Work Hard, Play Hard: The Moral Economy of Company Celebrations in Post-Socialist Bulgaria

This article explores shifts in workplace festivities in Bulgaria as part of the transition from socialism to post-socialism and analyses how work celebrations are used to express and uphold the moral economies informing them. During the socialist period, labour was glorified and work celebrations were a key instrument in the ideological and cultural engineering efforts of the state. Since the 1990s, private business owners have been reinterpreting and (re-)inventing festive traditions to stage their identities and moral orientations in discursive and performative ways. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation in industrial production and high-tech companies in 2017-2019, I argue that highly mediated company celebrations are, in the wake of promotional cultures, an opportunity for employers to brand themselves as good. Such events also model the expectations of a good employee, for example, to be competitive not only regarding one's work but also in having fun, as part of work, which is a reflection of the general insistence on happiness in the neoliberal workplace.

Automated summary

This article investigates the changes in workplace festivities in Bulgaria during the transition from socialism to post-socialism and examines the role of work celebrations in expressing and maintaining moral economies. During the socialist era, labor was glorified and work celebrations were utilized as a means of ideological and cultural engineering by the state. Since the 1990s, private business owners have reinterpreted and reinvented festive traditions to showcase their identities and moral orientations in both discourse and performance. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, the author argues that highly mediated company celebrations provide employers with an opportunity to brand themselves as favorable entities in the wake of promotional cultures. These events also serve as models for the expectations of a good employee, which include not only competitiveness in work but also the ability to have fun, reflecting the growing emphasis on happiness in neoliberal workplaces.