Relationships between information communication technology and psychosocial life environment : Students and young urban knowledge workers in the ICT-era

Sammanfattning: Dramatic changes have been taking place in our ways of working and spending leisure time. This relates to the increasing use of ICT (Information Communication Technology) in our lives and is of crucial importance to our future. Today, being physically away from the workplace doesn?t mean that we are necessarily leaving our work tasks behind in psychological terms. The aim of the thesis is to attain a deeper understanding of the relationships between individuals? psychosocial life environment and their use of ICT in order to contribute to the discussion about how everyday use of ICT can affect us. The research is based on two case studies that are presented in research articles. A theoretical framework concerning psychosocial life environment and use of ICT was built upon a review of the literature on environment/role, their relationship to ICT and the boundaries within different roles and environments. The first results in this thesis show that the blurred boundaries between work and leisure begin in school and then continue on into working life. The second result present the different barriers to young women seeking professional roles in the IT-business and the sometimes overlooked fact that every individual has a need to feel needed regardless of whether it is the private or professional role. The third results show that the daily use of ICT creates both needs and activities, but it appears that a sense of lack of control leaves the user feeling negatively stressed. Finally, one example of further research could focus on determining what is the responsibility of the leader of an organization who requires an employee to be reachable any time anywhere?