The Perception and Management of 24/7 Work Availability: Work-life balance in the tramp shipping industry
(2015) MGTN59 20151Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Globalization, and fierce competition has been one of the main factors contributing to the increase of 24/7 work availability. 24/7 work availability is defined by the constant reachability of workers, and is regarded to be enhanced by the introduction and democratization of ICT. Arguably, constant work availability has shown to negatively affect individuals’ work-life balance. To contextualize, as well as illustrate 24/7 work availability, the tramp shipping industry, which is characterized by high intensity and global logistics, is analyzed due to its full implementation of 24/7 work availability. This thesis aims to advance
the knowledge on the sociology of contemporary work. Particularly, to comprehend how individuals in the tramp... (More) - Globalization, and fierce competition has been one of the main factors contributing to the increase of 24/7 work availability. 24/7 work availability is defined by the constant reachability of workers, and is regarded to be enhanced by the introduction and democratization of ICT. Arguably, constant work availability has shown to negatively affect individuals’ work-life balance. To contextualize, as well as illustrate 24/7 work availability, the tramp shipping industry, which is characterized by high intensity and global logistics, is analyzed due to its full implementation of 24/7 work availability. This thesis aims to advance
the knowledge on the sociology of contemporary work. Particularly, to comprehend how individuals in the tramp shipping industry perceive and manage 24/7 work availability, by applying boundary theory and to understand how boundary management can be utilized to establish work-life balance. In order to provide different perspectives to the central concept, literature and theory from various fields of research is thoroughly reviewed in the thesis. Boundary theory, person-environment fit model, and cultural theory are thus used as lenses and support the analysis of the collected empirical material. The empirical material is based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the tramp shipping industry from different organizations. This thesis demonstrates that the workers perceptions are heavily influenced by the shipping industry’s culture, and its survival is dependent on the industry finding workers with similar traits to ensure person-environment fit. The individuals management of 24/7 work availability seems to be determined by their professional goals, job identification, age, and experiences. In a society where unsustainable constant connectivity and availability seem to be of the essence, boundary management is raised as the main suggestion to establish work-life balance. In the long-run, this is found to benefit both
employer and employee.
Key words: 24/7 work availability; boundaries; work-life balance; work-life conflict; tramp
shipping. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/7614123
- author
- Burguete Holmgren, Ida LU and Pritschau, Sophie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MGTN59 20151
- year
- 2015
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- tramp shipping., work-life conflict, work-life balance, boundaries, 24/7 work availability
- language
- English
- id
- 7614123
- date added to LUP
- 2015-08-21 08:38:12
- date last changed
- 2016-02-04 14:58:12
@misc{7614123,
abstract = {{Globalization, and fierce competition has been one of the main factors contributing to the increase of 24/7 work availability. 24/7 work availability is defined by the constant reachability of workers, and is regarded to be enhanced by the introduction and democratization of ICT. Arguably, constant work availability has shown to negatively affect individuals’ work-life balance. To contextualize, as well as illustrate 24/7 work availability, the tramp shipping industry, which is characterized by high intensity and global logistics, is analyzed due to its full implementation of 24/7 work availability. This thesis aims to advance
the knowledge on the sociology of contemporary work. Particularly, to comprehend how individuals in the tramp shipping industry perceive and manage 24/7 work availability, by applying boundary theory and to understand how boundary management can be utilized to establish work-life balance. In order to provide different perspectives to the central concept, literature and theory from various fields of research is thoroughly reviewed in the thesis. Boundary theory, person-environment fit model, and cultural theory are thus used as lenses and support the analysis of the collected empirical material. The empirical material is based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the tramp shipping industry from different organizations. This thesis demonstrates that the workers perceptions are heavily influenced by the shipping industry’s culture, and its survival is dependent on the industry finding workers with similar traits to ensure person-environment fit. The individuals management of 24/7 work availability seems to be determined by their professional goals, job identification, age, and experiences. In a society where unsustainable constant connectivity and availability seem to be of the essence, boundary management is raised as the main suggestion to establish work-life balance. In the long-run, this is found to benefit both
employer and employee.
Key words: 24/7 work availability; boundaries; work-life balance; work-life conflict; tramp
shipping.}},
author = {{Burguete Holmgren, Ida and Pritschau, Sophie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Perception and Management of 24/7 Work Availability: Work-life balance in the tramp shipping industry}},
year = {{2015}},
}