PhD Defence by Melanie Duckert
Supervisor
Professor Pernille Bjørn, Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen
PhD Thesis Committee
Associate Professor Paolo Tell, Department of Computer Science, IT University of Copenhagen
Professor Luigina Ciolfi, School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork
Associate Professor Ingrid Erickson, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University
Chairperson at defence: Professor Pernille Bjørn, Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen
This PhD examines the future of work after the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced abrupt changes in work practices. The impact of long-term remote work extends beyond the lockdown periods and has reshaped work preferences, work-life balance, organizational management, and the integration of technologies that facilitate collaboration across distances.
Situated within the field of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), this PhD researches contemporary work practices with a focus on what is important in designing cooperative technologies for hybrid work. Hybrid work is defined as collaboration involving both collocated and distributed individuals, supported by multiple physical and digital technologies.
Using a mixed-method approach – including qualitative insights from literature and ethnographic studies, as well as quantitative data from a survey – the PhD explores:
This PhD thesis brings together these insights and proposes a framework of dimensional interdependencies in hybrid work. By conceptualizing the spectrum of cooperative work, the PhD thesis identifies unique characteristics of hybrid work, presents design propositions for technologies supporting hybrid practices, and addresses organizational complexities in managing contemporary work environments. The proposed framework emphasizes the interdependent nature of cooperative work, the ecologies of technology artifacts, the multiple spatial contexts, and the organizational structuring – dimensions that should all be considered when designing computing technologies for hybrid cooperative work.
