Luke N Hedden

My research is driven by an interest in how individuals manage undesirable social perceptions of their work. As an ethnographer and field researcher, I study occupations and professions in which the costs of such undesirable social perceptions are high, such as power line workers whose reputations can make or break their ability to get hired and career advisers whose clients with incongruent values can challenge advisers’ jurisdictional control (i.e., their ability to work as they see fit). In studying occupations and professions like these, I draw upon and contribute to theories of (a) values and identity conflicts, as well as theories of (b) meaningful work and purpose. By studying individuals at work, their interactions with others, and their occupational contexts, I take a cross-level approach to building theory in these two streams.