Whole personhood is the full human experience, in which all (societal, personal, micro, and macro level) spheres have their place, but also compete for time and attention. A whole person has the agency to balance these spheres and to reach their own personal human potential.
Published in Chapter:
We Know More Than We Can Zoom: Challenges for Young Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Anouk Mols (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Yosha Wijngaarden (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Imke Greven (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands), and Marloes van Wijnen (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Copyright: © 2022
|Pages: 27
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-2364-6.ch006
Abstract
Measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic forced many young professionals to work from (often small and sometimes shared) homes. On the basis of in-depth interviews in the Netherlands, this chapter aims to unpack how working from home in times of COVID-19 affects the whole personhood of young knowledge workers. Three important insights are provided. First, when it comes to around boundary sculpting practices, many respondents' boundary negotiations between personal and professional spheres entail personal, collective, temporal, and spatial borders. Second, interpersonal connections prove to be of vital importance because a lack of face-to-face interactions not only causes a lack of interpersonal contact and emotional connection to colleagues, but also a lack of tacit knowledge. Third, additional spheres like the public sphere are crucial for providing motivation and inspiration. This research shows that working from home can be detrimental to the whole personhood of young professionals.