research-article

Working Apart, Together: The Challenges of Co-Work

Authors:

Janet VertesiAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 3, Issue CSCW

Article No.: 204, Pages 1 - 22

https://doi.org/10.1145/3359306

Published: 07 November 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Attracting contingent workers, teleworkers, small start-up teams and the self-employed, co-working spaces have grown from corner coffee shops and internet cafes, to business empires with thousands of members in urban locations. Yet the rise of co-working in the twenty-first century has received only limited attention in CSCW, despite co-workers' copious use of distributed collaborative tools. CSCW has more frequently addressed the challenges of working together, apart - that is, how we might support or otherwise transpose rich collocated interactions into distributed environments. This paper explores the challenges of working alone and apart, yet together, based on observational study and interviews at three large co-working spaces in New York City. Using a sociomaterial approach, we identify and explore core tensions visible in the site between participation in a distributed work team and in a distinct, collocated community, which we label the co-working paradox. This includes local configurations of digital and physical materials that shift locus of participation, that blend work and home, and manage employer visibility. We use these themes to suggest a generative return to certain core concepts in studies of distributed work - namely, common ground, workspaces, and placefulness - to further study and design for the growth of these unique environments.

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3633068
Pappalardo RBuratti BKorth HSenske DBlaney DBlankenship DBurch JChristensen PKempf SKivelson MMazarico ERetherford KTurtle EWestlake JPaczkowski BRay TKampmeier JCraft KHowell SKlima RLeonard EMatiella Novak APhillips CDaubar IBlacksberg JBrooks SChoukroun MCochrane CDiniega SElder CErnst CGudipati MLuspay-Kuti APiqueux SRymer ARoberts JSteinbrügge GCable MScully JCastillo-Rogez JHay HPersaud DGlein CMcKinnon WMoore JRaymond CSchroeder DVance SWyrick DZolotov MHand KNimmo FMcGrath MSpencer JLunine JPaty CSoderblom JCollins GSchmidt BRathbun JShock EBecker THayes AProckter LWeiss BHibbitts CMoussessian ABrockwell THsu HJia XGladstone GMcEwen APatterson GMcNutt REvans JLarson TCangahuala LHavens GBuffington BBradley BCampagnola SHardman SSrinivasan JShort KJedrey TSt. Vaughn JClark KVertesi JNiebur C(2024)Science Overview of the Europa Clipper MissionSpace Science Reviews10.1007/s11214-024-01070-5220:4Online publication date: 23-May-2024
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Index Terms

Working Apart, Together: The Challenges of Co-Work
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing and business
      1. Computer supported cooperative work

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 3, Issue CSCW

November 2019

5026 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3371885

Editors:
Airi Lampinen
Stockholm University, Sweden
,
Darren Gergle
Northwestern University, USA
,
David A. Shamma
FXPAL, USA

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Copyright © 2019 ACM.

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Published: 07 November 2019

Published in PACMHCI Volume 3, Issue CSCW

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Lai YLee YChang CDai WChen Y(2024)Exploring the Role of Mom's Chat Groups in the Messaging App: Enhancing Support and Empowerment for Stay-At-Home MothersProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36330688:GROUP(1-20)Online publication date: 16-Feb-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3633068
Pappalardo RBuratti BKorth HSenske DBlaney DBlankenship DBurch JChristensen PKempf SKivelson MMazarico ERetherford KTurtle EWestlake JPaczkowski BRay TKampmeier JCraft KHowell SKlima RLeonard EMatiella Novak APhillips CDaubar IBlacksberg JBrooks SChoukroun MCochrane CDiniega SElder CErnst CGudipati MLuspay-Kuti APiqueux SRymer ARoberts JSteinbrügge GCable MScully JCastillo-Rogez JHay HPersaud DGlein CMcKinnon WMoore JRaymond CSchroeder DVance SWyrick DZolotov MHand KNimmo FMcGrath MSpencer JLunine JPaty CSoderblom JCollins GSchmidt BRathbun JShock EBecker THayes AProckter LWeiss BHibbitts CMoussessian ABrockwell THsu HJia XGladstone GMcEwen APatterson GMcNutt REvans JLarson TCangahuala LHavens GBuffington BBradley BCampagnola SHardman SSrinivasan JShort KJedrey TSt. Vaughn JClark KVertesi JNiebur C(2024)Science Overview of the Europa Clipper MissionSpace Science Reviews10.1007/s11214-024-01070-5220:4Online publication date: 23-May-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-024-01070-5
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