Blurring Home and Work Boundaries: Integrating Paid Work, Domestic Work and FamilyTracy Kennedy, Julie Amoroso & Barry WellmanMobile communication and social policy: International conference October 9-11, 2009 Center for Mobile Communication Studies, Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey, USANetLab, Department of Sociology University of Toronto

“New communications technologies are rapidly obliterating distance as a relevant factory in how we conduct our business and personal lives…. The story today is not only the diminishing importance of distance, but also the mobility and ubiquity of technology.” Frances Cairncross(1997)The Death of Distance

In 2000 ~1.4 million WAH people in Canada (10+% of population)In 2005:Canadians WAH a mean of 17 hrs/week 71 percent of home workers spent less than 10 hrs/week WAHProblem: the amount of time people spend WAH varies, and so will their experiences…Workplace mobility:Working at home (WAH)

Heightened awareness of work and family challenges New social policies: “to ensure that the administration evaluates and develops policies that establish a balance between work and family” (The White House, 2009).Work-Life Balance

WAH provides:Versatility & FlexibilityPermeable boundaries between home & work spheresIntegration of childcare & domestic work into the paid work day Potential breakdown of household routines or efforts to separate home and workRisk of over workLess or more time with family depending on time spent WAHBlurring Boundaries of Workplace & Home

What is the relationship between the percentage of time people work at home and how they integrate paid work, domestic work, and family life.How are modern digital media, such as the internet and cell phones facilitating home-work connectivity? Questions

Population of 114,240 (2001 census) 32 Page Survey:350 adults: questions about communication, information seeking, work at home, social networks, and more…2-3 hour Interviews:25% (n=87):survey follow up, household routines & schedules, ICT use, network structure, and more…Case Study: East York, Toronto(2004-2005)

Population of 114,240 (2001 census)

32 Page Survey:

350 adults: questions about communication, information seeking, work at home, social networks, and more…

2-3 hour Interviews:

25% (n=87):survey follow up, household routines & schedules, ICT use, network structure, and more…

92 Survey respondents:questions about occupation, time spent WAH, ICTs used35 Interviews participants:follow up about, time spent WAH, tasks, ICTs used, routines, familyWAH Participants

Mean age of 42 years51% women69% married/common law64% have children39% have undergraduate university degreeMean annual personal income$55,000 CAD32% Business, Finance & Administration occupations26% Social Sciences, Education, Government Service & Religion occupations18% Sales & Service occupationsDemographics of WAH in East York

Full-timers: 27% spend between 51 & 100% of their work week WAH ->mean of 29 hrs/wkPart-timers: 26% spend between 16 & 50% of their work week WAH -> mean of 11 hrs/wkOver-timers: 47% spend between 1 & 15% of their work week WAH -> mean of 5 hrs/wkDifferent Home Workers

How do home workers integrate paid work, domestic work and family life?Full-timers: structured routine & integrate household tasks into their WAHPart-timers: schedule around their workplace and homeOver-timers: don’t schedule or have a routine for WAH

The more time people spend working at home, the more they schedule and integrate their paid and unpaid work tasks in the home.

How are modern digital media, such as the internet & cell phones facilitating home-work connectivity? The more time people spend working at home, the more contact they have with their partners via ICTs throughout the day – no matter where they are or what they are doing.

Full-timers: use stationary landlines to connect with their partners, home most oftenPart-timers: use cell phones, anywhere throughout the day; affordance for those who are always on the goOver-timers: send more emails to their partners than the other WAH groupsICTs of Choice -> Partners

Mobility & Ubiquity: Affordances“It’s faster. So when you have a busy work day, to quickly send an email and say: ‘Does this work for you?’ versus me picking up the phone and calling…”“If I forget something and I call my husband [on our cell phones], he’ll pick something up on the way home, if necessary…”Penny, over-timer uses emailDiana, part-timer uses cell phone

“When we’re [home] there’s a thousand things going on and then the daytime comes: the girls are at school, he’s out of the way, Adam’s sleeping, and I think – ok, we need to do this this this and this. So, I’m not going to pick up the phone cause he’s at work and I don’t want to do that, but let me just send it so that way it’s out of my head - I’ve communicated, and when we get together tonight ‘oh yeah that email you sent me’. I do email him frequently for that purpose” Theresa, Full-timerMobility & Ubiquity: Affordances

“[I connect with] my husband in particular, because my kids during the day are not online, they’re in school. But to my husband I’ll say -because I know he’s honestly on the computer a lot during the day. Not all day, but a lot, and I know he checks his emails frequently so I can usually catch him there. Not that he doesn’t have a cell phone all the time with him and stuff like that, but I’d rather just zip off an email to him and then, like I emailed him today, I can’t even think what it’s about, like ‘are you going to be home today after school to take the dog?’ You know, that type of thing”. Sally, Over-timerMobility & Ubiquity: Affordances

Ensure that employee health, overtime regulation, insurance, ergonomic furniture, etc are consideredUnion collective agreements cover WAH for health & safety standards and workers are not isolated from union representation or from training and promotion opportunitiesRecognize the new internet era of white-collar workers at home and the ICTs they use, and provide tools & technical supportWAH Policy Considerations

WAH policies to help people deal with role overload and physical, mental or emotional fatigue associated with employee absenteeism-> flexible work locationsencourage organizations and governments to support WAH arrangements in varying capacities -> flexible work schedulesconsult workers about their own needs and the needs of their family members -> flexible work provisionsWork-Life Balance Policies

The more time spent working in the home, the greater the integration & blurring of home & work boundariesThe mobility & ubiquity of ICTs facilitate, complement & enhance communication between home workers & family members throughout the dayHouseholds without borders

With Thanks…Tracy Kennedynetwoman@gmail.comwww.netwomen.caJulie Amorosojulie.amoroso@gmail.comBarry Wellmanwellman@chass.utoronto.cawww.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellmanNetLab, Dept of SociologyUniversity of Toronto725 Spadina Ave.Toronto, ON M5S 2J4