Permeability of work-family borders: effects of information and communication technologies on work-family conflict at the childcare stage in Japan

Abstract

This chapter examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the permeability of work/home boundaries in Japan, and consequently on work–family conflicts over childcare. Using data derived from a web questionnaire survey conducted in February 2013 with a sample of 20–49-year-old working parents residing in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, the chapter considers how intensive use of ICTs is exacerbating work–family conflicts. After providing an overview of the childcare stage in Japan, as well as the growing adoption of teleworking due to an increasingly widespread use of ICTs, the chapter reviews the literature on the effect of ICTs and telework on work–family life balance. It then explains the study's theoretical framework and hypotheses, along with the methodology used and the results. One major finding is that work–family conflict increases as the permeability of borders increases, and decreases with more frequent border-crossing communication with family.