With the current pandemic and more people working from home, it’s easy to identify how flexible our working conditions are due to the introduction of new technology. We have continuous access to connectivity and reachability of both employee and employer simply through the ownership of our phones or computers. individuals can be reached from a workplace in their own homes or even whilst on holidays, which can be both a burden and blessing. It allows us to have the freedom of working from our own homes, but also shares the burden of limiting the freedom of having time away from work.
It once wasn’t like this, as there was a time when connectivity was a large more difficult to come by. A workplace used to follow a specific structure of set times, where whilst in this time period was the only time you would be working, a traditional workplace structure. Of course this structure is still in place in most cases, as I personally work in a job that has set hours. The difference is nowadays my manager can message me anytime and anywhere, if someone calls in sick and I need to fill in or so on… whereas many years ago this was not the case.
The shift is known as the ‘liquid labour’. With the technology we have available to us today, we as a community, are able to shift from at the workplace to online effectively and efficiently.
The convergence of the time and effort we invest in both production (‘work’) and
Marke Deuze
consumption (‘life’) as signaled by Gershuny does suggest that our most common solution
to the increasingly anxious and sometimes exciting developments in society is an endless
individual and professional mixing of the cultures of working and living, thus indefinitely
blurring the boundaries between them
I found this concept interesting because I have never taken the time to think about how lucky we are to have the access to the technology we have today that allows us to adapt as efficiently as we have. Covid-19 has been hard on so many businesses, and places of work, but having the option to work from home and still be able to make a living is so beneficial and encouraging.
-T
References:
Deuze, M. (2006) ‘Liquid Life, Convergence Culture, and Media Work’File
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