Belonging at work: the experiences, representations and meanings of belonging
ISSN: 1366-5626
Article publication date: 3 April 2019
Issue publication date: 8 April 2019
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore what belonging is through the represented experience of people at work. The aim is to investigate employees’ interpretations of belonging at work and its interrelation with the material, aesthetic and emotional aspects associated to the where, the how and the when workplace is inhabited.
Design/methodology/approach
In line with the practice turn in social sciences, this study uses the visual method (snaplogs), which includes pictures and texts.
Findings
Belonging is situated in and integrated with social interactions, materiality, emotions and aesthetics. Belonging is about being part of something, the process of becoming through constant mediation between material aspects and social components, the process of experiencing boundaries and the attempt to perform, engage and participate (and find spaces for shared practices) in a workplace. Together, they constitute the situatedness, the here and now, of experiences of belonging and the perceived interpretation of being one among equals across organizational boundaries.
Research limitations/implications
Data were only collected at one point in time. The authors also relied on their own interpretations of pictures and texts and did not involve the informants in the analysis.
Practical implications
Being, becoming and belonging comprise material, social and affective dimensions. These dimensions should be addressed for employees to belong at work.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the belonging literature on perceived interpretations of what belonging is at work. The paper is also original in terms of the visual method used to grasp the practice representation of belonging experiences.
Keywords
Citation
Filstad, C., Traavik, L.E.M. and Gorli, M. (2019), "Belonging at work: the experiences, representations and meanings of belonging", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 116-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-06-2018-0081
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited