Contentious frames toward work can be understood as ideas or narratives that challenge work. This paper forwards a model of how contentious frames toward work are propagated by workers and later enacted (acted upon) in organizations. Past work suggests that individuals with repeated exposure or pre-existing narratives sympathetic to frames are more inclined to adopt said frames. Moving beyond adoption, I theorize that employees take several paths regarding the propagation and enactment of these frames within organizations. For example, they may confine (keep to themselves) these frames or beliefs, and in doing so become demotivated or engage in one-on-one or one-on-many behaviors, such as attempts to bring about change through individual-level voice or resistance (e.g., counterproductive work behaviors). Alternatively, they may convey (share) these frames to others, and in so doing they may demotivate the group; coordinate to bring about organizational change through formal voice pathways; or, barring this, coordinate to retaliate and resist through organizationally-discouraged or prohibited paths (e.g., collective counterproductive work behaviors, union formation, striking and protesting). Which of these paths dominate depends on the frames themselves and their alignment with specific actions, the urgency of change within the organization, and utility of speaking up within the organization.
