Role Of Identity In Creating Work Centrality Among Young Sri Lankan Managers In The Era Of Late Capitalism

Abstract

This paper explores how contemporary young Sri Lankan managers value work, in terms of centrality in their lives and how this perception is shaped by their identities. Based on the social constructionist paradigm, we have used qualitative methodology to explore the issue. Purposive sampling was employed in selecting the respondents and multiple data collection methods, with in-depth interviews and group discussions were used. Respondents placed a high value to their work roles, which is mainly due to the identity created through work. The concept of identity fragmentation in postmodern social theory was used as the theoretical lens of the study to understand the implications of late capitalism on work centrality. Even though some respondents’ views indicated a form of identity fragmentation, they were not directly linked with the consequences of contemporary postmodern, late capital social conditions. Having identified these perspectives, finally we analyzed the dominant role of identity formation in creating work centrality and the lack of identity fragmentation among Sri Lankan young managers in the light of the existing literature about national culture where it was revealed that national culture does plays a dominant role in shaping the work centrality among young Sri Lankan managers even in the era of late capitalism.