As many studies have illustrated, education systems all over the world have been subjected to neoliberal politics and commercial agendas. Not at least is this taking place in the Nordic countries. The present paper seeks to understand these transformations from the perspective of the people working in the Swedish edu-business sector; that is, in commercial companies selling products and services to educational institutions. What do they want to achieve – for themselves, for school and for their companies – and how is that related to how it feels to work in school versus in edu-business? The aim is to explore (1) how the edu-business sector is discursively constructed as a workplace and part of the education system and; (2) how this discourse is organized within an affective economy; that is, how the valuation of emotions distinguish what are considered as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ subjectivities, practices and institutions. 

The paper builds on 22 interviews performed in a larger ethnographic study, in which we followed the work of education companies in the Swedish education market. The companies operate within different business areas, such as the production and retailing of teaching materials, in-service teacher-training, consulting services, and digital education products. The analysis of interviews is approached from Ahmed’s notion of “affective economies”. This concept makes it possible to understand how feelings are culturally valued and capitalized on. Hence, the study contributes with knowledge on how neoliberal policies, subjectivities, and affects interplay.

From the interviews we conclude the that reasons for working in edu-business relate to career opportunities, but also to personal well-being and to aspirations to do good for school or for a company. Two main discourses – the entrepreneurial and the bureaucratic – organize how the interviewees make sense of working in the business sector. These discourses constitute each other as opposites, forming a crisis narrative of a bureaucratic school system stretched to its boundaries by administration, versus a flexible, joyful private sector. The bureaucratic discourse reflects the ‘dark side’ of neoliberalization – which is taking place in school and is attached to feelings such as boredom, anxiety, and guilt. The entrepreneurial discourse represents the “bright side”, opening possibilities for individuals to work in the private sector and is attached to emotions such as joy, creativity, and well-being. Also, a profit discourse organizes the talk, addressing the role of economic gains and how that is connected to feelings such as shame, but also pride. The affective economy constructs the business sector as desirable and the public sector as its opposite. 

We argue that studying the affective economy of neoliberalism helps us to understand why the business sector is a luring workplace. Studying not only the problems, but also the possibilities, of neoliberalism helps us to understand its power. Thus, we can engage deeper in the forces that are upholding the system. Some of the forces are political or economic, others are emotional. Most of them are both.