Blogging in and about the workplace: a linguistic and multimodal analysis of work psychology discourse and discourse communities

Work psychology focuses on how people think and behave at work by applying psychological concepts and methods to reflect on work, the workplace and the workforce. Its relevance has increased and changed in the light of globalization, as well as the dematerialization and mobilization of the workplace and the development of new sectors, services and media. Moreover, the use of social and new media for the dissemination of knowledge regarding recent changes in employment trends and procedures have led to an open and democratizing shift in power of and over workplace discourse, allowing hitherto marginalized professional figures to voice their needs and experience to objective peers and advisors. This opening and sharing of discourse within a perpetually connected worldwide community has raised questions about where a workplace’s boundaries lie and the contexts in which a worker may be considered an employee or an individual communicating online in and out of the office. The present preliminary study therefore analyzes a significant and adaptable online genre, i.e. work psychology blogs, to observe and consider how experts on workplace mentality apply rhetorical devices and discursive and linguistic strategies to inform, encourage and influence the perception of employees within online discourse communities.