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Men at Work and at Home: Managing Emotion in Telework
Author(s) -
Marsh Katy,
Musson Gill
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
gender, work and organization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.159
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1468-0432
pISSN - 0968-6673
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2007.00353.x
Subject(s) - narrative , construct (python library) , identity (music) , context (archaeology) , work (physics) , emotion work , psychology , space (punctuation) , social psychology , emotional labor , focus (optics) , computer science , engineering , aesthetics , mechanical engineering , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , physics , operating system , optics , biology , programming language
Home‐based telework, as one of the flexible working options available today, is unique in its ability to blur physically and emotionally the boundaries between work and home. This article explores how men experience working from home, how they construct their identities as workers and as parents in this ambiguous location and how, as fathers, they manage the emotional work of reconciling family and career in this context. Our findings suggest that in order to manage the emotional aspects of telework men will, at times, focus on either the professional or parental part of their identity in their narratives, and at times attempt to ‘have it all’. We conclude that telework can provide a space where men can adopt emotional discourses and practices traditionally associated with women and, particularly, with working mothers.