“That is Not What I Live For”: How Lower-Level Green Employees Cope with Identity Tensions at Work

Susanne Blazejewski, Franziska Dittmer, Anke Buhl, Andrea Simone Barth and Carsten Herbes
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Susanne Blazejewski: Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Chair for Sustainable Organization and Work Design, 53347 Alfter, Germany
Franziska Dittmer: Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Chair for Sustainable Organization and Work Design, 53347 Alfter, Germany
Anke Buhl: Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Chair for Sustainable Organization and Work Design, 53347 Alfter, Germany
Andrea Simone Barth: Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Chair for Sustainable Organization and Work Design, 53347 Alfter, Germany
Carsten Herbes: Institute for International Research on Sustainable Management and Renewable Energy, Nuertingen Geislingen University, 72622 Nürtingen, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: Research on green identity work has so far concentrated on sustainability managers and/or top-management actors. How lower-level green employees cope with identity tensions at work is, as yet, under-researched. The paper uses an identity work perspective and a qualitative empirical study to identify four strategies that lower-level employees use in negotiating and enacting their green identities at work. Contrary to expectations, lower-level green employees engage substantially in job crafting as a form of identity work despite their limited discretion. In addition, the study demonstrates that lower-level green employees make use of identity work strategies that uphold rather than diminish perceived misalignment between their green identities and their job context.

Keywords: identity work; job crafting; corporate sustainability; green employees; lower-level employees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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