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The organization of working times and workplaces has typically been diverse and hybrid for people working in culture. Work is characterized by precarious conditions such as short-term contracts and seasonal employment. The impact of COVID-19 has shown the vulnerability and uniqueness of the employment conditions in this sector. We collected persona...
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... How has the emergency shaped the planning of work, the tasks, time resources for work and the pace and schedules? The description of the data covers information on gender, age (Table 1.), and profession and employment pattern (Table 2). There were 17 women among the respondents and 11 men. ...Citations
... An additional focus was to determine whether the pandemic had increased negative experiences, such as discrimination, related to work. The shutdown of most of the activities in the performing arts had severe effects on the freelancers who had to find ways to cope with the loss of employment and while applying their skills in managing uncertainty (Haapakorpi et al., 2022). Intensified experiences of exclusion contributed to stagnation, which some could overcome by shifting their focus to the future (Haapakorpi et al., 2022). ...
... The shutdown of most of the activities in the performing arts had severe effects on the freelancers who had to find ways to cope with the loss of employment and while applying their skills in managing uncertainty (Haapakorpi et al., 2022). Intensified experiences of exclusion contributed to stagnation, which some could overcome by shifting their focus to the future (Haapakorpi et al., 2022). Given the sensitive position of freelancers, empathy, care, respect and understanding were important tools for conducting interviews ethically (see Shaw et al., 2020). ...
In the performing arts, discrimination is a widely recognized issue occurring in relation to multiple social divisions. Through a qualitative analysis of personal stories of discrimination, we investigate the relationship between intersectional categories emerging in the telling and orientation of performing artists. Discrimination is tied to gatekeeping practices that are of varying significance to the artists depending on the power relationships between the parties concerned and the precariousness of the artists’ positions. Recognizing such experiences as discrimination requires an awareness of category relationships that can be implicit, explicit, or intrinsic. A sensitivity to these category relationships and the ways in which stories are constructed has important implications for promoting social justice among freelancers.
... Gumbley, 2018) and are often relentlessly job-seeking or working across multiple projects to curb financial pressures (Hesmonhalgh & Baker, 2010). In extreme circumstances, these working conditions foster an addiction to work (Rowlands & Handy, 2012) and self-exploitation (Haapakorpi et al., 2022;Spiro et al., 2021). Except for large performing arts organizations such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet or New Zealand Symphony Orchestra that have permanent full-time staff, most cultural workers in New Zealand are freelancers (Skills Active Workforce Scan, 2020). ...
... Participants encountered loss of work, reduced income, anxiety and concerns for their future, absence of social connections, and exacerbation of inequalities (Brooks & Patel, 2022). This review along with other research that captures the experiences of creative workers collectively puts forward the perspective that COVID-19 exposes and intensifies the fragility and precarity of working conditions in the performing arts (Comunian & England, 2020;Cosgrave, 2021;Flore et al., 2023;Haapakorpi et al., 2022;Pulignano et al., 2021). ...
... Sidney captured the feelings of many when they stated, "It's given us the opportunity to think because we have just been doing it [work] non-stop for the last six years." In keeping with their international counterparts (see Haapakorpi et al., 2022;Rodriguez-Camacho et al., 2021;Spiro et al., 2021), time was spent on developing artistic skills and activities related to their creative practice. ...
This article explores narratives of how COVID‐19 impacted the performing arts sector, by drawing on interviews with creative workers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the late exposure to COVID‐19 and the adoption of an elimination approach that afforded opportunities for performing arts to continue to varying extents between 2019 and 2022, cultural workers in Aotearoa New Zealand, as with their overseas counterparts, experienced significant and consequential disruption to their working conditions and lives. Taking into account the specificity of Aotearoa New Zealand's performing arts sector and the government's COVID‐19 response, the article contributes to the empirical examination of COVID‐19 experiences by teasing out narratives of impact from cultural workers. The thematic analysis demonstrates how participants presented (1) COVID‐19 as responsible for financial, emotional, and psychological costs, (2) framed opportunities arising from disrupted working conditions and wage subsidy as “silver linings,” (3) were reliant on digital technologies, and (4) constructed the return to “normal” as marked by the COVID‐19 “aftermath.” The article argues that uniting these perceptions and articulations of impact is the ongoing (re)evaluations of risks and benefits by cultural workers of working conditions that predate COVID‐19.
... Governments began to realize that encouraging public sector institutions to embrace employees with diverse backgrounds, competencies, and experiences could lead to the creation of tremendous synergic opportunities, which would translate into improved efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services. Haapakorpi et al. (2022). Furthermore, many governments envisioned that enacting workforce diversity policies in the public sector would aid the upholding of essential principles such as meritocracy, justice, representativeness, and transparency (Khassawneh and Abaker, 2022). ...
