knowledge environment within which they operate. The knowledge worker is
deWned by the nature of the work that she or he engages in. To be a knowledge
worker is therefore not an occupational category (unlike the professions) but it is
an act of producing knowledge-rich products and services. An organization cannot
logically lay claim to employ knowledge workers if they are not able to engage in
knowledge work. Hence, it is critically important to manage the knowledge envir-
onment to ensure that knowledge work is possible. This depends greatly on the
quality of the relationships that theWrm has in its network of clients and collab-
orating producers. Challenging and committed clients make for challenging and
exciting work, which allows for the co-production of knowledge. To better under-
stand this systemic process, it is important to be aware of both the characteristics of
knowledge workers and theWrms within which they operate.
22.3 The Characteristics of
Knowledge Workers
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Knowledge workers tend, on the whole, to work exceptionally long hours (Deetz
1995 ), with commitment related more to the nature of the work (consulting to a
client, writing software code, or solving a problem) rather than to the organization.
They have a strong sense of intrinsic motivation and are mostly interested in
challenging work which requires considerable creativity and initiative (Alvesson
2000 ). Knowledge workers also tend to identify with other like-minded professionals
more than the organization for which they work (von Glinow 1988 ) and therefore
develop strong interpersonal networks that span organizational boundaries.
Such workers, also referred to as ‘symbolic-analytic’ workers (Blackler 1995 ),
tend to command high rewards, often because their know-what, know-how, and
know-who is valuable and diYcult to replace or imitate (Barney 1991 ). The core
skills that they rely on to make this strong bargaining position possible include
problem-solving (research, product design, fabrication), problem identiWcation
(marketing, advertising, and customer consulting), and brokerage (Wnancing,
searching, contracting) (Blackler 1995 : 1027 ). Social skills and client relationships
are also important to the process of knowledge work (Starbuck 1992 ) given the
social nature of knowledge production. Knowledge workers therefore tend to
develop their own social environments and professional networks within which
they can enhance and enact their unique sets of expertise.
May et al. ( 2002 ), in their research on the job expectations of 134 knowledge
workers in Australia, Japan, and the USA, found that pay was regarded as theWrst
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