Throughout Elizabeth Wardle’s article, Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces, she highlighted the idea that, when transitioning to a new workplace, one inevitably experiences a complex process that goes far beyond simply learning how to do the tasks that their job title demands. The new employee is faced with the challenge of not only navigating their new colleagues and workload but also is required to form their authority and a new identity within the new social, culture, and work environment that they are in, aligning with the values and dynamics of their workplace as a whole.
To emphasize and support the importance of the claim, Wardle delved into a case study regarding a 23-year-old new computer support specialist in the humanities department at a large Midwestern university, Alan, who ultimately viewed himself as an extremely knowledgeable, independent, and authoritative writer. Regardless, this sense of confidence and power that he exuded in his new place of work did not mesh well with his colleagues or the social and cultural expectations of the workplace, allowing Wardle to explain further the value of altering one’s identity and authority in their writing when transitioning to a new work environment to ensure that ones new position does not impact their attitudes towards others within the environment.
Alan very well may have been a qualified and educated employee; however, he needed clarification on the specific genre required for his writing in his position, often displaying himself as someone in a position of power and held a particular level of authority in the workplace. His expressed attitude was very off-putting to his colleagues, putting him in a position where they did not truly respect him as a person or employee as he talked down to others and held himself to a higher standard than where they would have placed him.
As a whole, people like Alan, who do not successfully transition to the type of identity and authority in their writing needed for the new position, can easily fall into a system where they are not looked at as valuable members of the workplace team and disrespected due to their lack of awareness to the dynamics of their new environment. Wardle continuously stated that both educators and workplaces should recognize this issue and adequately prepare new hires for the transition in identity and authority within their writing for their position, ensuring that they are aware of how specific skills and tasks need to be performed, but also the values and systems that come along with the job.
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