In Wardle’s “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces” she claims that a new person in a workplace is going to cause some conflict if the new addition does not conform to the rules of the community. Newcomers have to learn how to write in their new environment because there are already rules in place that everyone else follows.
Wardle goes on to talk about identity. The newcomer has to believe that they belong there. She says, “Newcomers must be able to imagine their own work, and writing, as being an important part of a larger enterprise.” I believe Wardle is trying to tell us that it is important for newcomers to feel like they have something worth contributing. She goes on to explain how newcomers are their own people and have their own identities to respect. However, new additions must find a balance between their ideals and what is expected of them. As time goes on and as they gain more authority, they may conform less.
In the second half of Wardle’s work, she tells the story of a young man named Alan who was completely new to the workplace. He was the young kid working with a bunch of older people with PhDs and master’s degrees. However, he believed he was extremely important because of his technical expertise. He believed he had more authority than everyone else except the department chair. It was bold of him to assume this as he was the newcomer. He threatened his coworkers in emails, consistently tried to show his authority, and wrote poorly with grammatical errors. His co-workers laughed at him and believed he had no authority. The problem was that Alan went into his new workplace demanding respect and authority. He imagined an identity for himself and went along with it despite the dismissal from his colleagues. Alan did not adapt and change his communication which caused conflict. By demanding so much authority from the beginning, he became the laughingstock of the department.
After reading “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces”, it is clear that changing the way you write in a new workplace is the way to go. There will be less conflict, and over time workplace identity can grow if balanced appropriately with authority.
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