Working and Caring for Children with Chronic Illness/Disability: Stories of Disconnection, Cruelty and "Clayton's Support"

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study of the life and work of people who are, concurrently, parents of a child with chronic illness/disability, and working full time. Nine women shared their experiences about the demands of caring for a child with chronic illness/disability while working full time. In light of the demands constantly placed on these women as they manage their multiple roles, it was of particular interest that their stories shared feelings of disconnectedness from others, as well as frank recollections of the cruelty and thoughtlessness of partners, family, friends, colleagues and strangers. They also reported their experiences with "Clayton's support" - the support you get when you are not getting support. These stories are shared in an effort to ameliorate the continuing challenges faced by these women

Three Stories—And a Writer’s Tale: A Creative Writing Case Study of Workplace Bullying

I present a creative writing case study of workplace bullying using three stories: Story 1—The Writing Context contextualizes the case study’s development in an Australian higher education institution; Story 2—The Writing Process describes the creative writing process, including interpretation of public domain secondary empirical sources enmeshed with a writer’s imagination; and Story 3—The Writing Product presents a creative writing case study of workplace bullying. Interleaved with these three stories of context, process, and product are fragments of my more reflective and reflexive story—A Writer’s Tale—shared to assist reader understanding of some of the ambiguous, paradoxical, and pernicious outcomes of workplace bullying, while also offering insights into the challenges facing those choosing to use creative writing in their scholarly work

Reflections from an Action Researcher: Why We Do What We Do

"My reflections from the field are shared in an effort to assist others. I commence by describing a social problem that was the focus of an action research project. I then articulate the paradigmatic, methodological and method choices made. I share extracts of data collected during different stages of the project to illustrate cycles of learning, reflection, and the development of actionable knowledge. What is important for researchers who are contemplating choosing action research is to understand the philosophy behind their decisions; that they think carefully about “why we do what we do” in order to fully realise the outcomes of co-learning, developing actionable knowledge and, ultimately, making change." (author's abstract

Working in teams : the influence of rhetoric-from sensemaking to sadness

At a time when teams are increasingly and routinely being used in Public Administration (PA) organizations, the prevailing wisdom about teams continues to confirm that teams axiomatically bring increases and improvements in effectiveness, productivity and communication. There has been relatively little critical address of whether these benefits actually accrue, nor what the experience of team members actually is. The PA literature, in particular, remains silent on this important issue. This paper shares findings from an exploratory phenomenological study. Members of teams in organizations were interviewed and asked about their experiences of working in teams. In contrast to the current wisdom, not only did team members not report the anticipated improvements and benefits, their stories tended to highlight the negative influence that the rhetoric surrounding teams might have on individuals. This paper shares the responses of team members to that rhetoric, revealing themes of &quot;Teams, Rhetoric and Sensemaking,&quot; a challenge to the notion of &quot;Teams as One Big Happy Family?&quot; while identifying &quot;Teams as Crucibles of Resignation and Sadness.&quot; These findings indicate the continuing need for further research into understanding the experience of individuals within various team and organizational structures, especially as they operate in PA organizations.<br /

Stories of ambivalence : Australian executives\u27 experiences of outplacement services

The increasing prevalence of organizational downsizing has been matched by growth in the provision of outplacement services. Yet there has been limited research on either the effectiveness of these programs or the experience of individuals undertaking them. Within a qualitative study investigating the experiences of Australian executives who had been made redundant, one of the focus areas explored was the experience of using outplacement services. Respondents\u27 stories revealed a sense of ambivalence towards these programs. This paper discusses the conflicting experiences giving rising to this ambivalence, namely, positive outcomes with respect to the use of office services and the receiving of proactive support, and more negative aspects of an absence of counselling skills and impersonal treatment through the organizational exit process. It is argued that further research on the outplacement experience is required to determine the type and quality of services which will best serve those who have been made redundant.<br /

Friendships under strain : the work-personal life integration of middle managers

Middle managers in today\u27s organisations have reported experiencing longer working hours and intensified work regimes. These increased pressures, in turn, have led to growing difficulty in addressing the integration of their work and personal lives. In an exploratory study of the daily workplace experiences of Australian middle managers and the impacts on their personal lives, one of the key themes to emerge was respondents\u27 concerns about the negative effects on their friendships. This paper discusses middle managers\u27 recognition of the value of friendships for their wellbeing, and the resultant anger and sadness reported at the strain on these relationships due to competing time demands. The significant role that friendships play in alleviating some of the stresses of work demands, while concurrently being impeded by these same demands, is an important issue for organisations to consider. These findings indicate the need for middle managers to truly have an ability to engage in activities - and friendships - which will aid them in their working lives. The study also indicates a need for further investigation into the development and maintenance of friendships for both middle managers and other groups of employees. <br /

Integration or collision? : middle managers\u27 concerns for work-life balance

As increased work demands and longer working hours become the reality for many employees, the concept of work-life balance has received increasing attention. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of Australian middle managers, which investigated the impact of middle managers&rsquo; daily organisational experiences on their lives both in and beyond the workplace. We focus on respondents&rsquo; concerns for the encroachment of work on their personal lives, both through the advent of new technologies and the introduction of flexibility initiatives in the workplace. The unwelcome effects of frustration, stress and fatigue highlight the need for organisations to gain a better understanding of employees&rsquo; experiences related to work-life balance.<br /

Towards ending the silence: working women as carers of children with chronic illness/disability

This research presents stories from Australian women who work and care for a child with a significant chronic illness or disability. The paper considers the theory of Silencing the Self (Jack, 1991) in relation to the reported experiences and behaviours of these women. We report three themes of Caring and Working: &quot;Otherness&quot;, &quot;Doing it All&quot; - but &quot;Wanting to Live a Normal Life&quot;. As in Jack\u27s study, these women engaged in silencing of the self. However, we also observed other people contributing to their silence and, unlike the respondents in Jack\u27s study, many of these women fought the silence and did not accept that their unhappy situations should continue. They sought a life where silencing may not have been necessary.<br /

Telling it how it really is? : life in organisations revealed using Heideggerian phenomenology

Heideggerian phenomenology is expounded here as a qualitative methodology of value in researching &quot;how things really are&quot; in organisational life. It is a methodology, and a philosophy, which recognises a priori the value ofthe subjective, lived experience of the informant, and the physical, sociological and psychological phenomena that come together to create their life-world. In this paper, the authors present cases where this methodology successfully revealed the respondents\u27 reality. Stories about working in teams and being downsized are shared to demonstrate the ability of Heideggerian phenomenology to reveal how life really is in organisations.<br /

Managing in the middle: a review of the mddle management experience in the 21st century

Downsizing and organisational restructuring have impacted both the role and the number of middle managers in organisations. .This paper provides a review of recent research on middle management to seek an understanding of the current situation for middle managers as they face the start of the 2rt century. The literature review is presented in two parts - focusing on the position of middle managers as they emerge from downsizing, and drawing attention to the special circumstances for managers &quot;in the middle&quot;. The research points to some of the challenges middle managers\u27 experience as they work, live, and survive organisational life, as well as highlighting the need for ongoing investigation of their individual experiences.<br /