requirements. The article analyses the implications these features have in terms of the role of initial and continuing vocational training, skills demands and the professional development of employees working in the sector. It also discusses how boundaryless career paths, characterised by ambiguity and uncertainty, influence work-related identities of IT specialists.

Introduction This paper investigates the dynamics of work-related identities in the light of increasing flexibility and mobility requirements at work. Such requirements are significantly affecting patterns of vocational identities of employees working in the IT sector, a sector that represents a new service sector with no long-established work traditions and profiles. Both organisations and individuals are challenged to deal with continuing demands for flexibility. While companies are adapting their managing and organisational structures, demands on employees include continuous self-directed learning, adjusting to new work organisation and changing job profiles. Employees’ ability to deal with those changes largely determines their future employability. The advancement of IT during the past two decades has been accompanied by important social, psychological, economic and ethical changes that influenced the nature of work, the structure of companies and society, management and economic relations. In classical work settings work identities – typically shaped through initial vocational education – could be connected to work commitment, good performance and strong work ethics. However, this article suggests that for the IT specialist it is the technical interest that constitutes the core element of his/her work identity, largely The authors appreciate the valuable contribution of FAME project partners from the Czech Republic, Germany and the UK.

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determining all other levels of identification with work. At the same time, the intensity with which identification with IT technology is held coincides with different flexibility patterns of employees. It also raises the issue whether and how prevailing work identities are compatible with contemporary requirements for flexibility and mobility and how the dissolution of traditional careers with the implication of shifting towards boundaryless career paths is affecting identity formation at work. The presented paper is based on a qualitative study. It concentrates on models of identity formation that are typically found in the IT sector, covering examples from Estonia, Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic. Since the integration of technologies and operations are blurring the line between IT, telecommunications and other related fields, recent studies tend to explore the ICT sector as a whole. Consequently, in the research undertaken the definition of the IT sector applies to both specific IT companies, whose main activities concentrate on the development or selling of IT products and services, and companies that have a considerable share of integrated products and services. The cases presented here illustrate some emerging issues as employees working in the IT field take responsibility of their own labour capital continuous development, in order to secure their competitiveness and employability. This implies that flexibility and the ability of employees to adapt to different work settings have gained primary relevance in order to shape one’s professional career. Nevertheless, companies, vocational education and training institutions and policy makers are facing major challenges in order to meet the Europe-wide shortage of qualified, multi-skilled IT staff. On the other hand, many IT specialists experience high stress levels caused by a constant pressure for learning and being flexible, often leading to difficulties of balancing work and private life. In a comparative perspective, the paper will discuss how some of those issues are addressed in the four countries of investigation.

Shift from traditional career paths to boundaryless careers With the end of the “job for life” era, working paths can no longer be described as a continuous ascent up the career ladder, but increasingly exceed the boundaries of a single firm and involve career gaps and turns during one’s working life. Sennett (1998) points to “no long term” as a dominant feature of today’s work contexts. As classical progressive career paths are becoming fragmented, the deployment of a single set of skills during one’s whole working life is also becoming the exception. Watts (2000) suggests that career should be viewed as a lifelong progression in learning and in the work the individual is undertaking. The concept of “learning” here includes both formal and informal learning. “Progression” embraces not only vertical movement, but also lateral development, gaining experience as well as positions, broadening as well as advancing. According to Littleton et al. (2000) the emergent pace of economic change has resulted in a shift from “bounded” careers that are characterised by pre-ordained and linear development paths within an organizational hierarchy to “boundaryless” careers. Instead of providing “road maps” or prescribed guidelines for employment situations, the boundaryless career involves ambiguity, uncertainty and a need for flexible behaviour. The individual becomes responsible for his/her own skills development, in order to maintain his/her employability on the labour market.

In the course of reviewing different strands of careers research, Sullivan (1999) identifies several features that have been researched in the context of the boundaryless career concept. The first most common type is a career that involves transition across organizational boundaries. The “Silicon Valley career” serves as an example here. The author suggests that with increasing job mobility and individuals’ changing attitudes towards career and balancing work and private life, occupational commitment is likely to replace organizational commitment in the future. The second feature involves occupational boundary transition: the individual assesses his/her career opportunities and may change occupation and jobs in order to remain competitive in the labour market. A third element refers to changing employment relationships. The new psychological contract is based on employability and employees’ responsibility rather than job security. While the traditional employment contract used to be binding, new types of contracts are flexible and open to changes on the side of both employers and employees (Heery and Noon, 2001; Noon and Blyton, 2002). According to Sullivan (1999) the new psychological contract involves potentially positive aspects such as more flexibility and challenges at work. Negative aspects, however, for both parties may involve poor work morale of employees and their lack of identification with the company, underemployment of workers and possible decries of training and development programs that the organization provides. The importance of network relationships is the fourth feature emerging in connection with forms of boundaryless careers. The social capital appears in a network of relationships with friends and colleagues who provide information and support opportunities for further career development. The fifth element refers to inter-role transitions (e.g. lateral promotions) that involve socialisation into new working teams and work cultures. Those types of transitions are becoming more frequent than they were under classical career patterns of the past. Lastly, changes in organizational structures influence the nature of jobs, so that intra-role transitions make jobs increasingly becoming more complex. Connecting to some of the features outlined above, this article discusses how changing career patterns and requirements at work may influence the formation of work identities. As claimed by Collin and Young (2000) the concept of career involves far more than just the “objective” work paths and professional stages. It also extends to “self-identity and reflects individuals’ sense of who they are, who they wish to be, and their hopes, dreams, fears and frustrations” (Collin and Young, 2000, p. 5). We suggest conceptualising career as two-sided involving subjective elements – linked to self-image and identity – and “objective” elements such as work positions, job profiles and professional roles. In this sense, career is regarded as an overarching construct that makes individuals’ life meaningful (Collin and Young, 2000). Careers “provide cognitive structures on to which our social identities can be anchored” (Nicholson and West, 1988, p. 94; cited in Blaxter et al., 1998).

The de- and re-composition of work identities The article’s investigation of work identities in the context of flexibility and mobility requirements is based on theoretical assumptions that have been generated in the course of the research project “Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the

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European Labour Market (FAME)”[1]. Brown’s dynamic model of occupational identity formation (Brown, 1997) points to three important considerations: (1) Continuity and change are both two decisive elements that shape occupational identity formation processes over time. Hereby, work-related identities should not be regarded as constant over time, but in a dynamic way. The skills acquisition is not a simple linear process, but skills and knowledge, work roles, communities of practice and the identities they support are all changing. (2) The individual needs to be acknowledged as an actor in constructing her/his own occupational identity. Individuals are not simply taking over pre-existing identities and working roles, but are actively involved in developing their identities and reshaping communities of practice. However, the identity construction process is not entirely subjective as individuals and their interactions with others are partly constrained by the structures and processes of the communities of practice in which they take place. (3) Occupational identities vary in the significance individuals ascribe to them. Developing an identity in a broader sense may carry far more relevance for a person than developing particular work-related attachments. Work-related identity is seen as just one of the many smaller identities that form the overall identity of an individual. Brown’s (1997) model stresses the significance of communities of practice in identity formation at work, thereby connecting to Lave and Wenger (1991) who regard identities as “long-term, living relations between persons and their place and participation in communities of practice” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, p. 53). Hereby, identities, learning and membership in communities of practice entail each other: “learning and a sense of identity are inseparable: they are aspects of the same phenomenon” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, p. 115). Identity formation takes place with changing knowledge, skills, roles and discourses as “newcomers” become “old-timers” and acquire full membership of the community of practice. Participation and membership in communities of practice involve the development of knowledgeable identities, a process that at the same time also entails the reproduction and transformation of those same communities. Similarly, Sfard (1998) introduces the idea of two complementary metaphors in order to explain the nature of learning – the acquisition metaphor and the participation metaphor. While the former regards learning in terms of knowledge acquisition, the latter interprets learning as a process of participating in the community (Sfard, 1998). This dual perspective implies interdependent and concurrent socialisation and identity construction processes. The decomposition and fragmentation of classical forms of work identities and the individualisation of career paths put great demands on the individual to actively construct his/her work identity instead of resorting to largely pre-structured identity and career patterns (Carruthers and Uzzi, 2000; Sennett, 1998). While this process develops through the interaction between structural conditions and the ability of the individual “to build up new identities and integrate them with those overcome” (Habermas, 1976), individuals become reflective agents (Giddens, 1991) who constantly (re-)assess their work identities and roles. At the same time, they are involved in actively shaping work structures and processes.

