Fantasies about work as limitless potential – how managers and employees seduce each other through dynamics of mutual recognition
Abstract
This article draws on combinations of discourse theory and Lacanian theory to study the role of fantasies in creative knowledge work. It attempts to nuance a number of critical Lacanian studies that emphasize how management and HRM practices exploit the seductive, yet disciplining, effects of fantasies to increase worker commitment. In contrast, empirical data from fieldwork in two creative industries are used to show how employees also ensnare and discipline their managers based on the same fantasmatic dynamics. The article argues that both managers and employees avoid concrete definitions of responsibility in favor of intense mutual recognition. This allows them to pursue a shared fantasy about limitless potential (financial and existential) realized via work. This dynamic of recognition renders both parties more vulnerable towards each other and makes both parties resist attempts at moderation. The question of power and exploitation thus becomes highly muddled.
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Biographies
Susanne Ekman is Assistant Professor at Department of Organization, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Her research interest lies mainly within the field of knowledge-intensive companies. On a more theoretical level, she has explored the ambiguous consequences of freedom fantasies and authority relations in numerous contexts. Being a dedicated empirical researcher, she is also engaged in the discussion of how best to establish fruitful methodologies for critical research. She has forthcoming publications with Palgrave Macmillan and Oxford University Press, aside from a number of Danish venues. [Email: [email protected]]
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Article first published online: December 13, 2012
Issue published: September 2013
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