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9: What Boundaries? Technology's Role in Work and Family Balance

  • Page ID
    168302
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    • 9.1: What Boundaries? Technology's Role in Work and Family Balance
      This page examines the complexities of work-family balance, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and with technology's rise. It addresses boundary theory, cultural influences, and gender roles on work-life dynamics, emphasizing the mixed effects of telework. Factors influencing technology use relate to individual preferences and organizational policies. Key outcomes include productivity and family satisfaction, while challenges include stress and role conflict.
    • 9.2: References
      This page discusses studies on the effects of technology on work-life balance, predicting a tech-driven "New Normal" by 2025. It examines challenges related to work-home spillover from communication technologies and reviews theories and findings on work-family dynamics, influenced by cultural contexts, national policies, and workplace arrangements.
    • 9.3: Learning Activities
      This page discusses the impact of COVID-19 on work-life balance, highlighting the pros and cons of remote work. It notes how flexibility has helped personal management but also created boundary challenges, particularly for parents. The text encourages reflection on future workplace structures that accommodate family needs and emphasizes the need for roles that leverage digital technology while addressing inequalities in access to essential resources for achieving work-family balance.
    • 9.4: Blog Prompts
      This page examines the effects of the changing workplace on family social science, emphasizing the need for education on family relationships to adapt to remote work. It discusses potential shifts in family roles, the importance of family time, and effective communication in the context of technology's dual role as a facilitator and distraction.
    • 9.5: Additional Resources and Readings
      This page discusses articles on work-family balance and technology's effects, highlighting boundary setting, remote work challenges, and relevant theories. Key themes include technology's impact on work-life balance and stress during the pandemic. The content emphasizes the changing work dynamics and their implications for employee well-being.

    This page titled 9: What Boundaries? Technology's Role in Work and Family Balance is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Susan K. Walker (University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.