Constant Connectivity as Everyday Practice: Theorizing Through Problematization

Despite a significant amount of research on constant connectivity , defined as the opportunity to remain connected to work at any time, from any place, we assert that there remains a disconnect between how constant connectivity is studied and how it unfolds in everyday occurrences. Using the miner‐prospector continuum, we problematize the extant literature to evaluate this assertion and develop new theory. Our mining reveals that constant connectivity studies rely on notions of time and place that insufficiently demarcate work–nonwork boundaries; prescribe constant connectivity as either wholly incompatible with enacting nonwork roles or inherently interfering with specific nonwork activities; and operationalize constant connectivity with vague ‘technology use’ constructs. In prospecting, we conceptualize constant connectivity as a set of sociomaterial practices that capture how: technology affords opportunities to engage in, and disengage from, work activity; constant connectivity and nonwork role enactment are compatible via the pursuit of work and nonwork activities in parallel or sequentially; and work–nonwork boundaries are socially constructed in ways that transcend time and place. Taken together, we extend considerations of constant connectivity beyond knowledge workers to any occupation (skilled trades; physical labour) in which individuals use technology to conduct aspects of work at any time, from any place.