{"id":242,"date":"2011-04-29T10:40:07","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T17:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tabithahart.net\/?p=242"},"modified":"2011-04-29T10:41:01","modified_gmt":"2011-04-29T17:41:01","slug":"the-old-new-challenges-of-online-labor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/?p=242","title":{"rendered":"The old new challenges of online labor"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an updated version of an older post that I wrote on some of the inherent tensions and contradictions pertaining to online labor (including, but not limited to service interactions) that I\u2019ve seen manifested in my data. I’ll be doing a presentation on this material at AoIR 12.0<\/a>. \u00a0Please contact me if you’d like additional information.<\/p>\n

Freedom versus Control:\u00a0 Every Little Click You Make<\/p>\n

For the online laborer there are tensions between increased freedom and intensified control.\u00a0 You have enhanced flexibility to work anywhere (provided that you have a smart device and an Internet connection), anytime.\u00a0 However, your online employer has many tools at his\/her disposal for monitoring and controlling your behavior at work.\u00a0 Your communication (calls, messages) can be easily recorded, and most likely is.\u00a0 Such digitized information can also be quickly and easily archived and shared, meaning that there are potentially semi-permanent records of your work and\/or interactions out there in cyberspace for others to see.\u00a0 Companies can monitor the exact amount of time you spend on any given task, as well as the degree to which you adhere to scripts and protocols.\u00a0 While your thought process may be private, not every little click that you make is.<\/p>\n

Independence versus Dependence<\/p>\n

For the online laborer there are tensions between independence and dependence.\u00a0 On the positive side, now more than ever before you might have increased options as to who you\u2019d like work for, for how much, for how long.\u00a0 Is your employer on the other side of the planet?\u00a0 No problem — you work from home, or your local coffee shop or Internet caf\u00e9 or library.\u00a0 You can do the work when and where you like.\u00a0 On the negative side, you might be giving up any chance of job security.\u00a0 Freelance service providers are a dime-a-dozen and can be cut off at any time, with no explanations provided.<\/p>\n

Identity Management<\/p>\n

For the online laborer there are tensions around identity.\u00a0 Workers might have more control over their identity management, since they can potentially choose what information to share about themselves online.\u00a0 Gender, ethnicity, age, accent, appearance \u2013 all of these may (finally) be moot points to the employer.\u00a0 Or maybe not.\u00a0 With online labor it seems to me that there is more potential for an organization to control and manipulate your online identity for their own purposes.\u00a0 It might not matter to the company who you really are, but for customer service purposes maybe they need to present you (through icons, scripts, insinuations, etc.) to clients in a particular way.\u00a0 Think of the cultural masking that goes on at call centers, for example.<\/p>\n

Technology:\u00a0 Making Work Easier or More Difficult?<\/p>\n

One of the common tropes about technology is that it makes work easier, faster, and more efficient.\u00a0 But does it?\u00a0 In my own research, I\u2019ve found that technology can actually make some tasks more complex, more unwieldy, and more difficult to complete.\u00a0 For the online laborer, there may be increased pressure to do more work at a faster pace than ever before, with less and less time for reflection and analysis.<\/p>\n

Culture versus Procedure<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that technologies are connecting more and more people around the world, and that all of us, especially those of us involved in online service interactions, are engaging in more and more intercultural communication.\u00a0 In terms of conflict though, is culture really the sticking point? Scholars often make culture out to be a major stumbling block, but in my research I am finding that it\u2019s actually procedural knowledge (by which I mean information about how to do online interactions) that causes the most confusion.<\/p>\n

The Great Question of Scale and Quality<\/p>\n

Technologies allow online laborers to reach out to more and more people and they provide support for more frequent and convenient contact.\u00a0 As companies scale their online service, however, contact potentially becomes less and less personalized.\u00a0 Organizations might find themselves in the position of having to script personalization into their interactions, which arguably makes them less natural, and therefore less appealing to customers. \u00a0For those in charge of writing and\/or evaluating an organization\u2019s customer service scripts, decision trees, flow charts, etc. this issue is naturally one of concern and importance. It’s also an area where focused communication research can really pay off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an updated version of an older post that I wrote on some of the inherent tensions and contradictions pertaining to online labor (including, but not limited to service interactions) that I\u2019ve seen manifested in my data. I’ll be doing a presentation on this material at AoIR 12.0. \u00a0Please contact me if you’d like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabithahart.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}