ABSTRACT
Who are we when we are at work? One answer to this question directs our attention to the work we do and to the skill, knowledge, and experience that enable us to do our work effectively. If we focus our attention on the work we do, then, while at work, we are the occupants of work roles. As occupants of work roles, the relevant dimensions of our persons are our vocational or professional identities. For some, the relationship to work role and professional identity is best described in the language of play, speci®cally role play. But, for others, that relationship is not about play but about something decidedly different from play. For them, being at work does not mean playing a role but inhabiting that role in a manner inconsistent with the connotations of play. How can we understand this difference in the way we might answer the question: Who are we when we are at work?
