abstract

Navigating Uncertainty in the Future of Work: Information-Seeking and Critical Events Among Online Freelancers

Authors:

Allie Blaising,

Yasmine Kotturi,

Chinmay KulkarniAuthors Info & Claims

CHI EA '19: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Paper No.: LBW2319, Pages 1 - 6

https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3312922

Published: 02 May 2019 Publication History

Abstract

Online freelancer marketplaces offer workers the flexibility and control they desire. However, workers also struggle with the uncertainty resulting from these benefits. In traditional brick-and-mortar workplaces, workers who experience uncertainty during specific phases of their assimilation into a new role or organization engage in information-seeking behaviors. Understanding these phases of heightened uncertainty helps organizations better cater to workers' informational needs e.g. through mentorship programs. While understanding the uncertainty that online workers experience as they assimilate into their career is critical to understanding online workers' needs, such an understanding is currently severely limited. thus, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 online freelancers to investigate critical events that contribute to uncertainty early in their online careers. We situate these critical events within the context of organizational assimilation, and how participants employ diverse information-seeking tactics.

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Cited By

Mitson RLee EAnderson J(2024)Gig Workers and Managing App-Based SurveillanceCommunication Research10.1177/00936502241269933Online publication date: 16-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241269933
Alvarez de la Vega JCecchinato MRooksby JNewbold J(2023)Understanding Platform Mediated Work-Life: A Diary Study with Gig Economy FreelancersProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35795397:CSCW1(1-32)Online publication date: 16-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579539
Woo DEndacott CMyers K(2022)Navigating Water Cooler Talks Without the Water Cooler: Uncertainty and Information Seeking During Remote SocializationManagement Communication Quarterly10.1177/0893318922110591637:2(251-280)Online publication date: 30-May-2022
https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189221105916
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Index Terms

Navigating Uncertainty in the Future of Work: Information-Seeking and Critical Events Among Online Freelancers
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Collaborative and social computing theory, concepts and paradigms
      1. Computer supported cooperative work
  2. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

CHI EA '19: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2019

3673 pages

ISBN:9781450359719

DOI:10.1145/3290607

General Chairs:
Stephen Brewster
University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
,
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
TU Wien, Austria
,
Program Chairs:
Anna Cox
University College London, UK
,
Vassilis Kostakos
University of Melbourne, Australia

Copyright © 2019 Owner/Author.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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SIGCHI: ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 02 May 2019

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CHI '19

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CHI '19: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 4 - 9, 2019

Glasgow, Scotland Uk

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Overall Acceptance Rate 6,164 of 23,696 submissions, 26%

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Cited By

Mitson RLee EAnderson J(2024)Gig Workers and Managing App-Based SurveillanceCommunication Research10.1177/00936502241269933Online publication date: 16-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241269933
Alvarez de la Vega JCecchinato MRooksby JNewbold J(2023)Understanding Platform Mediated Work-Life: A Diary Study with Gig Economy FreelancersProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35795397:CSCW1(1-32)Online publication date: 16-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579539
Woo DEndacott CMyers K(2022)Navigating Water Cooler Talks Without the Water Cooler: Uncertainty and Information Seeking During Remote SocializationManagement Communication Quarterly10.1177/0893318922110591637:2(251-280)Online publication date: 30-May-2022
https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189221105916
Blaising ADabbish L(2022)Managing the Transition to Online Freelance Platforms: Self-Directed SocializationProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35552016:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3555201
Simsek Caglar PRoto VVainio T(2022)User Experience Research in the Work Context: Maps, Gaps and AgendaProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35129796:CSCW1(1-28)Online publication date: 7-Apr-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3512979
Ruthven I(2022)ReferencesDealing With Change Through Information Sculpting10.1108/978-1-80382-047-720221013(193-259)Online publication date: 21-Jul-2022
https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-047-720221013
Jachimowicz JWeisman H(2022)Reprint of: Divergence between employer and employee understandings of passion: Theory and implications for future researchResearch in Organizational Behavior10.1016/j.riob.2023.10018442(100184)Online publication date: Dec-2022
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2023.100184
Jachimowicz JWeisman H(2022)Divergence between employer and employee understandings of passion: Theory and implications for future researchResearch in Organizational Behavior10.1016/j.riob.2022.10016742(100167)Online publication date: Feb-2022
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2022.100167
Dralega C(2022)Media Viability, Covid-19 and the ‘Darwinian’ Experience in Southern Africa: Glimpses from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and ZimbabweHealth Crises and Media Discourses in Sub-Saharan Africa10.1007/978-3-030-95100-9_4(53-72)Online publication date: 25-May-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95100-9_4
Rapp A(2021)A Gameful Organizational Assimilation ProcessProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/34341724:CSCW3(1-25)Online publication date: 5-Jan-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3434172
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