ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore the concept of transitions in terms of personal and collective identity transformation at and through work. In so doing we contribute to one of the key debates in the book about why some transitions are experienced as problematic and others are not. We do this by exploring how the notion of transition can help reveal instances of ‘identity work’ happening in and through participation in contrasting occupations and workplaces. We take ‘identity’ to refer to a perceived sense of belonging to a social entity, such as an occupation, profession or organisation. Dened in this way, identity goes beyond mere membership (i.e. ‘a class in itself ’) to include consciousness (i.e. ‘a class for itself ’). This moves the notion of identity from a passive to an active sense of belonging. The research ndings presented here also make use of a further distinction between ‘personal’ and ‘collective’ identities. The former refers to individuals’ belief that they are seen by others and they regard themselves as members of a particular group. The latter refers to the ways in which groups themselves develop a sense of belonging, over and above individual members’ own personal awareness of how they are seen.
