Taking sports work seriously: Impression management, emotional labour, and employee well-being in sports organisations. (Advert ref: RDF18/SER/POTRAC)

In taking issues with its more traditional functional portrayal, the sporting workplace has been increasingly recognised as a political and alienating space, characterised by intensification, performativity, and uncertainty (Roderick, Smith, & Potrac, 2017). Notwithstanding the theoretical case made, a paucity of research exists exploring how sports workers (e.g., coaches, managers, athletes, and officials) experience their professional obligations and relations within such a disputed power-ridden domain. This is particularly in terms of how such personnel cope (or not) with the pressures and strains of everyday contested practice.

This study will break new ground in the sociology of sport by addressing the dramaturgical and emotional features of everyday organisational life for sports workers. As well as considering ‘how’ and ‘why’ people control information (including various emotions) in their conduct with others, this project will also chart the interconnections between workplace demands, the saliency of work based identities, and the subsequent well-being of sports workers; that is, the personal cost of such action.

The project will utilise qualitative methods to address the following questions:

• How do sports workers use impression management to convey a persona or sense of who they are to others? What tactics do they use to build up credible performances? When and why do they adopt such interactional strategies?
• How do sports workers collaborate with others to collectively express the characteristics of social situations? What are their motives for doing so?
• How do sports workers seek to repair ‘spoiled’ performances? What curative steps are taken? When? How? Why?
• What performance demands do sports workers (e.g., superiors) place on others (e.g., subordinates) in sporting organisations? What interactional strategies do they utilise to achieve desired outcomes? Why? What are the benefits and social costs of such practices?
• What emotions inform, and are generated in, sports workers’ performances for, and relationships with, various stakeholders? What emotions do they hide or show to what others? When? Why?
• How do sports workers’ engagements in various acts of impression management and emotional regulation influence their sense of well-being?
• How do various workplace demands (e.g., work pressures, job insecurity, and emotional labour requirements) and the saliency of work based identities influence sports workers lives and relationships with others outside of the workplace? How do sports workers seek to manage the interface between their professional and personal selves?

Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. RDF18/…) will not be considered.

Deadline for applications: 28 January 2018
Start Date: 1 October 2018

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers