Group‐based instant messaging in Finnish residential elder care work: Taming the technology or vice versa?

As new communication technologies become embedded in care work, there is a need to understand how they affect its temporal order. This article analyses group‐based mobile instant messaging (IM) in residential elder care work in Finland. The article asks (i) how care workers use group‐based messaging...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew technology, work, and employment Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 231 - 249
Main Authors Hirvonen, Helena, Tammelin, Mia, Hämäläinen, Antti, Taipale, Sakari
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2022
Subjects
Access
care work
communication
Communications technology
Elder care
instant messaging
Nurses
Science and technology
science and technology studies
technology
temporality
Time
Work
Workers
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Summary:As new communication technologies become embedded in care work, there is a need to understand how they affect its temporal order. This article analyses group‐based mobile instant messaging (IM) in residential elder care work in Finland. The article asks (i) how care workers use group‐based messaging for work; and (ii) how they negotiate the rules for its use. Theoretically, the article draws on science and technology studies focusing on ‘taming’ and ‘unleashing’ (Pols, 2017), and temporality (Wajcman, 2008). Analysis is based on a qualitative interview study of care workers and nurses (n = 25) conducted in 2018. The results showed how the time‐shifting functionality of IM allows employees to ‘tame the technology’ and unleash effective communication practices. However, IM also increases a risk of boundless accessibility and tames its users, pointing to a growing need for time work to manage their work‐life balance in the complex temporal order of care work.
ISSN:0268-1072
1468-005X
DOI:10.1111/ntwe.12221