Kontroll i fastighetsbranschen. En kvalitativ enfallsstudie om kvinnliga och manliga chefers upplevelser av kontroll på arbetsplatsen

Sammanfattning: This essay aims to examine managers experiences of control at the workplace within the property sector, and how these experiences differ between female and male managers. This study is a qualitative single case study that intends to offer a deeper understanding of a unique case and uses an abductive method approach. The essay is based on two main theories, Foucault’s (2003) theory of control and the gender system of Hirdman (1988, 2001) and is supplemented by previous studies of the modern workplace. The study is based on eighteen semi-structured interviews that aims to capture the participants personal experiences regarding control at the modern workplace, and the norms, surveillance, hierarchies, and self-discipline that make up this control. The study shows that control is practised in different ways, among those a physical presence and communication at the workplace, as well as through various digital systems. Managers have internalised the prevailing norms at the workplace and practice a high degree of self-discipline when they mean that they practise freedom with responsibility at the workplace. Differences between female and male managers have been identified, where female managers are described with words such as empathetic and warm, while male managers are described as angular and business-focused. Normalisation processes have nevertheless created a primary focus on personality before gender when it comes to control. The gender system that has historically been in practice seems closer to being eradicated the more the norms in the workplace change to focus more on personality.