Co-constructing the illusion of mobility: How professional boundary work shapes paraprofessional careers

Research Seminar

Management & Human Resources

Speaker: Stefanie Gustafsson

University of Bath, UK

Bernard Ramanantsoa room

Abstract: 

Paraprofessionals represent a substantial and growing portion of the workforce in contemporary professional organizations, yet most research to date has examined the work and careers of elite professionals rather than the paraprofessionals who work alongside them. To develop theory on paraprofessional careers, we conducted a qualitative study involving 84 paralegals, lawyers, and management professionals in UK law firms. Using a boundary work lens, we explore how paraprofessionals and professionals co-construct an illusion of career mobility, wherein paraprofessionals persist in their roles, perceiving them as stepping stones to careers as elite professionals. In reality, this advancement seldom materializes, and paraprofessionals experience a sense of being "stuck", unable to craft career alternatives. Our findings reveal that paraprofessionals and professionals co-construct this illusion of mobility by engaging in two contradictory modes of boundary work— boundary stretching and boundary sustaining — situated within three domains: professional work, professional space, and professional progression. Professionals send contradictory messages to paraprofessionals through their encouragement of paraprofessionals’ boundary stretching work, whilst simultaneously sustaining their existing professional boundaries.  In so doing, professionals preserve their own elite status and secure the ongoing commitment of paraprofessionals within their organisations through the illusion of career mobility.