Project Workers and Project-Based Work

Abstract

Project-based work, in the contexts dealt with here, is a special kind of knowledge work, and project workers are a special breed of knowledge workers. Project-based work typically involves close collaboration with other experts from other disciplinary fields and areas of expertise; it is, in this respect, a form of interdependent knowledge work. It is about applying and developing one’s own knowledge in a conscientious way to produce a joint effort and achieve knowledge integration. Project-based work typically also involves meeting new people and continuously entering into new collaborations. Projects are, in this respect, highly interesting objects for the study of work and working life from the perspective of the individual project worker. This is particularly important in light of our view of project workers as active players in the HR quadriad. Hence, in this chapter our objective ambition is to summarize the main findings from previous research in this area while, at the same time, intermixing some of our own findings.