The connection between the “social” and the “personal” directly connects to a sense of perceived sameness or differences with particular communities of practice. The demarcation lines that employees draw can serve as a useful indicator to assess how conflicts that arise between work identity formation and requirements for work flexibility and mobility are personally perceived and dealt with. Despite considerable changes of work settings and growing demands for flexibility and mobility of workers, identities at work can still be connected with motivation and work commitment. The primary source of identification, however, seems to be shifting from the occupation to working teams and knowledge (Casey, 1995). Methodological background The research findings presented in this paper were generated within the 5th EU framework project “Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market (FAME)”[2]. The project’s investigation extended to several occupational groups that represented either strong or weak traditions of vocational identity. Occupational groups of metal/engineering represented a traditional production industry; employees working in telecommunications and health care professionals represented traditional service sectors; and employees working in tourism and the IT sector represented new service sectors[3]. The IT sector was selected to represent a new service sector with no long-established occupational traditions and work profiles. Rapid technological change places high mobility and flexibility requirements on companies and employees working in the field. IT specialists are challenged to come to terms with boundaryless career paths, self-employment and individualised self-identities. Pressures for flexibility and continuous self-development result in high stress levels, while, on the other hand, patterns of flexibility and mobility are also used for career development, the enhancement of one’s own labour capital and the improvement of working conditions. The study concentrated on work-related identity formation of IT specialists in Estonia, Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic. Hereby, Germany and the UK represented two different mainstreams within Europe in terms of concepts of work and vocational training, whereby Estonia and Czech Republic were chosen to represent post-communist economies. The project was structured into three research phases. The introductory literature review aimed to investigate the key concepts, definitions and project-related terminology. This was followed by conducting interviews with managers and employees. In the case of IT, the first empirical investigation involved IT business owners and managers of companies, while the second phase involved IT specialists employed by the companies. Main tools for data collection were individual open or semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. In addition, interviews with sector level experts were conducted and questionnaires to obtain sector-specific information in some countries applied. Interviews with business owners and managers were geared towards understanding the employers’ perspective on the subject and their influence on main aspects of work identity formation of employees through their HR and recruitment policies. Managers’ opinion on IT specialists’ capability to deal with changes at work and how (they think) this affects employees’ identity formation at work were central

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questions here. The information obtained and preliminary findings, together with additional contextual background material, built the ground for conducting interviews with employees on the basis of interview guidelines that all project partners commonly agreed on. Interviews with IT specialists were designed to assess the adjustments they make in responding to changing work settings and their perceptions of new skills requirements and learning and how this affects their work-related identities, commitment and work performance. The sample consisted of 70 participants, of which about 20 were holding higher and intermediate management positions, hence, representing the employers’ perspective. Across all four countries company size varied from small over medium to large companies, including private and public ones. Employees represented different personal and organisational backgrounds, selected according to the pre-defined criteria that all project partners agreed on. When conducting the research, a considerable number of “overlapping cases” with the sample of the investigation in the sector of telecommunications were identified as employees increasingly move between the two sectors. In addition, both sectors are merging due to the gradual integration of technology and services companies provide. The companies that were selected to participate in the investigation were either providing IT or integrated products and services or were characterised by their substantive IT service substructures (i.e. IT departments and specialist staff). The transcribed interview texts were subjected to a detailed analysis. In addition, case studies were developed in all partner countries in order to illustrate patterns of work identities that IT specialists adopted. The inner validity of the research has been considered as follows: According to Alasuutari (1995), the validity of a qualitative research is based on a “process of saturation”. The saturation point is reached and data collection can be stopped when respondents start repeating each other and bring out already familiar patterns. Second, the results of a qualitative research are context specific and conclusions apply only to a specific occupational group concerned operating in a specific context (Bryman, 1988). Third, the results should follow the “principle of unexceptionality” in a sense that conclusions should be valid for the whole corpus of data (Alasuutari, 1995). In case some findings do not fit into the constructed pattern, the latter needs to be specified and re-constructed.

Skills and labour market requirements: expectations and reality Due to rapidly changing technology, globalised markets and new modes of work organisation there is a high demand for IT staff with multiple and hybrid skills profiles. Employers apply different human resources development strategies in order to meet new skills requirements and to overcome the Europe-wide shortage of qualified IT staff. A few years ago, most countries responded to the shortage of IT specialists by significantly increasing the number of IT study courses and integrating IT qualifications into other non-IT study programmes. Germany launched large scale retraining efforts and the creation of an IT apprenticeship programme integrated into the German dual system, while the British approach made greater use of graduates and intensive IT training on the job. Estonia and the Czech Republic show their own peculiarities. Their post-communist background provides a kind of “double transition”, a mix of features of post-communist and information society transition. Although in

these countries the IT sector also operated during the Soviet period, it was formed as a practically new sector during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The ideal IT specialist is expected to be able to undertake a wide range of different tasks and work in a number of different roles. The profile of a multi-skilled IT technician constructed by employers contains a variety of aspects such as confidentiality, language skills, hybrid technical skills, communication skills, readiness for changes and continuous self-development, stress handling ability, team working skills and a general knowledge about administration. This list of skills contains key competencies (Weinert, 2001) that are context independent in their nature and applicable to different work settings and tasks. The concept of key competencies implies more than skills and knowledge, but is always a complex system of knowledge, beliefs and action tendencies (Weinert, 2001, p. 53). As teamwork is becoming the prevailing working pattern, the availability of a set of hybrid technical and “soft” skills is highly desired. Employers in Estonia, for example, consider these competencies to be more important than formal qualifications. However, since skills shortages and demands for IT specialists are both high, employees with strong technical and poor communication skills still do not have problems in finding employment, only that employers usually keep them away from customers. With the disappearance of pre-structured and progressive career paths, employees experience themselves and their professional development very differently. While 20 years ago employees could relatively easily plot their future career paths in a hierarchical, bureaucratic organisation, employees today are encouraged to see themselves effectively as “self-employed”, with employers being their customers. This new approach shifts the perspective of life-time employment to the pressure for life-time employability. This means that workers are impelled to develop a set of transferable skills and adaptive strategies in order to maintain their employability (Savickas, 2000). The need for continuous learning and self-development, combined with intense everyday work, are likely to cause stress. This can be quite difficult especially for older employees. A German case study demonstrates how a company can facilitate adaptation to these new requirements. This particular company has initiated an internal project, “Recognition of Change”, which offers special training in order to increase flexibility and to convey that changes are natural, not exceptional. Some UK companies offer greater flexibility in working patterns in order to accommodate employees who seek more of a life/work balance. In Estonia, high stress levels often result from weak managerial skills of Estonian managers and the fact that responsibility for skills development is entirely put on the shoulders of the employees. Most employers regard the ability to handle stress as an inseparable part of an IT technician’s skills profile. Education and lifelong learning Vocational education and training typically provide an important framework to develop an initial work identity. Understanding learning as a lifelong process does not only stress the importance of formal education, but also recognises forms of learning at the workplace. Recent literature increasingly replaces terms like “education”, “teaching” and “training” with the notion of the “process of learning” (Holmes, 2000). While the former indicates that education has a definite beginning and end,

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learning, on the other hand, refers to a continuous process. Similar to the process of lifelong learning, work identities are regarded as always incomplete and subject to continuing change and re-formation (Chapell, 1998). Initial vocational education serves as an important factor in socialising trainees into their future work roles. Besides the process of acquiring skills and knowledge, the individual becomes familiar with the work environment and conditions of a particular occupation and related social roles. Socialisation induces a process of sharing experience and thereby creating tacit knowledge, such as shared mental models about the application of technical skills (Attwell et al., 1997). Concurrently, socialisation interlinks with work-related identity formation. However, the countries of investigation – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany and the UK – show great variation in how the socialising function of vocational education and training is influencing work identities. The German dual apprenticeship system provides trainees with company-based training while studying at vocational schools. This three to three-and-a-half year programme also serves as an important recruitment strategy for companies and fosters and promotes strong organisational commitment (resulting in a generally low mobility of employees) and vocational identities. The UK on the other hand, relies upon a more work-oriented educational system coupled with an expectation of learning while working. This type of vocational system does not engage in supporting a strong identification with a particular occupation or company, as a practice-based system does. As a result, UK employees are more pro-active in constructing their own, rather individualised work identities. Instead of identifying with pre-defined work identities or vocational profiles they chose from a wider range of opportunities open to them. The range of skills people acquire in the educational system is perceived as an individual possession that could be used in a number of ways. This makes the workforce well prepared for mobility and flexibility requirements, although at the same time problems with the level of organisational commitment, from an employer’s perspective, could also be identified. In this context Noon and Blyton (2002) raise the issue of new work expectations of young employees. Those are less attracted by prospects of steady career advancement and job security than by the possibility of enhancing their expertise and transferable skills in project-based work settings. “They trust less and rely on themselves more” (Noon and Blyton, 2002, p. 70). From their perspective, job security is based on their own skills and the confidence they build on ensuring their employability by frequently changing employers. In all four countries of investigation, employers complained that the initial vocational training provided for IT professions does not meet the actual qualifications needed, despite the abundance of newly developed training courses. One reason for this mismatch of qualification and skills demands certainly lies in the dynamic of the sector: while the initial training period generally takes two to three years, the relevant technical knowledge becomes outdated more rapidly and the curricula schemes are not flexible enough to instantly incorporate latest developments. At the same time, particularly in Estonia and the Czech Republic, the institutional structures of education and training are not yet fully developed. Higher education programmes are often claimed to be too theoretical, whereas short retraining courses do not provide for the adequacy of skills acquisition. In Estonia and the Czech Republic, the lack of cooperation between vocational schools and IT firms and a rather unsystematic

