Public Oral PhD Defense: Taylor C. Siering

"Sensemaking and Self in Direct Sales: An Emerging Framework to Explore Meaning of Work for Mothers"

Advisor: Dr. Joshua Collins and Dr. Nicole Dillard

Direct sales work has not been explored within HRD despite its historical significance within women’s labor and its recent popularity as a professional role. Many of the individuals who take on direct sales work are mothers, as mothers have often been specifically sought out by these organizations. The purpose of this study is to understand how mothers currently or formerly engaged in direct sales work make sense of their experiences engaging in both paid work and their unpaid motherhood work. The research question for this study is: how do mothers engaged in direct sales make sense of their dual roles in paid direct sales work and unpaid domestic work? Using critical narrative analysis and thematic analysis to explore this research question, this study found that mothers engaged in direct sales work made sense of their work through their individual self, their relational self and their motherhood self. This research leverages these findings to propose a framework for exploring meaning of work for mothers who manage paid work alongside their motherhood work more broadly across work contexts.

In-person: at Appleby Hall Room 201