Reflexivity upon the Interview Process

The interviews proved to be an extremely interesting and insightful process and I felt incredibly privileged that interviewees demonstrated a high degree of openness and honesty in sharing their career stories and personal experiences. On reflection, this was a result of having created an open relationship with interviewees within a relatively short period of time to gain their trust, through both our initial introductions and the opening stages of the interview. The value of creating such relationships also manifested in snowball sampling as interviewees subsequently encouraged colleagues to also participate. Throughout the empirical work I kept a research journal to reflect upon my experience in addition to noting and developing ideas and emergent themes. My key reflections upon the interviews included the significance of positioning myself as researcher, as detached from the organisation, recognition of the sensitive nature of exploring career stories and the potentially cathartic nature of the interview process for interviewees. These factors are now outlined in further detail.

Emergent within the interviews (and discussed in further detail within Chapter Seven) was the influence of the organisational context of Baycastle Trust, and the wider NHS, and specifically organisational governance through a culture of audits and investigations. In developing the research design, the significance of clarifying my position as independent researcher detached from the Trust, the wider NHS and associated organisations became evident. Alternatively, within the opening to each interview I emphasised my research focus upon individual stories and work histories, supported by my academic position within the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology at Lancaster University (also indicated by the participant information

sheet). Furthermore, in indicating that I had some prior experience of working in an administrative capacity within two different NHS organisations7 I was able to demonstrate some familiarity with NHS abbreviations, processes and initiatives such as Management for Change programmes and Agenda for Change pay-banding, enabling interviewees to recount their personal experiences without interruption to explain general detail.

During the interviews I remained sensitive to the potentially personal nature of a career story, recognising that an individual’s career is frequently closely entwined with other aspects of their life. Interviewees responded to this level of exploration differently and so as a researcher I was required to remain vigilant to the sensitivity of the interviewee whilst also ensuring the depth of data obtained. A number of interviews proved to be emotional for interviewees, demonstrating how closely the career is interwoven with many other aspects of an individual’s life and also the meaning attributed to such experiences. As an interviewer I felt invested in these narratives, experiencing the highs and lows of an individual’s story and consequently was surprised by the emotionally demanding nature of these accounts. On occasion, interviews became so emotionally laden, I reminded interviewees that they did not need to share anything they felt uncomfortable doing yet on each occasion they chose to continue, and I felt privileged and trusted as a listener that they did so. The most frequent example of this was in discussing the loss of a parent which often led to reflection upon their future career and present work life balance. On reflection, I considered the extent to which the professional roles of some interviewees, particularly nursing and therapeutic backgrounds, contributed to their engagement with the method. Interestingly, not all participants were engaged so actively in sharing their story. For example, one interviewee, a professional psychologist, firmly adhered to an account of work-related career events and offered limited elaboration upon factors outside of the work or professional context which may have contributed to change experiences. Schein (1993) acknowledged that self-reflection upon career experiences and events can lead to a more explicit understanding of an individual’s priorities and values. Therefore, the interview process has the potential to be an enlightening experience for interviewees and it would be mutually advantageous if the process were to present such “ethically important

moments” (Guillemin and Gillam, 2004). Many interviewees narrated in an open and frank manner, frequently revisiting earlier explanations or experiences unprompted and provided an interesting and sometimes insightful alternative account (demonstrated within Chapter Six). Often these instances were sensitive or emotionally laden issues and represented ethically important moments. This included experiences such as incidents of physical assault, family breakdown, bereavement and negative work experiences which were revisited as the interviewee became increasingly comfortable and increasingly at ease within the interview.

The significance of the process of narration was evidenced in relation not only to specific experiences within careering but also in regard to their overall career, particularly during the final stages of the interview. A number or interviewees expressed that they had enjoyed the experience of reflecting upon their career, an opportunity which they would not ordinarily have, describing such an undertaking as interesting and specifically referred to as being cathartic or therapeutic. This reflection has been noted by Porcellato et al., (2016) upon undertaking a similar methodology consistent with the reflection upon the use of occupational calendars in capturing lengthy and complex working lives.

This section has outlined the research design employed in undertaking the empirical research necessary to address the research questions raised within this thesis. The data analysis process through which the research findings were interpreted and presented will now be outlined.