Chapter Four
Working with Constant Connectivity
To be doing something, to move, to change—this is what enjoys prestige, as against stability, which is often regarded as synonymous with inaction.
Luc Boltanski and Eve Chia pello, The New Spirit of Capitalism
We know surprisingly little about whether and how information and communication technologies influence the experience of work in the twenty-first century, the subject of this chapter. Yet, the idea that ICTs are intrinsically technologies of acceleration is particularly compelling in relation to paid employment. Both the popular press and the academic literature trumpet their potential to save time, speed up work, and allow people to work anywhere at any time. Techno-enthusiasts encourage us to think about work and organizations in new ways and imagine “virtual organizations,” “flat worlds,” and the ability for work patterns to “follow the sun” and “span the globe.” Exactly how this will occur is less often discussed, but all agree that these technologies overcome the traditional temporal and spatial constraints of work. Perversely, in this new world of work, the more rushed we feel, the more we turn to digital devices to relieve the time pressure.
So how can we begin to unravel the relationship between the two essential dimensions of work: time and technology? Work is done in time; it is a temporal act. At its most basic, the employment contract represents the exchange of pay for the capacity to work over a specified period of time. However, as the activities of work become more complex
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