EMBODYING PROFESSIONAL AGILITY: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF YOUNG ADULT EMPLOYEES IN THE TOP SAUDI STARTUPS

Abstract

Agility at the individual level, the capability to respond to changes quickly and effectively is no longer just a trend; it has become a vital prerequisite for individual success. Despite the growing importance and popularity of agility among practitioners and scholars, there is a lack of in-depth analysis of the essence of the phenomenon. To address this gap in the literature, this hermeneutic phenomenological research study aimed to understand the lived experience of embodying professional agility in the top tech startups in Saudi Arabia. By describing how employees embody agility during their young adulthood, this study sought to identify experimented ways to improve professional agility throughout professional life. To this end, ten young Saudi employees were selected based on criteria obtained from their LinkedIn profiles as well as their self-reported assessment of workforce agility. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded via Zoom. The Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach guided the data analysis, and MaxQDA helped manage the process of data analysis. Furthermore, employee experiences were visualized using an online tool to identify the key moments in every experience and map the big picture of the whole individual journey. The results revealed five overarching themes that offer insights into how individuals embody professional agility within and across environments. Findings also uncovered the workplace factors that are most likely to prompt professional agility. Moreover, Bandura’s Human Agency theory and Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory served as a lens to interpret the findings. Drawing on analysis, grounded in empirical data, and informed by theories, a model of Experiential Sprints was developed. This model illustrates the three agentic actions that embody professional agility among participants within the workplace environment and the broader contexts.