(Non)Performing the ideal worker: Unpacking the sociomaterial constitution of disengagement on LinkedIn
(2026) 42nd EGOS Colloquium: Reframing Organizations in the More-than-Human Society- Abstract
- Being publicly visible as an engaged employee persona has become an important asset in contemporary knowledge work. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn offer
professionals new opportunities to present and perform the ideal worker identity to a broader audience. While engagement and the performance of the ideal worker persona have received attention across various research fields, often being associated with career development and professional visibility, disengagement from social networking sites has received little attention. Disengagement has so far been conceptualized as a lack of motivation and commitment, and something employees should avoid and correct. This study offers a different perspective by conceptualizing... (More) - Being publicly visible as an engaged employee persona has become an important asset in contemporary knowledge work. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn offer
professionals new opportunities to present and perform the ideal worker identity to a broader audience. While engagement and the performance of the ideal worker persona have received attention across various research fields, often being associated with career development and professional visibility, disengagement from social networking sites has received little attention. Disengagement has so far been conceptualized as a lack of motivation and commitment, and something employees should avoid and correct. This study offers a different perspective by conceptualizing disengagement as a productive performative practice. Bringing together sociomateriality and identity work, it analyses identity narratives produced by LinkedIn users in a corporate talent program. The findings show that disengagement on LinkedIn is sociomaterially constituted through three identity narratives: being credible, being professional, and being morally coherent. Through this analysis, the paper extends current understandings of disengagement by showing how it can function as an active, performative practice that protects a desired ideal worker identity from a platform-based feared identity. It further shows how platform materiality is entangled in identity performances under conditions of digital visibility. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/847013f8-2446-439b-84bd-fa8d11f143e1
- author
- Sossini, Alessandra LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- conference name
- 42nd EGOS Colloquium: Reframing Organizations in the More-than-Human Society
- conference location
- Bergamo, Italy
- conference dates
- 2026-07-09 - 2026-07-11
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 847013f8-2446-439b-84bd-fa8d11f143e1
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-10 10:03:20
- date last changed
- 2026-08-20 10:35:03
@misc{847013f8-2446-439b-84bd-fa8d11f143e1,
abstract = {{Being publicly visible as an engaged employee persona has become an important asset in contemporary knowledge work. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn offer<br/>professionals new opportunities to present and perform the ideal worker identity to a broader audience. While engagement and the performance of the ideal worker persona have received attention across various research fields, often being associated with career development and professional visibility, disengagement from social networking sites has received little attention. Disengagement has so far been conceptualized as a lack of motivation and commitment, and something employees should avoid and correct. This study offers a different perspective by conceptualizing disengagement as a productive performative practice. Bringing together sociomateriality and identity work, it analyses identity narratives produced by LinkedIn users in a corporate talent program. The findings show that disengagement on LinkedIn is sociomaterially constituted through three identity narratives: being credible, being professional, and being morally coherent. Through this analysis, the paper extends current understandings of disengagement by showing how it can function as an active, performative practice that protects a desired ideal worker identity from a platform-based feared identity. It further shows how platform materiality is entangled in identity performances under conditions of digital visibility.}},
author = {{Sossini, Alessandra}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{(Non)Performing the ideal worker: Unpacking the sociomaterial constitution of disengagement on LinkedIn}},
year = {{2026}},
}