Negotiating Boundaries at Work: Talking and Transitions

Moving between linguistic, professional and national boundaries is part of the daily reality of modern workplaces, where the concept of a 'job for life' is now outdated. Employees move between jobs, countries and even professions during their working lives, but the multilayered process of redefining personal, social and professional identities is not reflected in current workplace research.  This volume brings together a range of scholars from different disciplinary areas in the field, examining the challenges of transition into a (new) workplace, team or community, as well as transitions within different professional communities. By analyzing the strategies individuals adopt to navigate the boundaries they face (in languages, workplaces or countries), this book demonstrates that transitions are not linear but are negotiated and constructed in the situated ‘here and now’ of workplace interaction, at the same time as they are positioned in the wider socioeconomic order.

Professor Jo Angouri is Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick

Meredith Marra is Associate Professor in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

Professor Janet Holmes is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington.