Portfolio working has been championed, most noticeably by Handy (1995), as a new way in which we should understand many working lives. It is said to be characterized by obtaining and doing a variety of pieces of work for a number of different clients or employers and is suggested by many to be an increasing practice. To understand how individuals who work in this way experience portfolio working, 26 semi-structured interviews were carried out with a range of portfolio workers and then analysed using a grounded theory technique. The model that was generated suggested that a particular combination of features characterized portfolio working: the self-management of work, the independent generation of work and income, the development of a variety of work and clients, and a working environment situated outside any single organization. The model further demonstrated how these combined features engendered three main psychological processes central to the experience of portfolio working: autonomy, uncertainty and social isolation. The nature of the processes had a subsequent impact upon the individual's work intensity, well-being and work–life balance. Personal and situational characteristics also emerged as playing a notable role in how portfolio working is experienced.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Barker, K. (1995) ‘Contingent Work: Research Issues and the Lens of Moral Exclusion’, in L. E. Tetrick and J. Barling (eds) Changing Employment Relations: Behavioral and Social Perspectives, pp. 31–60. Washington, DC: APA .
2.
Brodie, S. and Stanworth, J. (1997) ‘Independent Contractors in Direct Selling: Selfemployed but Missing from Official Records’ , International Small Business Journal16(3): 95–101 .
3.
Charmaz, K. (1990) ‘Discovering Chronic Illness – Using Grounded Theory’ , Social Science Medicine30(11): 1161–1172 .
4.
Chipman, D. (1993) ‘A Glossary of Managerese: Management Terms’ , Across the Board30(9): 39–45 .
5.
Cohen, L. and Mallon, M. (1999) ‘The Transition from Organisational Employment to Portfolio Working: Perceptions of “Boundarylessness”’ , Work, Employment and Society13(2): 329–352 .
6.
Cope, J. (2005) ‘Researching Entrepreneurship through Phenomenological Inquiry: Philosophical and Methodological Issues’ , International Small Business Journal23(2): 163–189 .
7.
Ellingson, J. E., Gruys, M. L. and Sackett, P. R. (1998) ‘Factors Related to the Satisfaction and Performance of Temporary Employees’ , Journal of Applied Psychology83(6): 913–921 .
8.
Fraser, J. and Gold, M. (2001) ‘“Portfolio Workers”: Autonomy and Control Amongst Freelance Translators’ , Work, Employment and Society15(4): 679–697 .
9.
Glaser, B. G. and Strauss, A. L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New York, NY: Aldine .
10.
Goffee, R. and Scase, R. (1992) ‘Organizational Change and the Corporate Career: The Restructuring of Managers’ Job Aspirations’ , Human Relations45(4): 363–385 .
11.
Gold, M. and Fraser, J. (2002) ‘Managing Self-management: Successful Transitions to Portfolio Careers’ , Work, Employment and Society16(4): 579–597 .
12.
Hall, D. T. (1976) Careers in Organizations. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman & Company .
13.
Handy, C. (1985) The Future of Work: A Guide to a Changing Society. Oxford: Blackwell .
14.
Handy, C. (1990) Inside Organizations: 21 Ideas for Managers. London: Penguin .
15.
Handy, C. (1994) The Empty Raincoat. London: Hutchinson .
16.
Handy, C. (1995) The Age of Unreason, 3rd edn. London: Arrow Books .
17.
Handy, C. (2001) The Elephant and the Flea. London: Hutchinson .
18.
Henwood, K. L. and Pidgeon, N. F. (1992) ‘Qualitative Research and Psychological Theorizing’ , British Journal of Psychology83(1): 97–111 .
19.
Herriot, P. and Pemberton, C. (1996) ‘Contracting Careers’ , Human Relations49(6): 757–790 .
20.
Hyrsky, K. (1999) ‘Entrepreneurial Metaphors and Concepts: An Exploratory Study’ , International Journal of Small Business18(1): 13–34 .
21.
Inglis, I. R. (2000) ‘The Central Role of Uncertainty Reduction in Determining Behaviour’ , Behaviour137(12): 1567–1599 .
22.
Johnson, J. V. and Hall, E. M. (1988) ‘Job Strain, Work Place Social Support, and Cardiovascular Disease: A Cross Sectional Study of a Random Sample of the Swedish Working Population’ , American Journal of Public Health78(10): 1336–1342 .
23.
Karasek, R. (1979) ‘Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign’ , Administrative Science Quarterly24(2): 285–308 .
24.
Krausz, M., Brandwein, T. and Fox, S. (1995) ‘Work Attitudes and Emotional Responses of Permanent, Voluntary, and Involuntary Temporary-Help Employees: An Exploratory Study’ , Applied Psychology: An International Review44(3): 217–232 .
