Passion at Work: BLOGGING PRACTICES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS: "Organisations might set the rules and create conditions," writes Lilia Efimova in her Ph.D dissertation, "but in the end it's up to an individual. Making judgments, taking risks, taking responsibility. Crossing boundaries. Having fun."

Up to the individual? Crossing boundaries? Having fun? Given the nature of the traditional workplace, these are all revolutionary concepts. Having fun was of course my favorite, and, in many ways, I think the most profoundly revolutionary.

And these are only a small sample of the challenges that Efimova levels at the notions that have governed our understanding of work and workplace, all as almost a byproduct of her exploration of how people are using blogging as a tool to improve their work effectiveness.

"Blogging," she writes, "can support a variety of knowledge worker activities. For example, in my own case, blogging helps to articulate and organise thoughts, to make contact with people interested in the same topics, to grow relations with other bloggers that often turn into a joint collaboration, to do research, or to work on a publication. When used in those ways blogging is beneficial for work and yet it is inherently personal, driven by the passions and investment of an individual, and difficult to formalise or control. For knowledge workers, blogging means crossing boundaries - not only the boundaries between passion and paid work, but also those between private and public or between multiple audiences of a weblog."

But at the same time, what's everywhere apparent in her paper is that blogging is redefining work, in a most empowering manner, most profoundly, and most welcome.

© Bernie DeKoven

Via (Smartmobs)