Objective: The objectives of this study are: 1. evaluate the effect of job-related diversity on collective organizational commitment in public sector organizations in Nigeria; 2. evaluate the effect of cultural diversity on collective organizational commitment in public sector organizations in Nigeria. The aim of the study is to examine diversity in the workplace to achieve collective organizational commitment in public sector organizations in Nigeria. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. The theory that is related to this work having reviewed some theories is the Social Identity Theory. Social identity theory is a social psychological theory that is utilized in organizations to obtain high employee performance. Social identity theory gives more understanding of diversity in terms of understanding the role of group divisions in organization. Method: The study relied on a self-developed structured questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Using SPSS version 20 software, descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the data and statistically analysed the data that had been collected. Results and Discussion: The findings revealed that job-related diversity has a significant effect on collective organizational commitment in public sector organizations in Nigeria (β=0.077, p<0.05), and that cultural diversity has no significant effect on collective organizational commitment in public sector organizations in Nigeria (β =0.030, p>0.05). Originality/Value: Previous studies had focused on different types of diversity and their attributes, but have not adequately addressed the factors that can strengthen the relationships. This study to filled this gap by examining the impact of workplace diversity on organizational commitment in the Nigerian Public Sector Organizations. The research also highlighted the need for a combination of cultural and experiential factors to understand the challenges faced by employees in a diverse workplace..
... In this Special Issue, the contribution dealing with pandemic-related unemployment comes from the Finnish cultural sector, which is characterized by established institutions, but also by self-employment and precarious work. Haapakorpi et al. [5] collected written texts by artists and professionals about their experience during lockdown, when activities in the cultural sector, particularly in the performing arts, were closed down due to regulations about social distancing. Unemployment and a shortage of assignments for self-employed workers were common consequences in the industry. ...
Since 2019, we have been living and working in close connection with the threat of an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the publishing industry in Istanbul, with both positive and negative sides. It has accelerated the trend towards digitalisation and has led to significant economic gains for some actors in the industry, such as digital platforms. However, this has also caused serious losses for other actors, particularly small and independent businesses that rely on their physical presence in the workplace. Closure measures and disruptions in economic activity have caused dramatic drops in sales and revenue for these businesses, leading to financial difficulties and job losses. To understand the professional experiences of stakeholders in Istanbul’s publishing industry during the pandemic, 13 interviews were conducted between May and October 2022, identifying two main components of the industry: publishers and bookstores. The interviews suggest that the pandemic has a markedly negative effect on booksellers, further accelerating existing trends towards digitalisation and monopoly. This paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications of this study for future research.
Based on semi-structured interviews conducted within the publishing sector, this qualitative case study research examines the impact of the global pandemic on Istanbul's publishing industry. The research spanned seven months and involved thirteen interviews. The aim was to gain an understanding of the industry's response to the pandemic. In a nutshell, the pandemic can be seen as accelerating the digitalisation and monopolisation processes already taking place in the industry. Nevertheless, stakeholders have affected in different ways, depending on their financial and technological capabilities and their main areas of business. For instance, during closures, publishers experienced an increase in demand for digital and printed books, while bookshops lost almost all sources of income. Similarly, publishing cartels with their own printing, distribution and sales channels and online booksellers many of whom operate in conjunction with these publishing conglomerates were able to gain significant advantages over small publishers seriously affected by the closures.
Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan finanssialan työntekijöiden ammatillista toimijuutta ja tunteita pa-kotetussa etätyössä korona-aikana. Ammatillisen toimijuuden tarkastelussa hyödynnetään subjek-tikeskeisen sosiokulttuurisen teorian näkökulmia. Aineisto koostuu kahdenkymmenen finanssi-alan työntekijän haastatteluista, jotka on analysoitu laadullisen sisällönanalyysin menetelmillä. Tulokset osoittavat, että pakotettu etätyö on muuttanut merkittävästi työn käytäntöjä ja amma-tillista toimijuutta, ja muutoksiin on liittynyt monenlaisia tunteita. Haastateltavat kertoivat koke-neensa vihaa, surua, turhautumista, riittämättömyyttä, yksinäisyyttä ja epävarmuutta, mutta myös yhteenkuuluvuuden ja innostuksen tunteita sekä onnistumisen ja ilon hetkiä. Työn käytäntöjen ja ammatillisen toimijuuden näkökulmasta korona-aika nosti esille rakenteellisten ratkaisujen kes-keisyyden, järjestelmien toimivuuden, keskinäisen tuen ja luottamuksen merkityksen sekä työhön perehdyttämisen ja yksilöllisten kehittämistarpeiden huomioimisen oleellisuuden. Pakotettuun etätyöhön liittyvät tunteet olivat yhteydessä aiempiin etätyökokemuksiin: jos kokemusta etätyöstä ei ollut, pakotettu etätyö lisäsi helpommin epävarmuutta ja stressiä. Toisaalta aiempi etätyökoke-mus ei käytäntöjen muuttuessa suojannut kuormittumiselta ja paineilta. Abstract In the article professional agency and emotions of financial employees are studied in the context of forced remote work. The analysis of professional agency is based on perspectives from subject centered socio-cultural theory. The data consisted of twenty interviews, which were analyzed using content analysis. The results show that forced remote work has significantly changed work practices and professional agency, and these changes have been accompanied by a wide range of emotional experiences. Interviewees reported experiencing anger, sadness, frustration, inadequacy , loneliness, and insecurity, but also feelings of belonging and excitement, as well as moments of success and joy. From the perspective of work practices and professional agency, the period of the pandemic highlighted the importance of structural solutions, the functioning of systems, the importance of mutual support and trust, and the importance of induction and attention to indi-ARTIKKELIT
