This week’s discussion revolved around liquid labour and the evolution from a standard workplace environment to one that requires its workers to be available 24/7 due to an increase in technology and structure free from space and time. Whilst back in the “old days” we saw people travelling to and from work and only calling the boss if they were sick. In present times, the constant flow of information made available through iphones and gadgets allow us as a society to be fully reachable whenever someone feels like picking up the phone.
Deuze sums this up nicely in his statement “adapting to changing management practices, new technologies, and cultivating creativity and talent cannot be necessarily tied to a nine-to-five working weekday” (2006, p 4). This highlights how the expectations of workers these days has shifted into a more intense pattern.
When reflecting personally, I am able to see the initial attraction to working from home due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak. However, overtime I have realised the constant pressures that accompany a shifted working environment and the added pressure of relying on these technologies that see no space and time.
