”It hasn’t happened once that I wake up in pain and I am alone. - There are always eyes already waiting for it.” - Analyzing the dog-human partnership and pain alert dogs at work

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Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

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Date

2023

Department

Johtamisen laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Management and International Business (MIB)

Language

en

Pages

60

Series

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore human-animal work and interspecies relationships within organizational settings. Previous research in the field of organization studies has been highly anthropocentric, overlooking the valuable roles of animals and their agency in diverse organizational contexts, such as in assistance, security, entertainment, tourism, and healthcare. Despite the growing interest in Human-Animal Studies, our understanding of the social constructs and power dynamics governing interactions between humans and animals within organizations remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap and contribute to the new, emerging field of Animal Organization Studies by focusing on a new animal occupation group, pain alert dogs. The theoretical foundation of this study draws from the interdisciplinary fields of Human-Animal Studies and Animal Organization Studies. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the “more-than-human” phenomenon, the research follows a qualitative research design of multispecies ethnography supported by semi-structured interviews. Data collection took place in April 2023 through observations and interviews involving three dog-human pairs and two pain alert dog trainers. The analysis of data is based on inductive analysis. The findings shed light on the prominent agency possessed by pain alert dogs in their roles. As trusted individuals, pain alert dogs react and inform their human handlers of increasing pain levels and upcoming pain attacks. With the dogs’ input to care work, humans suffering from chronic pain have found more balance in their lives and control of their pain situation. The findings show that the concept of pain alert work is a mix of animals’ voluntary work for humans and mandated work by humans, where the line between working time and leisure is blurred. The pain alert work is made possible by a strong bond between the dog and the human. Future research should ponder the ethical questions of our relations to animals and continue to further examine non-human workers and their place in organizations.

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Thesis advisor

Huopalainen, Astrid

Keywords

animal organization studies, agency, non-human work, human-animal relationships at work, care, posthumanism

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Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202310226573

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