Working at Home: Experiences of Skilled White Collar Workers

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
William T. Markham, Retired (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Based on a comprehensive literature review and detailed semistructured interviews with skilled workers who work at home, this article explores six research areas: reasons for working at home, the creation and maintenance of home/work boundaries, problems of isolation, distractions and temptations facing at-home workers, workaholism, and gender differences. The results indicate that white collar workers usually choose to work at home to reduce work/family conflicts or because of factors in the external labor market. Problems of creating and maintaining home/work boundaries, isolation, distractions and temptations at home, and workaholism do exist, but there was evidence that they may have been exaggerated in previous writing about at-home work. A combination of gender and life course stage better predicts differences in the experiences of the interviewees than does gender alone.

Additional Information

Publication
Sociological Spectrum, 24(2) (March-April, 2004), 191-238.
Language: English
Date: 2004
Keywords
White collar workers, Work at home, Work habits, Gender

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