A Discursive Sensemaking Perspective on Project-Based Work in Public Healthcare

Abstract

This study investigates project participants’ sensemaking of lived work experiences during periods of organizational change within Finnish public healthcare. It introduces a discursive sensemaking perspective to investigate lived experiences, that is, reflexive practitioners’ situational thinking. Drawing upon 17 interviews, the study identifies diverse repertoires through which the lived experiences are considered meaningful. These are repertoires of: (1) transformation, (2) realism, (3) politics, (4) individuality, (5) reflexivity, and (6) senselessness. The results show that project-based work in public healthcare differs from project participants’ expectations because projects are perceived to increase rather than decrease bureaucracy and include unsustainable working conditions that have to be endured.