Anticipatory affects in the workplace

Posted on | August 8, 2008 |

There’s a separate symposium I’m speaking at in Melbourne called “Affect and the
Human/ Machine Interface” which is being organised by Fiona Brideoake and the Minds, Bodies, Machines ARC Linkage Project. The event features Ian Horswill as plenary speaker on Tuesday afternoon, as well as a bunch of other very interesting looking sessions. I’m presenting more findings from my Working From Home research, this time focusing on workers who are mid-career, in senior and management positions. Here’s the abstract:

Communication technologies and anticipatory affects in the workplace

This paper will explore the role of machines in the white collar workplace, suggesting that new media technologies blur easy distinctions between ‘mental’ and ‘manual’ labour. Drawing on current research investigating the impact of online and mobile communication on the public and private lives of information workers, it will focus on two key findings of the study to date. Firstly, how screen-based interfaces contribute to a lack of awareness of corporeality, and the health implications this poses. Secondly, how the presence of machines in the office or home environment affects concentration, anxiety and wellbeing. The paper concludes by asking whether the intricate strategies workers employ to manage the appeals of always-on devices will be enough to match their seductive power—and how all of these issues constitute a new terrain for workplace politics.

Category: Events, Research, Travel, Work

Comments

One Response to “Anticipatory affects in the workplace”

  1. Rachel O
    September 7th, 2008 @ 10:30 am

    I finally got around to (quickly) thinking through my very emotional reaction to your Melbourne presentation. x

    http://thementalization.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/you-must-be-under-the-mistaken-assumption-that-im-willing-to-listen-to-reasons/

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