‘Vulnerability’ at Work: Instrumental Vulnerabilities Among Software Professionals

As a self-improvement discourse, ‘vulnerability’ brings a compelling promise for software workplaces around engendering productivity, innovation and creativity among employees. While critical studies have interrogated various self-improvement discourses, less is known about how workers respond to and negotiate these discourses in professional contexts. This article asks how workers of North American software companies construct vulnerability. It finds that constructions instrumentalize vulnerability in the workplace as the exposure of failures, mistakes and knowledge gaps to enact organizational resilience. Drawing from interviews, the article discusses the implications of these constructions.