coordination between training and work practice further contribute to the inadequacy of skills acquisition. Czech employers, for example, foresee that the Czech educational system will not be able to fulfil the future demand for qualified IT specialists as the institutions only have limited capacities for students’ admission and are facing insufficient technical facilities as well as a lack of qualified teachers. Also in Estonia it has been argued that the initial vocational education and training system does not succeed in offering the qualifications needed in work practise. While IT skills are taught in vocational schools, in state universities and institutions of applied higher education, the process of developing and applying vocational standards has been a tripartite process. Based upon the international vocational standards for the IT sector developed by the world’s biggest computer companies, employers regard this as an effective method for evolving the sector. Expectations imply the hope that the new curricula will be more flexible and better corresponding to rapidly changing technology. Currently, there is still a high demand for qualified IT specialists, particularly for employees with the right kind of skills mix. At the same time, most employers are not able to predict what kind of workforce they will need in the future. As a result, companies do not have long-term human resources development plans, but emphasise the process of becoming skilled that clearly is connected with learning while working. Continuous training and skills development Employers emphasise the need for continuous training, but the extent to which they offer a rich learning environment and offer training varies considerably. Training opportunities do not only seem to correlate with the size of the company, but they also depend upon the employers’ view regarding whether the acquisition and development of skills is the responsibility of the company or the individual employee. In Germany, for example, some larger companies have established their own education and training centres, and better training and career opportunities in large companies were stated to be a significant incentive for employees when choosing their employer. By contrast, training in smaller companies is less formalised and employers tend to stress learning as a self-directed process. Specialised and product-related training is regarded as obligatory and is mostly employer directed, whereas the development of communication skills rather falls into the category of voluntary training. In the UK, employers actively engage in further developing the skills – technical and “soft” skills – of their staff. Particularly, smaller UK companies regard horizontal mobility and a high level of flexibility of employees as an important means of developing relevant skills in connection with broadening competencies through changing work experiences. In addition, much attention is given to learning while working. But also UK companies vary greatly in the extent to which they provide a rich or poor learning environment and whether or not they give priority to the acquisition of technical skills over offering wider learning opportunities. The Estonian IT sector mostly consists of small companies that provide a wide range of services. In larger enterprises, training takes place according to HRD plans. However, as in big enterprises, some work profiles also tend to be based upon routine jobs less training is provided. Small and medium-sized companies do not operate according to particular training plans, but training is provided according to arising needs. Employers recognise the importance of continuous learning, but their capacities

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to invest in training are often limited. On the other hand, employees often encounter intensive workload that prevents them from participating in training programmes. As a result, the responsibility of skills acquisition is entirely transferred to the individual. Estonian employers emphasised the IT specialists’ “programmed self-study”, which is not only regarded as a skill by itself, but also expected as part of the IT specialist’s occupational role. Long working days and the constant need for self-study cause high stress levels that often result in an imbalance of work and private life. In the Czech Republic, forms of continuous training seem to be more institutionalised than in Estonia. Here, provision of training is widespread and can be described as a supply and demand free market that started off in the 1990s when private training and consultancy firms and non-profit organisations were founded to offer a wide range of courses. They supplement the training offered by secondary professional schools and higher education institutions. Due to competition and an oversupply of courses in some areas, training providers are forced to expand their portfolio of products and services. Although the system lacks a comprehensive structure and an efficient information system at national and regional levels, new forms of continuing education are still emerging. Apart from some of the bigger companies that have their own training facilities, most Czech employers use external training services. Other mechanisms that facilitate learning and identity formation at work involve on-the-job training – usually formal, planned and producing predictable outcomes – and informal workplace learning that can be characterised as unplanned and implicit, often collaborative and highly contextualised, with unpredictable learning outcomes (Hager, 1998, cited in Tyna¨la¨ et al., 2003, p. 151). Furthermore, for the IT sector informal communication networks such as virtual and Web-based communities play a significant role in creating professional belonging and enhancing self-development. These kinds of informal communities give a sense of togetherness as “IT people” and provide a platform for problem solving and learning. Here, everyone is at the same time a teacher and a student through informal ways of learning, which at the same time bring about a sense of solidarity. Recruitment strategies Recruitment patterns vary greatly between the countries of investigation. Generally, large companies use internal and external recruitment as two types of recruitment schemes. Employees may change jobs within a particular company for career purposes or because of redundancy schemes in the course of re-organisation processes within the company. Re-training programmes that the company offers often help these people to get back on track and apply for new in-house positions. External recruits usually need to hold both relevant formal qualifications and work experience. In some cases (such as Estonia) young people without relevant education and work experience are recruited frequently. In Germany, the apprenticeship programmes serve as the most important means of recruitment. Most of the newly qualified workers will remain with the company they trained with. Companies usually plan to employ these trainees after completion of their apprenticeship, as they are already familiar with the company-specific skills needs, working patterns and organisational culture. For the same reasons, technical college or university students, who followed some kind of practical training at the company

during their studies, are appreciated as potential future employees. The practical work experience helps these trainees or students to get a realistic idea about their future work. Although the UK system is more education based, some programmes accommodate industrial placements for students to have relevant experiences during their vacations. IT-oriented recruitment fairs, particularly for university graduates, are common to bring companies and potential recruits together. The increasing demand for technical staff with a broader range of “soft” skills makes companies organise assessment and selection events to assess potential recruits’ skills and ability to learn. UK companies are also increasingly open and sometimes prefer to appoint graduates with a background in arts and humanities and good communication skills instead of recruiting graduates with a science degree but limited communication skills. Guided by the assumption that “it is easier to train technical skills than to learn a new way of being”, UK employers are also putting more efforts into recruiting female graduates, as they are thought of as being good at facilitating teamwork and empathising with the client. Estonian vocational education and training neither meets the expectations of employers quantitatively nor qualitatively. Apart from recruiting post-graduates and employees with work experience, companies also recruit self-taught IT “fanatics” or students right from the school-desk. One consequence of this recruitment strategy is the unfinished educational paths of many employees in the sector. Even if the employees themselves are aware of the necessity of obtaining a diploma, following courses alongside work commitments is extremely difficult due to the intense workload. In addition, many employers do not consider formal qualifications to be a prerequisite for job entry, as formal vocational education is thought of as being too theoretical and not providing practical skills and knowledge needed in everyday work. As outlined above, the insufficiency and inadequacy of IT-related Estonian training capacities need to be considered here. Participants broadly confirmed that no employer has ever asked for their diploma. Instead, employers stress the importance of employees having a strong interest in technology and the willingness to engage in continuous learning and “programmed self-study”. Despite this prioritisation of informal learning, employees seem to increasingly value formal vocational training, particularly at university level, as it helps them to develop broader professional perspectives. They believe that in the long run a diploma will pay off and if they work for a public institution they can ask for higher pay by making reference to their educational diploma. Estonian labour market demands for IT specialists have significantly multiplied their salaries during the last ten years. At present, the salaries seem to have stabilised and the recruitment of IT staff has become more sensible. Particularly in small countries like Estonia “everybody knows everybody within IT circles” and recruitment relies upon informal networks, personal trust and reliability, making the formal diploma almost losing its significance. By contrast, formal education is still very much appreciated among German and UK employers, although it is not necessarily a precondition for a future career in the sector. As the concept of qualification has changed, the ability for self-directed learning and development of competence has in itself become a central skill and qualification.

