Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2025

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Sociology (Applied), PhD

Committee Chair

Roelfs, David

Committee Member

Ganote, Cynthia

Committee Member

Taniguchi, Hiromi

Committee Member

Exmeyer, Patrick

Author's Keywords

Work culture; racialized emotional labor; intensification of work; resistance in the workplace, motherhood and the workplace; microaggressions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to impact labor and work in numerous ways. As organizations began to adjust to the changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought on to how they operated, there arose a considerable amount of conflict regarding what work is and what work should be. Conflicts arose around issues of work/life balance, work-hour mismatch, health and wellbeing, self-autonomy, and individual vs. collective work, influencing how employee sees themselves, their work, and their role within the organization. This research study will focus on the culture of “work time” that is present within a public-sector organization and the various ways in which the shift to hybrid and/or remote work has influenced the organization's work time culture. This study is aimed at filling the gaps that currently exist within the sociology of work literature by examining the role race plays in the myriad ways in which the culture of work time within an organization is legitimized, accepted, or contested amongst workers in public service jobs. This study is a chapter based, qualitative research study, that utilized semi-structured interviews with employees currently working within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to explore three themes connected to work-life balance: shifts in work hours, work-hour mismatch, and control over work. First, findings from this study showed that employees who work in public sector government jobs are keenly aware that their workload has and continues to increase and that their leadership knows it’s increasing. Next, findings from this study showed that Black employees often internalize the dominant beliefs regarding professionalism. This becomes a delicate dance whereby these employees are often working beyond their means to ensure they aren’t seen as less than, or further marginalized, within their organizations. Next, findings from this study show that Black employees are constantly being measured by both visible and invisible work standards that govern how they work. Finally, findings from this study show that employees who identify as mothers are routinely having to balance the demands of motherhood and the demands of being a professional, all the while developing strategies to ensure that they are able to provide the necessary time and commitment to both responsibilities. Overall, this research showed that the shifting demands of work are having impacts on employees far beyond what they think or understand. This research also shows that employees who work in governmental jobs care deeply about the work they do, which often leads them to place their work and the outcomes of the organization over their own well-being.

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