Skip to main content
Search
Search
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search anywhere
Quick Search anywhere
Advanced Search
Skip main navigation
No Access

Who are you calling ‘dirty’? Actors’ and observers’ perceptions of dirty work and implications for taint management

Published Online:May 23, 2014pp 209-222https://doi.org/10.1504/IJWOE.2014.060931

Abstract

This conceptual article develops the discussion on ‘dirty work’ from the occupational level of analysis to the task level. The focus is on occupations where dirty work is only a small part of the whole job, thereby exploring a neglected area but one which characterises most employment. A contribution is made in this article to the understanding of the social construction mechanisms involved in dirty work by considering observers’ perspective of those undertaking these occasional ‘dirty’ tasks. An insight is provided to the importance of the management of taint, showing how positive taint management can affect the actors and their observers, mitigating the risk of taint contagion from the task to their occupation. The example of firing employees is used to reveal differences in social stigmatisation attributed by observers of the task to the principal actors – the line manager and human resource practitioner.

Keywords

dirty work, layoffs, social construction, stigma, taint management

References

  • 1. Ackroyd, S. , Bolton, S. (2007). ‘Dirt, work and dignity’. Dimensions of Dignity at Work. London:Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann , 30-49 Google Scholar
  • 2. Ashforth, B.E. , Kreiner, G.E. (1999). ‘How can you do it? Dirty work and the challenge of constructing a positive identity’. Academy of Management Review. 24, 3, 413-434 Google Scholar
  • 3. Ashforth, B.E. , Kreiner, G.E. , Clark, M.A. , Fugate, M. (2007). ‘Normalizing dirty work: managerial tactics for countering organizational taint’. Academy of Management Journal. 50, 1, 149-174 Google Scholar
  • 4. Ashforth, B.E. , Kreiner, G.E. , Fugate, M. (2000). ‘All in a day’s work: boundaries and micro role transitions’. Academy of Management Review. 25, 3, 472-491 Google Scholar
  • 5. Baran, B.E. , Rogelberg, S.G. , Lopina, E.C. , Allen, J.A. , Spitzmuller, C. , Bergman, M. (2012). ‘Shouldering a silent burden: the toll of dirty tasks’. Human Relations. 65, 5, 597-626 Google Scholar
  • 6. Bolton, S.C. (2005a). ‘Making up managers: the case of NHS nurses’. Work Employment and Society. 19, 5, 5-23 Google Scholar
  • 7. Bolton, S.C. (2005b). ‘Women’s work, dirty work: the gynaecology nurse as ‘other’’. Gender, Work and Organization. 12, 2, 169-186 Google Scholar
  • 8. Claire, J.A. , Dufresne, R.L. (2004). ‘Playing the grim reaper: how employees experience carrying out a downsizing’. Human Relations. 57, 12, 1597-1625 Google Scholar
  • 9. Claire, J.A. , Dufrensne, R. , Jackson, N. , Ladge, J. (2006). ‘Being the bearer of bad news: challenges facing downsizing agents in organizations’. Organizational Dynamics. 35, 2, 131-144 Google Scholar
  • 10. Denenberg, R.V. , Braverman, M. (1999). The Violence-prone Workplace. Ithaca, NY:Cornell University Press Google Scholar
  • 11. Dick, P. (2005). ‘Dirty work designations: how police officers account for their use of coercive force’. Human Relations. 58, 11, 1363-1390 Google Scholar
  • 12. Gandolfi, F. (2009). ‘Executing downsizing: the experiences of executioners’. Contemporary Management Research. 5, 2, 185-200 Google Scholar
  • 13. Grandy, G. , Mavin, S. , Simpson, R. Slutskaya, N. Lewis, P. Hopfl, H. (2012). ‘Doing gender in dirty work: exotic dancers’ construction of self-enhancing identities’. Dirty Work: Concepts and Identities. Basingstoke, UK:Palgrave Macmillan , 91-112 Google Scholar
  • 14. Hudson, B.A. (2008). ‘Against all odds: a consideration of core-stigmatized organizations’. Academy of Management Review. 33, 1, 252-288 Google Scholar
  • 15. Hughes, E.C. (1958). Men and Their Work. Glencoe, IL:Free Press Google Scholar
  • 16. Kidder, J.L. (2006). ‘It’s the job that I love: bike messengers and edgework’. Sociological Forum. 21, 1, 31-54 Google Scholar