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Identification dilemma of IT specialists Personal labour capital: skills development, career paths and work-related identities According to Estonian employers, initial vocational training does not constitute a relevant factor in work-related identity formation of IT specialists, given the low recognition of formal qualification and the high number of unfinished educational paths. Instead, IT specialists strongly identify with the technical field and the nature of their work. Thus, it is not surprising that many Estonian and Czech IT specialists have studied a specialisation other than information technology. Their IT-related job profiles often have grown out of a strong interest in computer technology, which they also regard as their hobby. Being fascinated by rapidly changing technology and high-tech equipment they are committed to spend much of their private time on the computer. Continuous learning and problem solving does not only take place at work, but also outside office hours. IT specialists typically develop a self-understanding as “IT specialists” or “IT people” instead of attaching themselves to particular occupational fields. Estonian and British employees seem to be highly mobile and open to changing employers and occupational profiles, as long as their work profile remains IT related. They are, however, not likely to leave the sector. Employees who experience their work as a form of self-realisation are more likely to change vocations or their field of activity, provided that a new challenge can offer better possibilities to fulfil one’s need for attainment. Among the different factors that influence the level of motivation and work satisfaction, challenging work tasks, innovative technology, a good work environment and opportunities for professional development can be quoted as the most important ones. Regarding their work environment, participants stated that “what is positive about the work is also negative” referring to the high tempo at work and the interaction with customers. The high tempo pushed by rapid technological change, short deadlines, a high work volume and the tendency that work tends to accumulate to the last minute, make the work environment very challenging, but also cause a lot of stress. While some employees experienced working overtime and during weekends as stressful, others considered it as an expression of flexibility and being an inseparable component of the work profile of an IT specialist. Interaction with customers can equally be a source of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. While some technicians regarded interacting with customers, particularly dissatisfied customers, as a nuisance, others highly valued communicating with clients and a customer-oriented attitude was seen as a major characteristic of a “good” IT specialist. Estonian technicians, however, regarded interacting with customers not being in line with the technical problem solving and pottering at a computer. IT specialists and “ordinary users” often cannot find common ground for communication. Fundamental misunderstandings between IT staff and users can be seen as an indicator of the weak communication skills of IT specialists. Although much of the work is organised in teams, independence at work is valued by employees as well as demanded by employers. The degree of working independently seems to be higher in small firms since big companies often still rely upon more formalised work roles. This makes IT specialists focus on a narrow field of activity, to the extent that specialisation can generate inflexibility and a feeling of being disconnected from the broader work context. Also a high level of mobility and fast changing work settings can cause dissatisfaction and lack of commitment when

employees start to feel disconnected from forms of continuous work or stable team structures. Thus, a balance between independent or individualised work and the integration into the broader work context is important. Team-work also makes employees point to the importance of a good working environment and interaction with colleagues. Recognition and positive feed-back among team members motivate employees and can directly be connected to job satisfaction and good work performance, as the generation of ideas and problem solving typically takes place in close cooperation with other team members and the client. The European labour market still demands qualified multi-skilled IT specialists who are expected to be highly mobile and flexible. Individuals are expected to adapt existing skills and competencies to meet new demands of new contexts (Rychen and Salganik, 2003). From a management perspective IT specialists are expected to be able to undertake a wide range of different tasks and work in a number of different roles. The British case provides an example of how such flexibility requirements are institutionalised by recruiting technical staff like consultants whose role profile also covers providing technical leadership in research and development and facilitating knowledge sharing and teaching. However, different countries provide examples of different trends. German employees, for example, show a high level of organisational commitment, which usually increases with age. Job security, a good reputation of the profession and the linkages with the German dual system support employees’ work motivation, commitment and the formation of their occupational identities. This results in relatively low levels of staff turnover. However, the reorganisation of working patterns and more flexible organisational structures and HRD concepts result in identity formation processes also undergoing change. Some companies initiate special retraining programmes in order to facilitate employees’ adaptation to the requirements of flexibility and mobility. By contrast, IT specialists in Estonia and the UK are highly mobile. Changing companies is associated with self-realisation and the accumulation of skills and work experience. UK employees are less likely to develop any long-term attachment to a particular company but rather perceive their professional development with reference to the skills and knowledge they possess and the professional opportunities available to them. However, they sometimes strongly identify with the client, the product and the respective work tasks without being particularly attached to the company. With a combination of transferable skills that are highly valued on the labour market, employees believe that they potentially can do a wide range of jobs in the IT field. Also UK employers support their staff in often changing their jobs and sometimes even the employer, as this process facilitates the transfer of skills and tacit knowledge. However, they still try to encourage employee’s commitment and identification with the company. Even if flexibility and mobility are seen as inseparable parts of an employee’s self-image and are useful in order to enhance employee’s employability, too much flexibility can also cause problems of commitment. The two most common career paths for employees in the IT sector are either to become a specialist with profound technical skills or to proceed to a managerial position. Managerial positions are more open to employees with a wider range of skills encompassing good communication skills and analytical thinking. Those positions, however, are also associated with the inevitable degeneration of technical knowledge

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and practical skills. This seemed to be the major reason why most of the IT specialists interviewed were not interested in attaining managerial posts. German and UK employers have tried to solve this conflict by creating a special promotional track, the “Senior Technical Consultant”, for technical experts who wish to work as specialists, but who can still be promoted to the level of comparable managerial posts. Skills development is inevitably connected to whether companies offer a rich or poor learning environment. The character of a firm is considered to be an important factor in the development of personal labour capital. The decisive factor here is how much a company can invest in technology and HR development. Employees seem to more highly value the reputation of a company and working for a prestigious employer than the salary they can earn. In addition, the size of the company is also of relevance, as bigger companies often can provide better career opportunities. On the other hand, they rely upon hierarchical structures that tend to promote routine jobs and a specialisation in a narrow field of activity. By contrast, smaller companies allow for the possibility of remaining multi-skilled as a less formalised work organisation gives room for a higher level of independence and creativity in everyday work. Apart from what the company can offer, self-study plays a significant role in IT professions, as does learning from colleagues and problem solving that is inherent in the work itself. In addition, continuous self-study takes place while working, often with the support of on-line applications. Further training usually is only provided when technical problems occur or new technical equipment is introduced. But participation in such product-related courses is rather limited, due to the intense work-load most employees have to cope with. The role of flexibility and mobility Employees attributed a wide range of different meanings to the concepts of flexibility and mobility. These terms were most often associated with the readiness to cope with changes in the sense of “adaptability” of employees. Changes in the IT sector were most frequently related to the unpredictable nature of the work due to technological developments. As one German employee stated “no firm can actually promise that the work you are doing today will remain the same tomorrow”. Other connotations implied time flexibility with the need to work overtime and during weekends and a broad work profile with concurrently performing different tasks. The term mobility was referred to in the sense of geographical mobility, mobility as availability of employees, promotional (vertical) mobility and horizontal mobility when moving between different jobs or employers. Estonian and British employees emphasised the importance of changing jobs for fostering one’s own professional development. The dynamics between continuous learning and flexibility became central when raising issues about work satisfaction. On the one hand, the need for continuous learning, the development of a broad professional profile, multi-tasking and working independently was mostly experienced as motivating. On the other hand, the high demand for flexibility and time pressure often caused high stress levels that could negatively affect one’s personal life. Even “flexible” employees stated that what was required from them in order to perform well was not compatible with building a family. The professional role demanding a high level of flexibility, learning and geographical mobility combined with interesting work and a high salary seems to suit the career model of a young, independent person. However, it becomes incompatible, particularly

for women, when setting other, for example, more family-oriented priorities. German and UK cases provided some interesting examples of such conflicts where employees left a highly paid position in favour of more stable working conditions with less stress and lower demands on being flexible and mobile. Another issue raised was whether employees could comply with the requirements for fast and continuing learning in a sustainable manner over a long period of time. Some employees were concerned that the mode of learning that they currently experienced as motivating, may become much harder for them with increasing age. They also expressed anxiety about not being able to predict the future directions of the technical field, which makes it impossible for them to project their future professional role and development. Presuming that individuals also have other commitments in addition to their work duties, demands for flexibility and adaptability to constant changes may be experienced as particularly painful. According to Schu¨lein (cited by Flecker and Hofbauer, 1998) an individual is torn between different expectations and temptations of various institutions or social contexts. As a response, individuals need to develop “instant personalities” in reacting to divergent demands. He or she must be flexible, capable of adaptation and of balancing diverse parts of the self. The connection between flexibility, skills and work identities As described above, technical interest can be considered as the core element IT specialists identify with at work. It is the source of their work commitment and was often mentioned to be the motivating element both for choosing to work in the IT field and for continuous skills enhancement. On the other hand, new modes of work organisation and changing markets have brought along the need for broader skills profiles and more flexible work attitudes. This article suggests that there is a certain correlation between employees’ strong identification with technology and flexibility. This assumption is sustained by conflicts that arise when employees are expected to transfer from a technical job profile to positions with considerable co-ordinating and/or selling functions. Employee’s readiness to be flexible is also connected to different types of knowledge and work identities. While an employee who strongly identifies with technology plunging deep into IT systems will most likely engage in further developing his/her IT-specific skills, more flexible employees would be more open to developing a broader skills profile. The latter are also more likely to diversify their work identity. Furthermore, a strong identification with technology and technical competence can considerably limit an individual’s career mobility. As regards the boundarylessness of careers, it should be noted that to a certain extent employees themselves determine the boundaries of their career paths. The model (see Figure 1) illustrates the dynamics between a strong identification with technology of employees and flexibility requirements. It suggests that the extent to which employees identify with the technical field and IT-specific skills as the core elements of their work results in different patterns of work identities. The model is based upon five types of IT-related work identities that have been labelled as “geek”, “techie”, “flexible specialist”, “translator” and “transgressor”. Before these different identity models are presented, it is important to keep in mind that those represent ideal and not real types. Ideal types in a Weberian sense should be understood as “pure

