Working from Home in Urban China during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assemblages of Work-Family Interference

Li Sun, Tao Liu and Weiquan Wang
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Li Sun: University of Leeds, UK
Tao Liu: Zhejiang University, China
Weiquan Wang: East China University of Political Science and Law, China

Work, Employment & Society, 2023, vol. 37, issue 1, 157-175

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of workers globally have been forced to work from home. Empirical data from Chinese cities in the Hubei province reveal work productivity decreased among many respondents working from home in 2020, primarily due to family interference with work. Such interference stems not only from the domain of daily life but also from other family members’ e-working and e-learning. Conversely, respondents’ work interferes with family; thus, interference operates bi-directionally. This article proposes an analytical framework of work-family interference along three dimensions: work-daily life, work-work, work-study, and each dimension can be understood through four distinct aspects: temporality, physicality, vocality, digitality. Remote workers encounter ‘assemblages of work-family interference’, consisting of a heterogeneous mixture of these dimensions and aspects. Furthermore, some factors (e.g., living patterns, work culture, digital infrastructure) constrain effective work-family boundary management among urban households.

Keywords: assemblages; boundary theory; COVID-19; urban China; work-family interference; working from home (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:1:p:157-175

DOI: 10.1177/09500170221080870

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