Work — Facing Paradoxes

Abstract

This chapter presents the foundation for understanding mobile work in terms of mobility, mobile working and mobile interaction. It then introduces the notion of organisational paradoxes as a way of understanding the conflicting organisational requirements and tensions mobile workers engage with in their daily work. The notions of organisational paradox and tension are then related to planned and emerging technology performances. Technology performances are then analytically separated into three types, each emphasising a particular perspective on mobile work: 1) creativity, which denotes the mobile worker engaging in managing interaction; 2) collaboration, where the mobile worker negotiates mutual interdependencies with others; and 3) control, signifying activities aimed at overseeing, planning and managing mobile work. Each of these three categories will be discussed in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.