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cases” that do not exist in real social life, as they are abstract tools helping to sort cases according to certain features. By categorising cases we can only say, that case rather belongs to group A and that one to group B. The idealised types vary in relation to a strong/loose identification with IT technology and a more or less flexible attitude towards work, which can be directly linked to the openness of employees to broaden their skills profile and knowledge according to changing demands. The latter, on the other hand, demonstrates how responsive the individual is to different career opportunities and how bounded or boundaryless his/her career becomes. When moving towards the outer circles of the model, the identification with IT-related technology weakens, while flexibility and readiness to cross one’s career boundaries increases. The model assumes that flexibility coincides with a positive learner’s attitude and the openness to develop hybrid skills including communication skills. While for a “geek” learning means acquiring technical skills in correspondence with changing technology, a “translator” or “transgressor” also understands learning as developing broader communication skills, team-working abilities, analytical thinking and the ability to empathise with the client. The skills profile of a “transgressor”, for example, may include a combination of technical and managerial skills, while a “geek” would rather be motivated by his deep interest in technology that largely determines his or her self-development process, the “translator” would show a much stronger client orientation. This typology, presented below, more or less succeeds in covering all real cases investigated in the research project. From “geek” to “transgressor”: five cases A “geek”. All four countries distinguished a type of IT professional who identified strongly with technology and was reluctant to develop broader communication skills. Estonian and British employers characterised a “geek” as a type of IT specialist who likes to talk to a computer rather than to interact with other team members or clients. But although employers stressed the high demand for flexible and multi-skilled IT specialists, technicians with poor communication skills still do not seem to have problems in finding a job. The latter results from the Europe-wide shortage of qualified IT staff, but also from the fact that a considerable number of IT jobs require routine tasks. British employers, for example, stated that they actually need pure technical

staff for writing code and performing other routine jobs. However, they prefer to keep those employees away from their clients: Case 1. G. is 21 years old and has been working in the field for almost four years. Currently, he is working as a technician in a small Estonian IT company providing client support. He considers being continuously in touch with latest technology as very inspiring. In order to stay up to date with the latest developments, constant learning mostly from the Internet, is inevitable. For him being an IT technician is not only a job, it is also a hobby that reaches back to his childhood. He has always had an interest in technology and has dealt with it at home from a very early age. Eventually it turned out that he knew more about it than anyone else and an IT company recruited him right from the school-desk while still studying in the eleventh grade. “I went during my high school studies . . . whether I sit in the computer class after my lessons or I go to work somewhere . . . where there are much better possibilities to be in touch with IT . . . and if I can get paid for it as well . . . it’s decided.” His first employer was rather small and his job mainly consisted of assembling computers produced in Estonia and the resolution of problems involved. During the 2.5 years in the company he covered all possible jobs positions starting as a schoolboy to becoming a major technician in the firm. Since his previous company is known for its high level of staff turnover, he thinks he lasted there a relatively long time. The typical employee there is a student when recruited, who after rising to some level, proceeds to another firm. “Why I stayed so long was because I worked and studied at the same time. Had it be my main job, maybe I would have left earlier. I would have started to look for another position.” During the last year he has been providing technical client support for another IT company. While the previous company dealt with assembling computers, here he has to deal with systems providing support for companies dealing with all sorts of problems. He is very satisfied with his present position, that involves more creativity and independence in work performance, since he has to come up with solutions all by himself. “Nobody is coming to dictate and tell me what to do as there simply isn’t anybody who could do it.” However, the degree of freedom at work does not depend upon the company size, but on the specific field in which the firm is operating. The requirements for mobility and flexibility are experienced as inevitable features of the occupational profile. The most suitable expression for mobility is “being always ready and available”. He experiences the high tempo at work as the most negative feature of the IT field as the work tends to accumulate. He has done some work as a freelancer as well, but considers working for a company being more secure. For him developing a career does not mean achieving a managerial position or higher salaries, but rather a form of self-development by going deep into systems technology. Designing more complex systems is the next challenge, as currently he is working with small and medium level systems, approximately 20 to 30 computers in a firm. However, he is also pursuing a university degree in computer systems, which implies designing digital systems, another possible direction for his future career. He sees his future in a very positive light, expecting that salaries for IT specialists will soon be rising due to the integration into the European labour market.

A “techie”. All partner countries also provide examples of a “techie” – an IT specialist who identifies strongly with the technical field and who regards his work also as a hobby. Those people spend much of their free time on a computer. While a “geek” is rather associated with a negative stereotype, a “techie” may also have acquired advanced communication skills. Particularly the Estonian sample comprised a high number of employees with such an orientation. For those kind of employees, making a career does not mean achieving managerial positions or better salaries, but rather a professional self-development by going deep into (technical) systems. However, technicians with a highly specialised work role are in the most risky position on the labour market. Sometimes the narrow specialisation (even at a very

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advanced level) has been referred to as a “trap” in the career path. Not only the UK and German telecommunications/IT overlapping cases provided abundant examples of employees who were forced to re-define their previously mainly technical orientation in order to ensure their employability: Case 2. T. is a 42 years old Estonian support services specialist who has been working for the same company for 20 years. She says she cannot imagine life without her work. Ten years ago, she stayed home for a year with her baby and felt that there was something missing in her life. She claims that it was by chance that she got into studying systems engineering. At first she wanted to study chemistry, but changed her subject due to health reasons. After receiving her diploma 20 years ago she was employed by an IT company with about 100 employees, a relatively big company for Estonia. With time she has taken different jobs, ranging from an engineer to providing analytical technical support. Currently she works as a support services specialist providing support from the beginning of a transaction until the breakdown of the computer. She experiences the fast development of the sector as very inspiring. However, she also feels that there is too much information to keep up with. It requires constant learning and self-study. Since possibilities for promotion and salary increase in the company are rather limited, staff commitment wholly depends upon personal motivation and enthusiasm. But she believes that the ability for self-study will ultimately result in good working results. In that process, the working team has a considerable role to play. Routine jobs are among the most negative features of her work. She and her colleagues are trying to rotate between work tasks, because some work, like providing help-desk support, can be extremely draining. While in her profession changing companies is generally recognised as essential for professional development, she emphasises that she is not a career person: “When I work, I like to go deep into the system with my head and my ears and I do not think about a career. I feel that I’m a specialist and I don’t climb up the career ladder. I don’t look for anything new as I’m satisfied with my work. I develop personally in my work, it’s interesting and I don’t want to change anything.” Although the salaries are lower in the company than in some other IT firms, she wants to stay with her current employer. The salary is less important than a good team and work environment. She feels happy having survived many generations of computers, starting off with old big machines to very complex systems and the fourth generation of personal computers.

