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Worker Identity

Davies, C. (2002). 'Managing identities: workers, professions and identity.' Nursing Management, 9(5) pp. 31-34. Ovid Accession Number: 00043623-200209000-00014.

In this article, Davies (2002), Professor of Health Care at the Open University's School of Health and Social Welfare, looks at how people define their identities, and, in particular, their professional identities.

Most people, if asked who they are, will have more than one answer.' I am a mother', one person might say, adding: 'A wife and a daughter caring for my parent, and a nurse working in a local hospital trust.' While perhaps another might just say 'I am a doctor'. These different responses give a hint of how people see the world and what culturally available ideas or discourses they draw upon to give structure and meaning to their lives. Identity, we can say, is a narrative about the self - a story produced in a social and cultural context.

The psychological tradition has tended to focus upon the individual's construction of identity - the individual developing psyche - whereas the sociological tradition has considered the individual's roles within the community and culture. However, the two points of view provide complementary perspectives, which have tended to come together in recent years.

Establishing one's identity in relation to another person can set up a boundary, with not always positive effects. For example, Davies writes:

Understandings of masculinity that emphasise rationality and detachment can appear to see the insightful and empathetic qualities of femininity as complementary - except that these qualities take on a negative cast (muddled, soft, sentimental, emotional) in a public world of work.

The effects of setting interpersonal boundaries with binary self-other underpinnings can be wide-ranging. For example, professions that were once highly regarded, such as teaching, face questioning about their core responsibilities.

Professionals are expected to be calm and confident, decisive yet sensitive, responsible decision makers in key areas of our lives. Instilling that calm and confident demeanour, creating a sense of identity as a professional that overrides other identities, is one part of what the long years of training are designed to achieve.
But if professional identity plays up these positive qualities, what does it play down? Doubt and emotional involvement are two key aspects. With so strong a sense of personal and individual responsibility coupled with the high hopes which surround professional activity, professionals need a strong belief in themselves and in the efficacy of their judgements.

Davies argues that it is difficult, faced with such pressure, to move beyond constructing one's identity as 'them versus me' towards a more equitable balance of power between professional worker and client.

In the article, Davies provides a number of activities to focus self-reflection upon one's own identity. By way of example, the first two questions are below.

Think about your own work identity. What are its components? Try completing the sentence: 'As a …, I am someone who …' How far does your sense of who you are as a person match your job title? What are the points of overlap and tension? Do you feel that you integrate other identities into the job (age, ethnicity, gender, family role)? Do you feel they are relevant or irrelevant to your work identity?
Now consider someone you work with who is either senior or junior to you. How would you describe their job identity/identities? How do you think they compare with yours?