Abstract
How do individuals in organizations develop their sustainability engagement as a primary desire of their work-related life story? Taking a process-based approach, this study explores the formative experiences, relational resources, and interpretive processes by which individuals “become greener” at work. Two preliminary patterns of observation stand out, both speaking to emergent desires of people’s sustainability engagement. First, people emphasize desiring artifacts as a symbolic resource in their journeys. These artifacts are used to rekindle the engagement of themselves and others, connect to nature and emphasize purpose. The second pattern is desiring space as a recurrent relational effort to protect, restore and fuel a growth path towards working with sustainability.How do individuals in organizations develop their sustainability engagement as a primary desire of their work-related life story? Taking a process-based approach, this study explores the formative experiences, relational resources, and interpretive processes by which individuals “become greener” at work. Two preliminary patterns of observation stand out, both speaking to emergent desires of people’s sustainability engagement. First, people emphasize desiring artifacts as a symbolic resource in their journeys. These artifacts are used to rekindle the engagement of themselves and others, connect to nature and emphasize purpose. The second pattern is desiring space as a recurrent relational effort to protect, restore and fuel a growth path towards working with sustainability.