A “flexible specialist” From the employers’ point of view, the most desirable employee is the “flexible specialist” who combines technical and generic skills as well as the ability to empathise with the client. Those multi-skilled employees, also often working as consultants, are highly valued and well paid in the European labour market. Related work profiles may either take the direction of a salesperson or have a more technical orientation. While the work of a sales consultant focuses on communication and marketing, the technical consultant provides technical solutions for clients working in a number of different settings. In the UK, the professional profile of “Senior Technical Consultant” has been created to provide a promotional alternative track for IT technicians who are not interested in moving into team leader or management positions. Besides identification with the work itself and the company, employers strongly encourage consultants to identify with the clients and the products and services they provide: Case 3. F. is a UK IT systems developer in his early 30s. He got married just after completing a degree in computing. While still at university he worked for a major IT company and already had plenty of job options. However, he looked for a job in a particular location where his wife had landed a fast-track management job with a very large retail and manufacturing

company. He found a job in the same city as IT consultant with a small software firm that provided IT and management services to the manufacturing and services industry. The project work proved to be a useful way of learning while working with clients. The company also offered training (often provided by vendors) so that staff could keep abreast of the latest technological developments. The range of projects included application developments, on-line database access and business consultancy. He worked in a number of different roles and on a wide range of projects. He then got a job as systems developer for a regional utilities company which, after a couple of years, was taken over by a large national company. He got promoted to a senior position still involving systems development. The new job required relocating to work about 30 miles away. In order to take advantage of a generous relocation grant they moved to a larger home in the same city, but with easy access to the motorway. Despite the positive development, this move was combined with a two year commitment to the company. He felt it was important not to stay too long: “I was planning to work for them for five years . . . there is no such thing as a job for life and it is important to move around to new employers – myself working until I am 65 . . . I would also like to do things not connected to my current job . . . maybe move abroad or set up my own business in future.” He recognises that things have gone well so far and his range of experience gives him confidence that it would be easy to find another job. He appreciates that his job requires continuing learning that supports being adaptable and willing to try new things. This is good for making a career. Staff redundancies due to major restructuring in the company during the last years lets him conclude that “you cannot depend upon your employer any more as the business world is so changeable.” This case exemplifies the “flexible worker” not only by being related to a particular work attitude, but also in the sense of identifying ideologically with it you can get cynical and tired working in the same organisation. By moving around you also bring new ideas to an organisation . . . this is the type of flexibility that will be important and not your ability to relocate.”Although he is well rewarded and gets great benefits he does not identify with his employer in the sense of expecting to have a long-term employment and commitment. He also does not identify with a particular occupation, but rather sees himself as being able of doing a wide range of IT-related tasks. He feels he is in control of his career direction – the only possible constraint being the adaptability to career patterns of his wife. Currently they both work very hard to pay off their mortgage. “Maybe we’ll take it easy later on – I don’t see it yet.”

A “translator”. The “translator” seems to be a suitable label in the identity model for a project manager or a team leader. A German case provides an example of a female team leader in her mid-40s who describes her main professional function as a translator between the client and the computer expert, a role that demands excellent communication skills. The position of a project leader is considered to be the last step where it is still possible to follow changing technology to a certain extent. In Estonia, there is a high demand of project managers, who have one foot in IT and one in economics, production technology or other related fields. Interviewees have argued that most problems to do with work organisation, complying with deadlines and working overtime are caused by the poor managerial skills of most project managers. As a consequence, many Estonian project leaders have gone back to the school desk to study IT management: Case 4. S. is a German project manager in her mid 40s. Being uncertain about any career direction after school she started as a bank clerk apprentice since her father was working at a bank. After completion of her training she stayed with the bank for a couple of years to gain some work experience. Although she attained a little promotion during that time, it was clear that women did not have great possibilities to make a career in the bank. In the beginning, she liked her work but became bored when work tasks turned out to become a routine and finally

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quit the job without having any other job offer. In the course of reorientation and trying out something completely new she started to work and live at a farm that was producing textiles in a traditional way for the following one-and-a-half years. Initially she only intended to work there for a few months to take a break and to think about her future professional direction, but with time she developed a deeper interest in textiles and fabrics and decided to stay on. Following this interest she then started a five-years university course studying textile and clothing technology with a specialisation in threads and fabric development. The course had a very technical orientation and only a very few female students. After completion of the course in 1988, it took some time before she finally got a job with a textile company. At that time it was rather difficult to find something corresponding to her qualification and she felt discriminated against as a woman who wanted to work in the textile industry. The textile company hired her to work with the new and, at that time, innovative CAD systems, which soon revolutionised the whole textile industry. Working with the new computer systems and being responsible for introducing the system in the different departments presented a real challenge to her. She found this task very interesting and enjoyed her work, but soon started to encounter problems with the rather conservative and inflexible attitude of staff being reluctant to accept the new technology. After some years, when work processes became routine jobs, she decided to quit her job and look for something else to do. Personal reasons made her move to a new city. Job searching in the textile industry proved to be unsuccessful since in this region there were basically no jobs in this sector. She started to develop a broader orientation and, after one year, got a job at a small software company producing software solutions for the tourist industry. Although she had no background in tourism, she was recruited to help build up and systemise the project work. She started off with project documentation, the development of project circles, and project coordination and management. Today, she is holding a team-leading position supervising about 20 employees and several IT projects. She feels that in her work as a project manager she has the function of a “translator” between the client and the computer expert, who is developing the software system for the client. In this function, she has to understand what the client wants and translate it into a technical language for the programmer and the other way around. With time and through the different positions she has been holding, she finally discovered that what she really likes and she is good at is organising and shaping work structures and processes. To develop her potentials she needs to be in a work environment that allows her to be creative and innovative. She feels that she could easily and flexibly adapt to different kinds of work structures, processes, or sectors, as long as the work situation provides room for creativity and professional self-realisation. In her perspective it only takes one to two years of work experience to be able to more or less master a new job. After having reached the level of mastering a job, she usually very soon comes to a point where she wants to optimise processes and bring in her own ideas. If the structures are too rigid for innovation or the staff is not open and flexible so that progress cannot really be achieved, she will become frustrated and dissatisfied. She may then still continue for some time, but if she feels that things are not moving, she would rather leave the job and, if necessary, the profession and look for something else. Professional self-realisation seems to be the key element of her professional identity that ranks higher than her commitment to a particular company, product, occupation, the team or the perspective of making a career. And it also ranks higher than her personal life, social ties, family or being bound geographically. Thus, she does not only feel that she is a flexible person that can easily adapt to different work settings and tasks, but she needs the challenge of changes and flexibility in order to be satisfied at work. When she likes what she is doing, it is not important to her whether she works 8, 10, or 14 hours per day. She does not see herself remaining with her current employer or in the sector, but thinks that she will soon move on. She can imagine herself starting again in a totally new field and from her side she is not tired or lacking the energy to start something new. It is only that with age the opportunities become less as employers are more critical and reluctant to recruit employees

who are older than 40. The original wish for job security that once guided her when opting for an apprenticeship in the bank has been replaced by accepting a high risk level when leaving a job in order to find something more suitable. She is now trusting in her skills and competencies and feels that she can always find a new job, only that maybe the time between two employment situations will become longer with increasing age. She is aware that the high level of personal flexibility and risk taking is probably only possible, because she has no family responsibilities.

A “transgressor”. An IT manager illustrates the example of a “transgressor”, crossing the demarcation line and moving away from a purely technical identification by undergoing a considerable re-definition of role and basis of identification. The position of IT manager presumes a combination of technical knowledge, managerial skills and analytical thinking. It is accompanied by the notion that once you join the side of management, the technical knowledge and practical skills will inevitably degenerate or, as one employee put it: “you stay a bird that pipes constantly, but to whom the information comes already well chewed”. What can be stated, as a general trend, is that the more employees develop hybrid and generic skills the more likely it becomes that they change employers and even the sector, transferring their skills to completely different work settings. UK cases comprised a number of highly flexible and multi-skilled employees, including a multimedia designer, a software architect and an IT systems developer who changed jobs despite the fact that they were satisfied with the company environment and salary. But being aware that their skills and knowledge are transferable and highly valued on the labour market, changing jobs are more valued in the light of self-realisation and professional development: Case 5. G. is 29 years old and holds a position as IT manager with a Czech company. With a University degree in air transport he joined a company as the pilot of a crop duster after his studies. Six months later he decided to leave the company for personal and financial reasons and joined a company dealing with computer technology applications. There he worked for two years as a trainer and Web-site administrator. Due to better payment and higher job security he changed to his current job in another company. In his current position he manages people rather than dealing with IT although he is dedicated to following technical and IT-related developments. This is where he sees the advantages of his current job: staying in contact with new technologies and the IT field. Not having enough time for his family and stressful work situations are among the negative features of his work. Work intensification due to understaffing and working overtime are main problems. If he could change something in his job, it would be the working conditions, the corporate environment and the relationship with his supervisors. Although he enjoys his work he sees a difference between what he wants and what he does. However, his current position offers good possibilities for career progression and he can take advantage of in-service as well as external training the company supports. If a shift to a new system occurs, the company organises large-scale training in Prague. Although he feels that during the last two years he has learned a lot, both technical skills and in terms of communication with clients, he experiences a certain shortage of skills and knowledge, particularly when it comes to dealing with personnel, a field he has never studied. He thinks it will be difficult to keep his job in future. Although his work performance has been good there is certain unpredictability when it comes to reorganisation of the company. In terms of his future professional career he would like to advance his technical knowledge relevant for his job, but his employer places more emphasis on managerial skills. Right now he is not yet clear about the direction his career will take in future. Although he is not totally happy with his current, he also does not have higher ambitions at the moment.

