The Blurring Boundaries Of Work-Related And Personal Media Use: A Grounded Theory Study On The Employee's Perspective

The ongoing consumerization of information technology (IT) demands to rethink the traditional paradigms of media use at the workplace. Past research has focused on the use of company IT resources for personal purposes (e.g., ‘cyberloafing’) and primarily emphasized the adverse effects. This study takes a wider perspective and includes the use of personal IT resources for company purposes as well as other mixed forms of personal and work-related media use. We conducted interviews with 14 employees in 5 different firms and used a grounded theory approach to explore the blurring of boundaries between work and private life discussed in the wider social science literature. Our study demonstrates different attitudes of employees towards work-life blurring and suggests that social and mobile IT has a catalyst role in this process. We contribute to the past literature by providing a conceptual model for the context, the conditions and the consequences of this phenomenon. Practical implications are discussed.