  • 17. Kreiner, G.E. , Ashforth, B.E. , Sluss, D.M. (2006). ‘Identity dynamics in occupational dirty work: integrating social identity and system justification perspectives’. Organization Science. 17, 5, 619-636 Google Scholar
  • 18. Kumar, A. , Hessini, L. , Mitchell, E.M.H. (2009). ‘Conceptualising abortion stigma’. Culture, Health and Sexuality. 11, 6, 625-639 Google Scholar
  • 19. Lee, Y. , Lin, H. (2011). ‘‘Gaming is my work’: identity work in internet-hobbyist game workers’. Work, Employment and Society. 25, 3, 451-467 Google Scholar
  • 20. Lundberg, H. , Karlsson, J.C. (2011). ‘Under the clean surface: working as a hotel attendant’. Work, Employment and Society. 25, 1, 141-148 Google Scholar
  • 21. Marks, M.L. , De Meuse, K.P. (2005). ‘Resizing the organization: maximizing the gain while minimizing the pain of layoffs, divestitures, and closings’. Organizational Dynamics. 34, 1, 19-35 Google Scholar
  • 22. Molinsky, A. , Margolis, J. (2006). ‘Other emotional tightropes of downsizing: hidden challenges for leaders and their organizations’. Organizational Dynamics. 35, 2, 145-159 Google Scholar
  • 23. Norris, A. , Bessett, D. , Steinberg, J.R. , Kavanaugh, M.L. , De Zordo, S. , Becker, D. (2011). ‘Abortion stigma: a reconceptualization of constituents, causes and consequences’. Women’s Health Issues. 21, 3, 549-554 Google Scholar
  • 24. Paetzold, R.L. , Dipboye, R.L. , Elsbach, K.D. (2008). ‘A new look at stigmatization in and of organizations’. Academy of Management Review. 33, 1, 186-193 Google Scholar
  • 25. Rayner, C. , Lewis, D. , Einarsen, S. Hoel, H. Zapf, D. Cooper, C.L. (2011). ‘Managing workplace bullying: the role of policies’. Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice. Boca Raton, FL:CRC Press , 327-340 Google Scholar
  • 26. Roca, E. (2010). ‘The exercise of moral imagination in stigmatized work groups’. Journal of Business Ethics. 96, 1, 135-147 Google Scholar
  • 27. Sanders, C.R. (2010). ‘Working out back: the veterinary technician ‘dirty work’’. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 39, 3, 243-272 Google Scholar
  • 28. Sanders, K. , Schyns, B. (2006). ‘Trust, conflict and cooperative behaviour – considering reciprocity within organizations’. Personnel Review. 35, 5, 538-556 Google Scholar
  • 29. Simpson, R. , Slutskaya, N. , Hughes, J. (2011). ‘Emotional dimensions of dirty work: men’s encounter with taint in the butcher trade’. 4, 2, 195-212 Google Scholar
  • 30. Simpson, R. , Slutskaya, N. , Lewis, P. , Hopfl, H. , Simpson, R. Slutskaya, N. Lewis, P. Hopfl, H. (2012). ‘Introducing dirty work, concepts and identities’. Dirty Work: Concepts and Identities. Basingstoke, UK:Palgrave Macmillan , 1-18 Google Scholar
  • 31. Sluss, D.M. , Ashforth, B.E. (2007). ‘Relational identity and identification: defining ourselves through work relationships’. Academy of Management Review. 32, 1, 9-32 Google Scholar
  • 32. Thompson, W.E. , Harred, J.L. , Burks, B.E. (2003). ‘Managing the stigma of topless dancing: a decade later’. Deviant Behavior. 24, 6, 551-570 Google Scholar
  • 33. Tracy, S.J. , Scott, C. (2006). ‘Sexuality, masculinity, and taint management among firefighters and correctional officers: getting down and dirty with America’s heroes and the scum of law enforcement’. Management Communication Quarterly. 20, 1, 6-38 Google Scholar
  • 34. Walsh, K. , Gordon, J.R. (2008). ‘Creating an individual work identity’. Human Resource Management Review. 18, 1, 46-61 Google Scholar
  • 35. Watts, J.H. (2007). ‘Porn, pride and pessimism: experiences of women working in professional construction roles’. Work Employment and Society. 21, 2, 299-316 Google Scholar
  • 36. Wesely, J.K. (2003). ‘‘Where am I going to stop?’: Exotic dancing, fluid body boundaries, and effects on identity’. Deviant Behavior. 24, 5, 483-503 Google Scholar
  • 37. Whittaker, S. , Marchington, M. (2003). ‘Devolving HR responsibility to the line: threat, opportunity or partnership?’. Employee Relations. 25, 3, 245-261 Google Scholar
Previous article