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He is not considering further studies, but realises the need to keep pace with new technical developments. If he was to climb the career ladder, he would probably seek to do this within the company. In five years time he would like to see himself in a higher position than he has now.

Conclusions Rapidly changing technology and work profiles are unpredictable with regard to which direction they will take in future. This makes it extremely difficult for employees to plot their future professional trajectory. Moreover, the absence of pre-structured career paths in the IT field increases instability. This affects employee’s occupational identity, as they are being encouraged to see themselves as self-employed “entrepreneurs” who sell their labour to companies. Accordingly, former patterns of lifetime employment are being replaced by a concept of lifetime employability. In order to secure their survival in the labour market, employees need to become agents responsible for their own skills and career development. As for IT, the role of initial vocational training as a provider of professional qualifications and builder of work-related identities has never been strong. At present, learning while working serves as the prevailing mode of skills acquisitions embedded in “communities of practice” and the workplace that acts as the major learning environment. Communities of practice also play a key role in identity construction processes as they provide an important framework for identification. Communicating with and learning from other “IT people” creates a feeling of togetherness, belongingness and mutual support structures. This role was particularly articulated among Estonian participants. Here, communities of practice substitute for elements of identification that cannot develop due to the absence of institutionalising mechanisms in the sector and the underdevelopment of the vocational training systems. Himanen (2003) identified three characteristics of “hacker ethics”. First, having a “passion” towards one’s work that is, second, combined with creativity and an inner drive for self-realisation. The third element refers to the community of practice and the desire to share one’s skills and knowledge with community members to obtain some form of external acknowledgement and recognition. According to our findings, these three elements also constitute major elements of IT specialists’ identification with work. All European countries are challenged to deal with a shortage of qualified IT staff. However, what is regarded as being “qualified” has changed significantly. The demand for a combination of hybrid technical skills, administrative and advanced communication skills mainly results from the integration of technologies, new modes of work organisation and the service nature of the work. Estonian and UK employers experience IT specialists moving from company to company as a process that facilitates the transfer of tacit knowledge. For employees, frequent changes of companies serve as a strategy to gain work experience and enhance one’s own labour capital. IT specialists interviewed in the framework of the FAME project demonstrated very different career paths as well as work identities and attitudes towards flexibility and mobility requirements at work. Both vertical and horizontal mobility strategies (Freidson, 2001) were represented – “careers of advancement” as rising the professional ladder, but also “careers of advancement” without getting promoted in the

classical sense and deepening knowledge and competencies and becoming a specialist instead. The changing work context and spread of unconventional career paths have also led to more individualised work identities, a feature that is typical for employees working in the fast changing new economies. Five idealised models constructed from our case studies illustrated the dynamics between levels of identification with technical skills and flexibility. The cases illustrated that employees who identified less with their technical skills were also more flexible and ready to broaden their skills profile and, consequently, their career opportunities. The individual as an active agent shapes his/her career and work identity, but also constructs the boundaries to his/her career. While for a “geek” or “techie” the career paths are more restricted, a “transgressor” pursues a more boundaryless career. This, however, implies that the “transgressor” to a certain extent re-composes his/her work identity and broadens his/her professional roles. Occupational standards, traditionally considered as a means to generate employment stability, career progression and a clearly defined relationship between employees and employers, are becoming less formative, also for developing levels of identification with work. Rather than identifying with a particular occupational field, the company or the product, IT specialists regard their interest in IT-related technologies as the core of their professional identity. Moreover, “flexible specialists” are not likely to form any long-term attachments with a particular company or field of activity, but rather perceive themselves in the light of possessing transferable skills and abilities. The research undertaken also indicated a certain correlation between a strong identification with technology and inflexibility of employees. Taking into account the trend towards an “entrepreneurial” model that involves frequent change of employers and work situations as a strategy to ensure one’s employability in the labour market, the concept of building strong and inflexible work identities is becoming questioned. Demands for balanced skill mixes of IT specialists still present a key challenge for vocational training institutions as well as employers who value employees with broad competencies and who adapt easily to different work settings. Consequently, narrow skills profiles or specialisations can be considered as a “trap” in terms of employment and career opportunities. This can particularly become a major problem in the case of a small labour market, as in Estonia, with little knowledge-based economy. When it comes to work practice, employers in all countries complained about the inadequacy of skills profiles of IT staff. Thus training institutions are required to improve their training concepts, offering a broader competence development combined with company practice instead of focusing on technical know-how, which becomes outdated rapidly. Actions should be taken in broadening the curricula and promoting the institutionalisation of work practice. In addition, the continuous exchange between training institutions and employers need to be intensified. Employer organisations could function successfully as mediators and assist in building effective networks of communication for both parties. Shortage of IT specialists with good communication skills is still one of the major concerns of employers, as this often results in team working inefficiency, low quality of services and inefficient project managing. One of the reasons for poor communicative skills lay behind the IT specialists’ reluctance to move away from technology and

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assume more coordinative work roles with communication components. It has been argued that communication skills are best developed on the job, strengthening the relevance of company-based work practice as part of the curriculum. Another way may be to incorporate courses on communication and self-expression into IT study programmes. The use of project and group work-based learning methods in schools can support the development of trainees’ verbal and teamwork abilities. On the other hand, in the UK, companies are trying to promote communication skills by recruiting graduates with a background in arts and humanities as well as an increasing number of female employees. This approach is based upon the assumption that it is easier to train technical than communications skills. The trend towards unstable employment patterns and the emergence of new forms of self-employment are blurring the traditional distinction between employees and employers. This transfers the responsibility for one’s own professional development to the individual. In the context of job insecurity and taking responsibility for one’s own professional development, employees need to develop confidence in their own skills and abilities. Support for learning and the development of a form of guidance for the individual to cope with demands of mobility and flexibility should be geared towards empowering employees to become agents of their own professional interests. This is particularly important in the light of trends towards the individualisation of work identities. Lack of support mechanisms can cause stress, lack of commitment and poor work performance. In all countries of investigation, many employees working in the new economies encountered different forms of stress and difficulties in balancing work and private life due to high demands on learning, flexibility and mobility. Employees are expected to adopt flexible attitudes towards work and engage in self-initiated and self-directed learning. Participants claimed that making a career in the sector is not compatible with building family or even friendships. This is an important issue that companies and policy makers should consider when creating support mechanisms, for example by ensuring more family-friendly work schedules. Another issue that deserves some deeper thought is the concern about “what happens to the young independent IT specialists when they are getting older”? Today, possible career paths for older employees are still exceptional. Many IT specialists expressed anxiety about their declining ability to keep up with rapid changes, continuous learning and self-development with increasing age. Germany and UK cases provided examples of limited career options for senior specialists due to their age. Against the background of the accelerated pace of technological change and increasing demands for learning and flexibility, the question arises of how employees can keep up with these demands in a sustainable manner, as there are certainly limits to human capacities.

Notes 1. For details, see the introductory paper to this issue by Kirpal. 2. See the introduction to this issue, by Kirpal, for details on methodolgy, background and findings of the project. 3. Findings of the investigations in the other sectors are also presented in this issue.

