On Being At Work The Social Construction of the Employee

This remarkable book is an exemplar of how to combine theoretical sophistication, empirical engagement and readability in organization studies.

[...] theoretical arguments are woven with extreme skill into a narrative that tells the stories of a variety of people's working lives (and not just through dessicated accounts of 'identity' but, to use a much abused term, by providing a rich picture of their feelings, bodies, memories and hopes). These people include Harding herself and her sister Julie, a full-time carer for their father; Frank, a manager; Shakeel, a manual worker; Alex, an archaeologist; Kara and Saul, lecturers. It is this interweaving which is the truly remarkable feature of the book because it enables several things to happen simultaneously: to make sense of and illuminate easily recognizable experiences, to both elucidate and interrogate theory (including the theories in use of the subjects), and to hold the reader engaged.

[...] in a subject area much in need of renewal and experimentation this book stands out as an important landmark. It is conceived of as the second in a trilogy - the first being on management (Harding, 2003), the third to be on organization. On the evidence of this volume, and indeed its predecessor, the trilogy when completed will be one of the most exciting and stimulating contributions to contemporary organization studies.