Agent–Scene Romanticisation of WFH: Pentadic Criticism of WFH Representations in Popular Culture

Abstract

This study extends work from home (WFH) literature by recasting WFH performances that emphasise agents’ manipulation of scene. Drawing on the dramatist paradigm, the study uses Burke’s pentadic criticism to code the social media application Pinterest’s ‘work from home’ and ‘home office’ pinboards for act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose. Pinterest is a social media application that users post pins (images with verbal tags and link to external sites, especially blog sites) and collect pins by subject on an electronic pinboard, which other users can like, follow, and share. Analysis of WFH pins reveals that the agent–scene ratio saturates pins emphasising the agency of WFH agents to control their scenes or home office spaces. The idealism of the agent–scene ratio in pins further demonstrates an unrealistic approach to popular culture’s shift to WFH and a romanticisation of WFH as idyllic working conditions. Scripts for employees and employers are explored to equip them with the rhetorical resources to more closely align their agent–scene ideals with the scene–agent realities.

Citation

Spradley, E. and Spradley, R.T. (2021), "Agent–Scene Romanticisation of WFH: Pentadic Criticism of WFH Representations in Popular Culture", Kumar, P., Agrawal, A. and Budhwar, P. (Ed.) Work from Home: Multi-level Perspectives on the New Normal, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 183-201. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-661-220210011