25.
Latack, J. C. (1989) ‘Work, Stress and Careers: A Preventative Approach to Maintaining Organizational Health’, in M. B. Arthur, D. T. Hall and B. S. Lawrence (eds) Handbook of Career Theory, pp. 252–274. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
26.
Lee, R. T. and Ashforth, B. E. (1996) ‘A Meta-analytic Examination of the Correlates of the Three Dimensions of Job Burnout’ , Journal of Applied Psychology81(2): 123–133 .
27.
Lee, T. W. (1998) Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
28.
Locke, K. (2001) Grounded Theory in Management Research. London: Sage .
29.
Mallon, M. (1998) ‘From Public Sector Employees to Portfolio Workers: Pioneers of New Careers?’, in C. Mabey, D. Skinner and T. Clark (eds) Experiencing Human Resource Management, pp. 169–186. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
30.
Mann, S., Varey, R. and Button, W. (2000) ‘An Exploration of the Emotional Impact of Teleworking Via Computer-mediated Communication’ , Journal of Managerial Psychology15(7): 668–686 .
31.
Mirvis, P. H and Hall, D. T. (1994) ‘Psychological Success and the Boundaryless Career’ , Journal of Organizational Behavior15(4): 365–380 .
32.
National Statistics (1981) ‘UK Employment Data’ , Labour Market Trends89(7): 97–98 .
33.
National Statistics (2001) ‘UK Employment Data’ , Labour Market Trends109(7): 113–114 .
34.
Parker, S. (2002) ‘Designing Jobs to Enhance Well-being and Effectiveness’, in P. Warr (ed.) Psychology at Work, 5th ed, pp. 276–299. London: Penguin .
35.
Parker, S. and Wall, T. D. (1998) Job and Work Design: Organizing Work to Promote Wellbeing and Effectiveness. London: Sage .
36.
Pearce, J. L. (1998) ‘Job Insecurity is Important, but not for the Reasons You Might Think: The Example of Contingent Workers’, in C. L. Cooper and D. M. Rousseau (eds) Trends in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 5, pp. 31–46. New York: John Wiley & Sons .
37.
Peiperl, M. and Baruch, Y. (1997) ‘Back to Square Zero: The Post-corporate Career’ , Organizational Dynamics25(4): 7–22 .
38.
Pidgeon, N. and Henwood, K. (1997) ‘Using Grounded Theory in Psychological Research’, in N. Hayes (ed.) Doing Qualitative Analysis in Psychology, pp. 245–273. Hove: Psychology Press .
39.
Platman, K. (2002) The Price of Freedom: The Myths and Realities of the Portfolio Career for Experienced, Older Professionals. London: Open University .
40.
Purcell, K. and Purcell, J. (1998) ‘In-sourcing, Outsourcing and the Growth of Contingent Labour as Evidence of Flexible Employment Strategies’ , European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology7(4): 39–59 .
41.
Sennett, R. (1998) The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism. New York: Norton and Co.
42.
Smeaton, D. (2003) ‘Self-employed Workers: Calling the Shots or Hesitant Independents? A Consideration of the Trends’ , Work, Employment and Society17(2): 379–391 .
43.
Stanworth, C. and Stanworth, J. (1997) ‘Reluctant Entrepreneurs and their Clients – The Case of Self-employed Freelance Workers in the British Book Publishing Industry’ , International Small Business Journal16(1): 58–73 .
44.
Storey, J. (2000) ‘“Fracture Lines” in the Career Environment’, in A. Collin and R. A. Young (eds) The Future of Career, pp. 21–36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
45.
Totterdell, P., Wood, S. and Wall, T. D. (in press) ‘An Intra-Individual Test of the Demands-Control Model: A Weekly Diary Study of Psychological Strain in Portfolio Workers’ , Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology.
46.
van der Doef, M. and Maes, S. (1999) ‘The Job Demand-Control(-Support) Model and Psychological Well-being. A Review of 20 Years of Empirical Research’ , Work & Stress13(2): 87–114 .
47.
Wajcman, J. and Martin, B. (2001) ‘My Company or My Career: Managerial Achievement and Loyalty’ , British Journal of Sociology52(4): 559–578 .
48.
Wall, T. D. and Jackson, P. R. (1995) ‘New Manufacturing Initiatives and Shopfloor Work Design’, in A. Howard (ed.) The Changing Nature of Work, pp. 139–174. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass .
49.
Wooten, K. C., Timmerman, T. A. and Folger, R. (1999) ‘The Use of Personality and the Five-Factor Model to Predict New Business Ventures: From Outplacement to Start-up’ , Journal of Vocational Behavior54(1): 82–101 .
