Proceedings of 8th European Assembly on telework (Telework2001)

77New stresses in both work and ‘leisure’An increasingly telemediated 24-hour information society brings new challenges for people bothin their capacities as workers and as consumers.There is a need to delineate new boundaries in time and space and to develop the skills to managethese boundaries. Time can no longer be divided simply into ‘work time’ and ‘leisure time’or ‘family time’. There is a need to further differentiate non-working time into ‘consumptiontime’, ‘reproductive time’ and genuine ‘pleasure time’. Increasingly ‘consumption time’ involvesbeing on the receiving end <strong>of</strong> the labour externalisation strategies <strong>of</strong> service providers. There isa danger that the Taylorisation <strong>of</strong> service delivery (e.g. in call centres) will lead to a concomitantTaylorisation <strong>of</strong> the consumption experience, with service workers and consumers pitted againsteach other in a struggle over the control <strong>of</strong> time. In order to avoid stress for either party, there istherefore a common interest in humanising the conditions <strong>of</strong> service deliveryThere is also a need for techno-literacy for the entire population in order that IST-based servicescan be accessed according to need and the generation <strong>of</strong> a digital divide is to be voided.New environmental challengesPerhaps the greatest challenge <strong>of</strong> all posed by these developments is to the future <strong>of</strong> our planet – toenvironmental sustainability. Here the key questions are:• How do we substitute the movement <strong>of</strong> information for the movement <strong>of</strong> goods and people?• How do we minimise the consumption <strong>of</strong> natural resources in the production <strong>of</strong> the increasingnumbers <strong>of</strong> commodities? And,• How can we reduce energy consumption in a 24-hour electronic society?Huge new opportunitiesIn discussing some <strong>of</strong> the implications <strong>of</strong> the global development <strong>of</strong> eWork for the future <strong>of</strong> workthere is a risk <strong>of</strong> dwelling on the negative. It is important to end this presentation by reiteratingthe – perhaps obvious – point that these developments open up many exciting new opportunities,<strong>of</strong> which we can now only glimpse a few. These include the opportunities:• To develop new e-services (e.g. e-services for e-inclusion) which can contribute towards thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> a more inclusive society• To develop new IST-related products which can improve the quality <strong>of</strong> life• To develop new and harmonious forms <strong>of</strong> work/life balance• To make work more autonomous and interesting• To reduce global inequalities, and• To develop sustainable solutions to the pressing environmental challenges we currently face.For more informationFurther information about the EMERGENCE project can be found on www.emergence.nu