The Managerial logics of New Ways of Working: ambiguities, silences and critiques in discourse on NWOW

NWOW usually refers to the development of: (1) flexible spatial and temporal work arrangements such as teleworking, shared offices and coworking; (2) participative management strategies; (3) organizational reconfigurations such as self-managing teams; and /or (4) the integration of information and communication technologies in everyday work practices (Taskin, Ajzen, & Donis, 2017, p. 69). At the same time, its discourse centers on values such as autonomy, flexibility and trust (Hambye, Mariscal, & Siroux, 2013, p. 98; Taskin et al. 2017, p. 72). We take the view that NWOW discourse shifts and changes depending on the specific ways in which social actors articulate its elements with(in) specific managerial logics (Glynos & Howarth, 2007). We will focus on the discrepancy between NWOW discourse articulated in organizational documents and the way office workers make sense of NWOW. We analyze the types of critique aimed at NWOW while considering the silences that remain. We rely on documents and interview data collected in public and private organizations introducing NWOW. The concept of discursive logic is central to our analysis. It refers to discursive patterns that provide coherence to complex (re)configurations of subject positions, enunciations, norms, values and practices (Glynos & Howarth, 2007; Zienkowski, 2017). We identified five managerial logics that are meant to bring worker subjectivities in line with organizational interests. Neoliberal, humane, participatory, pseudo-participatory and public service logics structure interpretations of NWOW related changes. Comparing the way these logics operate in interviews with office workers and in documents produced by sources of authority, we shed light on the more obscure sides of an otherwise celebratory NWOW discourse. Glynos, J. & Howarth, D. (2007). Logics of critical explanation in social and political theory. London: Routledge. Hambye, P. Mariscal, V. & Siroux, J.-L. (2013). Le capitalisme neo-libéral et la réalisation de soi par le travail. In H. Buclin, J. Daher, G. Christakis, & P. Raboud (Eds.), Penser l’émancipation :offensives capitalistes et résistances internationales (pp. 87-109). Paris: La Dispute. Taskin, L. Ajzen, M. & Donis, C. (2017). Chapter 5: New Ways of Working: from smart to shared power. In V. Muhlbauer & W. Harry (Eds.), Redefining management: smart power perspectives (pp. 65-79). Cham: Springer. Zienkowski, J. (2017). Articulations of self and politics in activist discourse: a discourse analysis of critical subjectivities in minority debates. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.0