IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v30y2023i5p1816-1838.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The dialectic of (menopause) zest: Breaking the mold of organizational irrelevance

Author

Listed:
  • Camilla Quental
  • Pilar Rojas Gaviria
  • Céline del Bucchia

Abstract

Drawing from women's testimonials in The Guardian and from contributions of feminist writers, Virginia Woolf, Julia Kristeva, and Margaret Mead, we start a conversation on the positive and energizing aspects of menopause in the workplace. We propose a social interpretation of menopause that challenges a pervasive perspective of medical decline: A theorization of “the dialectic of zest,” as inspired by the writings of Margaret Mead. By problematizing the experiences of women going through this transition in the workplace, we reveal how well‐intentioned awareness campaigns can lead to further stigmatization. We thus encourage organizations to not only favor an approach of “education for all” but also extend their social imaginaries beyond medicalized perspectives and coping views. Organizations can then embrace the potential of “zest,” a positive side of menopause that remains largely unknown. We argue that organizations, inspired by a holistic view of menopause in the workplace, can creatively support the professional progressions and ambitions of not only women but also all employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Camilla Quental & Pilar Rojas Gaviria & Céline del Bucchia, 2023. "The dialectic of (menopause) zest: Breaking the mold of organizational irrelevance," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1816-1838, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:30:y:2023:i:5:p:1816-1838
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.13017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13017
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.13017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belinda Steffan, 2021. "Managing menopause at work: The contradictory nature of identity talk," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 195-214, January.
    2. Leanne Cutcher, 2021. "Mothering managers: (Re)interpreting older women's organizational subjectivity," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1447-1460, July.
    3. Stern, Barbara B, 1989. "Literary Criticism and Consumer Research: Overview and Illustrative Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 16(3), pages 322-334, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Krystal Wilkinson & Julia Rouse, 2023. "Solo‐living and childless professional women: Navigating the ‘balanced mother ideal’ over the fertile years," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 68-85, January.
    2. Daly, Bonita A. & Schuler, Drue K., 1998. "Redefining a certified public accounting firm," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 549-567.
    3. Marianne Gjellestad & Kristin Haraldstad & Heidi Enehaug & Migle Helmersen, 2023. "Women’s Health and Working Life: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Marcin Nowakowski & Barbara Nowakowska, 2016. "Message Strategy and Information Content of Advertising in Women’s Magazines in Poland (Strategia przekazu oraz tresc informacyjna reklam w czasopismach kobiecych w Polsce )," Research Reports, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 1(20), pages 123-135.
    5. Canavan, Brendan, 2019. "Tourism-in-literature: Existential comfort, confrontation and catastrophe in Guy De Maupassant's short stories," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Lutz Preuss & David Dawson, 2009. "On the Quality and Legitimacy of Green Narratives in Business: A Framework for Evaluation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 135-149, January.
    7. Jan C. L. König, 2020. "The Never-Ending Story Teller – A Narratological Genealogy of Storytelling in Marketing and Management," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 127-137.
    8. Denny, Rita M. & Sunderland, Patricia L., 2005. "Researching cultural metaphors in action: metaphors of computing technology in contemporary U.S. life," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(10), pages 1456-1463, October.
    9. Beatrice I. J. M. Van der Heijden & Karen Pak & Mónica Santana, 2021. "Menopause and Sustainable Career Outcomes: A Science Mapping Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-21, November.
    10. Sara Viotti & Gloria Guidetti & Ilaria Sottimano & Lucia Travierso & Mara Martini & Daniela Converso, 2021. "Do Menopausal Symptoms Affect the Relationship between Job Demands, Work Ability, and Exhaustion? Testing a Moderated Mediation Model in a Sample of Italian Administrative Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, September.
    11. Dimache, Alexandru & Wondirad, Amare & Agyeiwaah, Elizabeth, 2017. "One museum, two stories: Place identity at the Hong Kong Museum of History," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 287-301.
    12. Canavan, Brendan & McCamley, Claire, 2020. "The passing of the postmodern in pop? Epochal consumption and marketing from Madonna, through Gaga, to Taylor," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 222-230.
    13. Lilith A. Whiley & Ashley Wright & Sarah E. Stutterheim & Gina Grandy, 2023. "“A part of being a woman, really”: Menopause at work as “dirty” femininity," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 897-916, May.
    14. Tatiana S. Rowson & Sylvia Jaworska & Iwona Gibas, 2023. "Hot topic: Examining discursive representations of menopause and work in the British media," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 1903-1921, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:30:y:2023:i:5:p:1816-1838. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.