Beyond Flexibility: Digital Technologies, Caregiving, and the Struggle for Time in Post-COVID Work-Life Balance

This paper delves into the relationship between personal autonomy encompassing the time, place, and structure of both professional and private life, and the role of digital technologies (DT) in shaping these dynamics. Drawing from the TIMED (Time Experience in Europe’s Digital Age) project, we focus on post-COVID-19 digital practices in Czechia, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Spain, and the UK, with a particular emphasis on individuals with caregiving responsibilities. Our research highlights the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how DT influences work-life balance and individuals’ capacity to negotiate and re-negotiate their control over time and space. Our findings are based on semi-structured interviews (n=450, collected 2022-2024) and real-time behavioural assessment to establish how digitization affects time usage and the passage of time during daily life (n=450, collected 2024-2025).

While remote work enabled by DT has been celebrated for its flexibility, particularly for caregivers, it also brings new challenges. Constant connectivity, blurred boundaries between work and personal life, and the increased pressure to meet heightened expectations in shorter time frames are prominent concerns. Our findings indicate that despite the advantages of remote work, particularly for those juggling caregiving duties, it can lead to burnout, isolation, and a diminished sense of well-being.

Through our collaboration with trade unions, a key partner in the TIMED project, we advocate for a deeper understanding of the sociocultural context and gender+ inequalities in DT-facilitated work. We argue that better regulation is crucial to address these complexities and ensure that digital technologies support not only professional flexibility but also a more balanced personal life.