Dissertation: Digital work may promise freedom, yet coexist with control, constant availability, and loneliness
In her doctoral dissertation, M.A. Camilla Aarnio demonstrates that contradictions related to digital work emerge through the interplay of people, communication technologies, and organizational practices.
My dissertation examines digital work as a paradoxical phenomenon. The study focuses on three interconnected contexts: remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees’ boundary-crossing use of communication technologies, and work-related Internet memes as a digital form of expression within contemporary work culture.
Tensions of digital work cannot be attributed solely to technology or to employees
The findings show that employees continuously navigate competing and often contradictory demands. Digital work may enhance autonomy, flexibility, and efficiency, while simultaneously increasing control, workload, and expectations of constant availability. Communication technologies can facilitate connection and collaboration, yet they may also contribute to experiences of isolation and the extension of work into personal time.
A central finding of the dissertation is that the tensions of digital work cannot be attributed solely to technology or to employees. Rather, they emerge through the interplay of technology use, communication, and organizational practices. A particularly interesting contribution concerns the relationship between power and resistance. The study suggests that employees’ attempts to ease the contradictions of digital work may paradoxically reproduce and reinforce them.
The dissertation advances understanding of the tensions inherent in digital work across individual, organizational, and cultural levels. It further highlights the role of humorous digital artifacts, such as work-related memes, in shaping the interpretation, negotiation, and normalization of these contradictions. The findings provide insights into the development of sustainable remote and hybrid work practices, as well as workplace communication and employee well-being in increasingly digitalized work environments.
Public defense
M.A. Camilla Aarnio's PhD thesis "Wired for Paradox – Untangling Tensions of Digital Work" will be examined at the University of Jyväskylä on Friday, October 30, 2026. The defense will be held at 12 at Seminaarinmäki, Main building, C1. The opponent in the public examination will be Professor Gail Fairhurst (University of Cincinnati) and the custos will be Professor Anu Sivunen (University of Jyväskylä). Language of the event is English.
Remote participation link: https://r.jyu.fi/dissertation-aarnio-301026
Online dissertation
