Transitioning Office Life to Gym Life
The company I work for, Cintex Wireless, is a subsidized phone company that provides people on welfare free phones, as well as service from T-Mobile. Recently, the owner bought a gym near us and decided to give his employees free membership.
I plan on writing my ethnographic essay on how the employees transition from their office to their normal life, or “athletic life.” I will conduct interviews in my workplace only. Since the gym is relatively small, it will be easier to just observe their interactions and any differences I see in mood. Also, by interacting with them outside the office I can come to some conclusions on their different emotions and feelings while not operating in a work controlled environment. I’ll be considering a few questions when I observe this sub-culture.
- How do they express their identity?
- What are other group’s perceptions of them?
- What adjustments do they make to fit into their environment?
My research question will start to become more understandable once I start my fieldwork, as Boellstorf suggests, my research question will begin to emerge during informal visits to my field site. As I explore my sub-culture I will be able to craft my research question, thus allowing me to dig deeper for the relationship of the subjects and question I’m seeking to answer.
There are many office “norms” that will be watched for. This link will provide you with the office norms that are very common in the workplace. This article will let you know the usually workplace environment, then the differences will be noticeable, I hope.
