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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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Variability in the use of mobile ICTs by homeworkers and its consequences for boundary management and social isolation
AU - Hislop, Donald
AU - Axtell, Carolyn
AU - Collins, Alison
AU - Daniels, Kevin
AU - Glover, Jane
AU - Niven, Karen
N1 - 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
PY - 2015/10
Y1 - 2015/10
N2 - 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 experiencesof 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 towhich 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.
AB - 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 experiencesof 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 towhich 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.
KW - Homeworking
KW - Mobile ICTs
KW - Telework
KW - Work/non-work boundary
KW - Social isolation
U2 - 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2015.10.001
DO - 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2015.10.001
M3 - Journal article
VL - 25
SP - 222
EP - 232
JO - Information and Organization
JF - Information and Organization
SN - 1471-7727
IS - 4
ER -