Up in the Air: Using Blogs to Study the Identity and Emotion Transitions of the Unemployed

Authors

  • Niyati Kataria Midwestern State University
  • Shih Yung Chou Midwestern State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33423/ajm.v23i1.5998

Keywords:

management, emotions, unemployment, identity, reemployment

Abstract

The 2008 recession caused unemployment, motivating individuals to evaluate their work-related identity. We qualitatively study such identity transitions and emotions during: (1) involuntary job loss, (2) subsequent unemployment, (3) job search, (4) underemployment, and (5) reemployment. We analyzed fifteen blogs of individuals laid off from October 2008 to April 2011. Blogs provide a rich medium to study of thoughts and feelings due to non-researcher-influenced discourse. Using grounded theory, we construct a model of the various transitions work-related identity undergoes. We also note how opposing sets of emotions interact with cognitive ideological techniques during identity transitions to produce varying outcomes.

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Published

2023-04-23

How to Cite

Kataria, N., & Chou, S. Y. (2023). Up in the Air: Using Blogs to Study the Identity and Emotion Transitions of the Unemployed. American Journal of Management, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.33423/ajm.v23i1.5998

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Section

Articles