What Makes Me Stay Here?

Abstract

This article takes a qualitative approach to understanding the meaning of the good life in a situated organisational context, addressing the possibility of staying at work as a good enough place, even though it is facing critical events (turnover, mass resignations, and mergers and acquisitions). The paper presents a case study of a tax and legal firm that was formed in 2020 from the merger of two accounting firms and that is having difficulties attracting and retaining experienced talent. The article aims to explore a concrete organisational case in which people are grappling with the decision to remain with the firm (legacy and persistence) or leave in search of new professional opportunities (innovation and change). Epistemological and methodological implications are highlighted, focusing on the research object as a heterotopic text in which various languages, voices and practices are diffractionally assembled Deleuze and Guattari 1987), interweaving various discourses and practices (Cunliffe and Locke 2020).

Keywords

• action research, qualitative approach, organisational belonging, expansive learning, transformative practices