Abstract
Since the late 1980s, research on post-industrialized economies shows that the boundary between work and family is increasingly becoming blurred. The continuing evolution of e-technology allows work for some to be done anywhere, anytime. This article examines the degree to which e-technology has transferred work into the home lives of academics and how this has affected their work/life balance. Drawing on a study in an Australian university of academics with young children, we utilise the terms ‘work extensification’ and ‘work intensification’ to explore whether these new technologies are a blessing or a curse in their work lives. At the same time we describe the deteriorating working conditions for Australian academics whose work has intensified and extended into their private lives with longer working hours in a speeded up environment. Our findings revealed the use of metaphors such as invasion and intrusion of e-technologies into academics’ homes and their need to establish boundaries to separate work and family life. Most felt that having e-technologies at home was of benefit to their work but they came at a cost to their family life—delivering a blessing and a curse.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, D., Johnson, R., & Saha, L. (2002). Changes in academic work: Implications for universities of the changing age distribution and work roles of academic staff. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Araújo, E. R. (2008). Technology, gender and time: A contribution to the debate. Gender,Work and Organization, 15(5), 477–503.
Ashforth, B. E., Kreiner, G. E., & Fugate, M. (2000). All in a day’s work: Boundaries and micro role transitions. Academic of Management Review, 25(3), 472–491.
Boswell, W. R., & Olson-Buchanan, J. B. (2007). The use of communication technologies after hours: the role of work attitudes and work-life conflict. Journal of Management, 33(4), 592–610.
Brannen, J. (2002) The work-family lives of women: Autonomy or illusion? Paper presented at the First ESRC seminar on work life and time n the new economy, LSE Gender Institute.
Campbell, I. (2002). Extending working hours in Australia. Labour and Industry, 13(1), 91–110.
Campbell Clark, S. (2000). Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/family balance. Human Relations, 53(6), 747–770.
Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Oxford: Blackwell.
Challenger, J. (2002). Blurring the line between home and work. Futurist, 36(6), 10–11.
Dever, M., & Morrison, Z. (2009). Women, research performance and work context. Tertiary Education and Management, 15(1), 49–62.
Edley, P. P. (2001). Technology, employed mothers, and corporate colonization of the lifeworld: A gendered paradox of work and family balance. Women and Language, 24(2), 27–35.
Edwards, P., & Wacjman, J. (2005). The politics of working life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eveline, J. (2004). Ivory basement leadership: Power and invisibility in the changing university. Perth: University of Western Australia Press.
Bailyn L., & Fletcher, J. (2003) The Equity Imperative: Reaching Effectiveness Through the Dual Agenda. CGO Insights, Briefing Note Number 18.
Fligstein, N., & Shin, T. (2004). The shareholder value society: A review of the changes in working conditions and inequality in the United States, 1976–2000. In K. Neckerman (Ed.), Social inequality. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Halford, S. (2005). Hybrid workspace: Re-spatialisation of work, organisation and management. New Technology. Work and Employment, 20(1), 19–33.
Hallowell, E. M. (2005). Overloaded circuits: Why smart people underperform. Harvard Business Review, 83(1), 54–62.
Handy, C. (1995). The empty raincoat. London: Arrow.
Healy, G. (2010). Universities facing crisis of confidence. The Weekend Australian, p. 4.
Hill, E. J., Hawkins, A. J., & Miller, B. C. (1996). Work and family in the virtual office: perceived influences of mobile telework. Family Relations, 45(3), 293–301.
Hislop, D., & Axtell, C. (2007). The neglect of spatial mobility in contemporary studies of work: the case of telework. New Technology. Work and Employment, 22(1), 34–51.
Hyman, J., Scholarios, D., & Baldry, C. (2004). Getting on or getting by? Employee flexibility and coping strategies for home and work. Manchester: Paper presented at Work, Employment and Society Conference.
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Kinman, G., & Jones, F. (2004). Working to the limit: Stress and work-life balance in academic and academic-related employees in the UK. London: Association of University Teachers.
Martin, J. (1990). Rethinking feminist organizations. Gender and Society, 4, 182–206.
McCarthy, P., Mayhew, C., Barker, M., & Sheehan, M. (2003). Bullying and occupational violence in tertiary education: risk factors, perpetrators and prevention. The Journal of Occupational Health and Safety—Australia and New Zealand, 19(4), 319–326.
Menzies, H., & Newson, J. (2008). Time, stress and intellectual engagement in academic work: Exploring gender difference. Gender, Work, and Organization, 15(5), 504–522.
Mirchandani, K. (1998). Protecting the boundary: Teleworker insights on the expansive concept of “work”. Gender and Society, 12, 168–187.
Montero, P. (2004). Two perspectives on how to work from anywhere. Quality and Participation, Fall, 25–28.
Nippert-Eng, C. E. (1996). Home and work: Negotiating boundaries through everyday life. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
O’Laughlin, E., & Bischoff, L. (2005). Balancing parenthood and academia: Work/family stress as influenced by gender and tenure status. Journal of Family Issues, 26(1), 79–106.
Peetz, D., Townsend, K., Russell, B., Houghton, C., Allan, C., & Fox, A. (2003). Race against time: Extended hours in Australia. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 29(2), 126–142.
Perrons, D. (2003). The new economy and the work-life balance: Conceptual explorations and a case study of new media. Gender, Work and Organization, 10(1), 65–93.
Pocock, B. (2003). The work/life collision: What work is doing to Australians and what to do about it. Sydney: Federation Press.
Probert, B. (2004). ‘I just couldn’t fit it in’: Gender and unequal outcomes in academic careers. Gender, Work and Organization, 12(1), 50–72.
Probert, B., Whiting, K., & Ewer, P. (2000). Pressures from all sides: Life and work in the finance sector. Melbourne: Finance Sector Union of Australia.
Runté, M., & Mills, A. J. (2004). Paying the toll: a feminist post-structural critique of the discourse bridging work and family. Culture and Organization, 10(3), 237–249.
Russell, H., O’Connell, P., & McGinnity, F. (2009). The impact of flexible working arrangements on work-life conflict and work pressure in Ireland. Work and Organization, 16(1), 73–97.
Take Back Your Time (2005). An American-Canadian joint initiative. Webpage accessed May 6, 2005: www.timeday.org.
The Weekend Australian (2007). More weekends spent in office. Careers, p. 11.
The Weekend Australian (2008). Technology blamed for loss of leisure. CareerOne, p. 1.
Vendramin, P., & Valenduc, G. (2001). E-technologies and intensification of work—some results of the FLEXCOT-Project. TA-Datenbank-Nachrichten, 10(1), 83–86.
Winefield, A. H., Gillespie, N., Stough, C., Dua, J., & Hapuararchchi, J. (2002). Occupational stress in Australian Universities: A national survey. Melbourne: National Tertiary Education Union.
Zerubavel, E. (1991). The fine line: Making distinctions in everyday life. New York: Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Associate Professor Joan Eveline died in 2009. She contributed to all stages of the research and to writing this paper, which Professor Currie has updated to submit to this journal.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Currie, J., Eveline, J. E-technology and work/life balance for academics with young children. High Educ 62, 533–550 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9404-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9404-9