Work, Life and the Mobile Phone

Academic research has always assumed that mobile devices lead to an overflow from work into private life. In consequence life becomes more like work and is frenetically planned. However recent research by Professor Judy Wajcman and colleagues has shown that this is not the case. In this Australian study they explored how people use their mobile phones. What their found was astonishing: most people used their mobile phones to stay in touch with family and friends while at work. Instead of letting work into their private life, people seem to bring their private life to work. Many of the problems people face at work are related to that they cannot express part of their personality at work and have to be someone they do not want to be. This is particularly an issue for women. Technology – be it a mobile phone or Facebook – might change that and might make the boundaries between work and life more fluid.