Kept at arm's length: questioning the organizational desirability of member identification

Current managerial practices such as downsizing and the use of temporary labor require scholars to reconsider the organizational desirability of member identification. Maintaining an identified workforce takes time, energy, and resources that organizations may not always be willing to provide. This study examines the temporary help industry in order to analyze the ways in which contemporary labor strategies might complicate our existing theories of organizational identification. Drawing upon interview data from 39 temps and their supervisors, this study highlights communicative strategies that prevent rather than promote member identification with organizations.

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