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  • Variability in the use of mobile ICTs by homeworkers and its consequences for boundary management and social isolation

    Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Information and Organization. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Information and Organization, 25, 4, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2015.10.001

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    Available under license: CC BY-NC-ND: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

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Variability in the use of mobile ICTs by homeworkers and its consequences for boundary management and social isolation

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Donald Hislop
  • Carolyn Axtell
  • Alison Collins
  • Kevin Daniels
  • Jane Glover
  • Karen Niven
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>10/2015
<mark>Journal</mark>Information and Organization
Issue number4
Volume25
Number of pages11
Pages (from-to)222-232
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date20/10/15
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

We examine how the use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs) among self-employed homeworkers affects their experience of work, focusing particularly on where work is carried out, how the work/non-work boundary is managed, and people's experiences
of social and professional isolation. Positively, their use enhanced people's sense of spatio-temporal freedom by allowing them to leave the home without compromising their work availability. This also helped reduce people's feelings of social isolation. More negatively, their use enhanced people's sense of ‘perpetual contact’, creating a sense that work was difficult to escape from. However, the extent to which mobile ICTs were used, and the extent to
which their impact on people's experiences of work were understood, were found to vary significantly, highlighting the agency that users have with regard to technology use. The findings are framed by combining Nippert-Eng's boundary work theory, with an ‘emergent process’ perspective on socio-technical relations.

Bibliographic note

Date of Acceptance: 07/10/2015 24 month embargo This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Information and Organization. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Information and Organization, 25, 4, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2015.10.001