References Alasuutari, P. (1995), Researching Culture: Qualitative Method and Cultural Studies, Sage Publications, London. Attwell, G., Jennes, A. and Tomassinin, M. (1997), “Work-related knowledge and work process knowledge”, Promoting Vocational Education and Training: European Perspectives, Ammatikasvatussarja, Tampereen yliopiston opettajankolutuslaitos, Ha¨meenlinna. Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (1998), The Academic Career Handbook, Open University Press, Buckingham and Philadelphia, PA. Brown, A. (1997), “A dynamic model of occupational identity formation”, in Brown, A. (Ed.), Promoting Vocational Education and Training: European Perspectives, University of Tampere, Tampere, pp. 59-67. Bryman, A. (1988), Quantity and Quality in Social Research, Routledge, London and New York, NY. Carruthers, B. and Uzzi, B. (2000), “Economic sociology in the new millennium”, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 486-94. Casey, C. (1995), Work, Self and Society after Industrialism, Routledge, London and New York, NY. Chapell, C. (1998), “Teachers’ identities in new times”, available at: www.aare. edu.au/98pap/cha98382 (accessed 14 July, 2002). Collin, A. and Young, R.A. (Eds) (2000), The Future of Career, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Flecker, J. and Hofbauer, J. (1998), “Capitalising on subjectivity: the ‘new model worker’ and the importance of being useful”, in Thompson, P. and Warhurst, C. (Eds), Workplaces of the Future, Macmillan Business, London. Freidson, E. (2001), Professionalism: The Third Logic, Polity Press, Cambridge. Giddens, A. (1991), Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. Habermas, J. (1976), “Ko¨nnen komplexe Gesellschaften eine vernu¨nftige Identita¨t ausbilden?”, in Habermas, J. (Ed.), Zur Rekonstruktion des historischen Materialismus, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main. Hager, P. (1998), “Understanding workplace learning: general perspectives”, in Boud, D. (Ed.), Current Issues and New Agendas in Workplace Learning, NCVER, Springfield, VA, pp. 31-46. Heery, E. and Noon, M. (2001), A Dictionary of Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Himanen, P. (2003), Ha¨kkerieetika ja informatsiooniajastu vaim, Kunst, Tallinn. Holmes, L. (2000), “Reframing learning: performance, identity and practice”, available at: www.re-skill.org.uk/papers/lanc00.html (accessed 14 July 2002). Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991), Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Littleton, S.M., Arthur, M.B. and Rousseau, D.M. (2000), “The future of boundaryless careers”, in Collin, A. and Young, R.A. (Eds), The Future of Career, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Nicholson, M. and West, M. (1988), Managerial Job Change: Men and Women in Transition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Noon, M. and Blyton, P. (2002), The Realities of Work, Palgrave, New York, NY.

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Rychen, D.S. and Salganik, L.H. (2003), “A holistic model of competence”, in Rychen, D.S. and Salganik, L.H. (Eds), Key Competencies for a Successful Life and a Well-Functioning Society, Hogrefe & Huber, Cambridge, MA. Savickas, M.L. (2000), “Renovating the psychology of careers for the twenty-first century”, in Collin, A. and Young, R.A. (Eds), The Future of Career, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 53-68. Sennett, R. (1998), The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism, Norton, New York, NY. Sfard, A. (1998), “On two metaphors for learning and dangers of choosing just one”, Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, pp. 4-13. Sullivan, S.E. (1999), “The changing nature of careers: a review and research agenda”, Journal of Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 457-84. Tyna¨la¨, P., Va¨limaa, J. and Sarja, A. (2003), “Pedagogical perspectives on the relationships between higher education and working life”, Higher Education, Vol. 46, pp. 147-66. Watts, A.G. (2000), “The new career and public policy”, in Collin, A. and Young, R.A. (Eds), The Future of Career, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Weinert, F.E. (2001), “Concept of competence: a conceptual clarification”, in Rychen, D.S. and Salganik, L.H. (Eds), Defining and Selecting Key Competencies, Hogrefe & Huber, Seattle, WA. Further reading Baruch, Y. and Winkelmann-Gleed, A. (2002), “Multiple commitments: a conceptual framework and empirical investigation in a Community Health Service Trust”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 13, pp. 337-57. Law, B. (2000), “Learning for work: global causes, national standards, human relevance”, in Collin, A. and Young, R.A. (Eds), The Future of Career, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Mitchell, J., Wood, S. and Young, S. (2001), “A literature review for VET”, Practice, Australian National Training Authority, Melbourne, available at: www.anta.gov.au

About the authors Alan Brown Alan Brown is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, UK. He is also Associate Director of the UK’s Teaching and Learning Research Programme and Co-ordinator of the European Learning in Knowledge Societies (LinKS) group that links six national programmes on knowledge and learning. He has been centrally involved in a number of national and European research and development projects, concerned with the use of ICT to enhance learning, work-based learning, career development and skill formation. E-mail: [email protected]

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M’Hamed Dif M’Hamed Dif is Associate Senior Researcher at BETA/Ce´req Alsace (University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg, France) working on various multi-disciplinary (regional, national and European) research programmes as an expert on vocational education and training (VET), human resources development (HRD) and project management. He is a member of the VET-NET Board and a VET-NET reviewer for the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) of EERA (European Educational Research Association, Scotland). He also took charge of BETA’s scientific contributions to several European research projects, namely: LIFEQUAL (1998-1999), FAME (2000-2003) and EURONE&T (2001-2004). E-mail: [email protected] Simone Kirpal Simone Kirpal is a research coordinator at ITB (Institute Technology and Education) of the University of Bremen, Germany, one of Europe's leading research institutes on vocational education and training. Areas of interest, research and teaching focus on international comparison of vocational training systems, work concepts and career orientations. Apart from her involvement in the 5th EU framework project on vocational identities, she has recently taken charge of a new Leonardo project on evaluation of vocational competence development (EVABCOM). Prior to joining ITB, she worked for three years as Education Specialist at the World Bank’s Human Development Network, Washington, DC, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Krista Loogma Krista Loogma is Head of the Institute of Educational Research, Tallinn Pedagogical University, Estonia. Next to education and labour market research she has been involved as national project manager in the CEDEFOP/ETF project “Scenarios and Strategies for VET and Lifelong Learning in Europe” (1998-2000), a Leonardo project on diversity management (1999-2000) and some EU Framework programmes. She is a member of several research networks, such as the European Association of Sociology, the World Futures Studies Federation, the European Education Research Association and VET-NET network. E-mail: [email protected]

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Fernando Marhuenda Fernando Marhuenda is Associate Professor at the Departament de Dida`ctica i Organitzacio´ Escolar of the University of Valencia, Spain. Apart from coordinating the research group “Transtitions to work for at-risk youth” he has been involved in several European research projects dealing with vocational education (i.e. 4th EU FP TSER on work experience; Leonardo project on vocational education; and a 5th EU FP on vocational identities). At regional level he has been coordinating two research projects on vocational training for youth at risk in the Valencia community. His areas of interest include vocational education and training and education and social justice. E-mail: [email protected] Ignacio Martı´nez Morales Ignacio Martı´nez Morales is a lecturer in Sociology and Psychology at the Escuela Universitaria de Magisterio Edetania of the University of Valencia, Spain. He has been involved in various research projects, particularly linked to the development of the research group “Transition to work of populations at risk”. In the course of the research project “Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market” he has published a book on working conditions and vocational identity in the hotel sector in the Valencia region: an approximation towards narratives and discourse. E-mail: [email protected] Almudena Navas Almudena Navas holds a research grant at the University of Valencia, Spain. She is currently writing her PhD on assessment practices in training processes developed by institutions that run various vocational training programmes. Part of her work is accessible at www.uv.es/, fame and www.uv.es/, idelab. E-mail: [email protected] ¨ marik Meril U ¨ marik is a lecturer and research assistant in the Sociology Department at the Meril U Estonian Institute of Humanities, Estonia. Her areas of interest include vocational education and training and labour markets. E-mail: [email protected] Raivo Vilu Raivo Vilu is Professor of biotechnology at Tallinn Technical University, Estonia. Apart from his experience in computer software development, his main expertise lies in biotechnology, environmental technologies, bioinformatics and educational research. In the area of educational research he took responsibility for developing a National Strategy of Education (“Learning Estonia” from 1997-2002) and was the national coordinator of the PHARE Distance Education Multi-Country Programme (1994-1999). In addition, he was involved in several 4th and 5th EU Framework Projects, as well as TEMPUS and CEDEFOP projects. E-mail: [email protected]

Call for papers Career Development International Advancing women’s careers Career Development International will be publishing a special issue on ‘‘Advancing women’s careers’’ in late 2005. It will be co-edited by Ronald Burke, York University, Canada and Susan Vinnicombe, Cranfield University, UK. Although women continue to obtain relevant professional and business education and are entering the world of work in roles similar to their male counterparts, few women reach the highest levels of corporate management. Instead, women are overrepresented at the lower management ranks. This situation represents a potential loss of corporate talent as the next qualified candidates are not represented at all levels of the organization. In compiling this special issue, the Guest Editors will give priority to papers that contribute to an understanding of the unique challenges faced by women managers and professionals and of initiatives likely to support women’s career development and equal opportunities. Both conceptual and empirical submissions (quantitative and qualitative) are encouraged. In

addition, case studies of company efforts to foster women’s leadership development and career advancement are welcome. Authors should submit manuscripts of 5,000-6,000 words, presented in the format set out in the journal’s Author Guidelines (see inner back cover of journal issue). Author details should be provided on a separate document from the manuscript to facilitate the blind review process. Submissions should be sent either by e-mail to Ronald Burke at [email protected] or by surface mail to: Professor Ronald Burke, Schulich School of Business, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. The deadline for submission of manuscripts is November 1, 2004. If you would like further information about this initiative, please contact Ronald Burke either by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone on 00 1 416-736-5096; or, alternatively, contact Susan Vinnicombe on e-mail: [email protected]