Paper short abstract:

Precarious employed knowledge workers find themselves in a constant process of biographizing the Self, continuously creating their own subjectivity. The self-biographizing narrative about conflicts in union representation serves as a practice of retroactive self-empowerment.

Paper long abstract:

Like in other Western industrial nations the increasing number of precarious workplaces in Austria has challenged the representational role of trade unions.This problem is multiplied by the growing number of so-called knowledge workers, who have come to be in the focus of the postfordist production process.The structures of unionist representation are hardly compatible with the conditions under which knowledge work takes place, i.e. self-responsibility, individual initiative, and project work.

Precariously employed knowledge workers in particular are permanently forced to redefine their biographical agenda, and thus themselves, as a consequence of their unstable and insecure working conditions.They find themselves in a constant process of biographizing the Self, continuously creating their own subjectivity.

The problematic relationship with the unions is a recurrent motif in interviews with precarious knowledge workers in Austria. Hereby it becomes apparent that the interviewees adress this problematic relationship not only in an argumentative or declarative way, but also as autobiographically informed narratives.

The presentation draws on an autobiographical narration of a female coach for unemployed persons, herself being precariously employed. On the example of her relationship with the union I show how the self-biographizing narrative is used as a strategic practice of self-expression. It serves as a retroactive self-empowerment in the antagonistic relationship with an unionist official.

The presentation will discuss results of my PhD research on »Self-biographizing negotiations of precarious knowledge work. It analyzes forms and strategies of self-biographizing speech and performances of the self as well as subjective perceptions and interpretations of precarious knowledge work.