Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur gränslöst arbete inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen kan se ut, samt vilka upplevelser som kan finnas kring de krav på tillgänglighet och flexibilitet som yrket kan medföra. Studien bygger på ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt med sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med fastighetsmäklare i Stockholm- och Malmöområdet. Studien genomfördes utifrån ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv med en abduktiv analysmetod där resultatet har analyserats genom en tematisk analys. De teorier som studien utgår från är Anthony Giddens bidrag om modernitet och självidentitet, gränsteori och Karaseks modell om Krav-Kontroll-Stöd. Det huvudsakliga resultatet visar att det gränslösa arbetet i största grad tar sig uttryck genom den tillgänglighet som möjliggjorts av den digitala utvecklingen. Utvecklingen medför en frihet i form av flexibilitet där fastighetsmäklarna ges möjlighet att planera och strukturera sina arbetsdagar som de önskar, även om det kan medföra vissa krav och förväntningar som kan gå ut över privatlivet. / The purpose of the study is to investigate what borderless work can look like within the real estate brokerage industry, as well as what experiences there may be around the requirements for availability and flexibility that the profession can entail. The study is based on a qualitative approach with seven semi-structured interviews with real estate agents in the Stockholm and Malmö area. The study is carried out based on a hermeneutic perspective with an abductive analysis method where the results have been analyzed through a thematic analysis. The theories studied are based on Anthony Gidden's contribution on modernity and self-identity, border theory and Karasek's model on Demand-Control-Support. The main result shows that the borderless work is largely expressed through the availability made possible by digital development. The development brings a freedom in the form of flexibility where real estate agents are given the opportunity to plan and structure their working days as they wish, even if this may entail certain demands and expectations that may go beyond private life.

Omvärlden och marknaden kan idag tillskrivas som kundens, det är kunden som styr marknaden och sitter på makten. Till detta kan troligtvis en viss press föreligga hos organisatoriska ledare att finna en strategi som skapar värde för kunden. Sökandet efter det rätta arbetssättet inleds för att sedan sluta vid det agila arbetssättet som uppenbarar sig likt ett svar på alla problem. Praktiker blir förförda, underkastar sig en funktionell dumhet och implementerar det agila arbetssättet, utan ifrågasättande, dagen är räddad! Kanske måste förförda praktiker vakna från deras utopiska drömvärld, avsäga sig detta falska medvetande för att ställa sig frågan om ett arbetssätt som placerar kunden i centrum kan tillskrivas som hållbart. Syftet med denna uppsats är att öka förståelsen och konceptualisering av situationen för medarbetarens situation i relation till det agila arbetssättet ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Fördelar och nackdelar med det agila arbetssättet synliggörs för att härledas till hållbarhetsprinciper och medarbetarens roll samt situation. Studien har genomförts genom ett etnografiskt tillvägagångssätt, där observationer, intervjuer samt enkäter har triangulerat problemområdet. Studien kombinerar kvalitativ metod med kvantitativ metod för att synliggöra problemområdet ur flera kompletterande perspektiv. I studiens analys används medarbetarskapshjulet, gränsdragning samt kritisk teori som teoretiskt utgångsläge. Resultatet av studien visar att det agila arbetssättets hållbarhet kan ifrågasättas, utifrån medarbetares situation inom dess givna ramar. Arbetssättets kundfokusering och snabba anpassning till den föränderliga verkligheten utmanar engagerade medarbetare att göra sitt yttersta för att leverera högkvalitativa produkter. Det innebär utmaningar i gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid, varvid medarbetare ställs inför utmaningen att balansera arbete som ianspråktar tid även utanför arbetsplatsen. De engagerade medarbetarna upplevs löpa en högre risk att drabbas negativt om arbetet tillåts ta över stora delar av livet, uppsatsförfattarna ifrågasätter därför huruvida det agila arbetssättets hållbarhet är rimlig i förlängningen. Uppsatsens slutsats innefattar HEM, Hållbart Engagerade Medarbetare, det vill säga att organisationer behöver arbeta för att ge sina medarbetare en situation som är hållbar i längden, även för de mest engagerade. / Today’s business world and the market belongs to the costumer. It is the costumer who is in charge of the market and holds the power. To this a degree of pressure is put on the organisational leaders, who are held to find the best method of creating value for the costumer. While searching for the best method, agile appears as an answer to all the problems and questions. Practitioners are swept away, seduced by the promising concept, gives in to a functional stupidity and implement the agile concept into their organisation, without questions. Agile saves the day! Perhaps these seduced practitioners must wake up from their utopian dream, take a step back from this false awareness and ask themselves whether a concept putting the costumer foremost is sustainable? The purpose of this essay is increasing understanding and conceptualising the situation for employees in relation to agile work methods, from a sustainable perspective. Pros and cons with agile methods will be made visible for derivation to principles of sustainability, the role of the employee and their situation. As a method ethnography has been used for this study, where observations, interviews and a survey has triangulated the issue. This study combines quantitative and qualitative methods to put several completing perspectives into the light. For the analysis the authors used the wheel of employeeship, border theory and critical theory as theoretical starting point. The result of the study shows how sustainability within agile can be questioned, from a employee perspective. Being focused on the costumer and adaptivity to an everchanging reality challenges dedicated employees to give their uttermost to produce high quality products. Challenges in relation to this lies within the borderlines of work, where employees must balance employment which seems to occupy time outside of the workplace. Dedicated employees might be at higher risk of negative consequences due to their employment occupying their life to a large extent. Therefore, the authors question whether agile is sustainable in the long run. In conclusion this essay presents a proposal for organisations to work towards sustainable dedicated employees. To give the most dedicated employees a situation which is sustainable in the long run, is beneficial for the entire organisation.

Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker svenska småbarnsföräldrars dagliga utmaningar i att balansera arbets- och familjeliv. Syftet är att förstå de strategier som föräldrar i parrelation använder för att upprätthålla en hållbar balans och vilka samhällsstöd som är mest effektiva. Studien använder kvalitativa metoder, inklusive semistrukturerade intervjuer, för att samla in data. Gränsteorin fungerar som huvudsakligt ramverk, medan konfliktteori och genusteoretiska begrepp används som tolkningsverktyg. Resultaten visar att föräldrar ofta känner sig överväldigade av krav från både arbete och hem, men att tydlig kommunikation, riktlinjer och supportstrukturer kan hjälpa. Samtidigt framhävs vikten av samhällsstöd, såsom föräldraförsäkring och arbete för normförändringar, som avgörande för att underlätta balansen. Slutsatsen är att en kombination av individuella strategier och strukturellt stöd är nödvändig för att småbarnsföräldrar ska kunna upprätthålla en hållbar balans mellan arbets- och familjeliv. / This bachelor’s thesis investigates the daily challenges faced by Swedish parents of young children in balancing work and family life. The aim is to understand the strategies used by parents in relationships to maintain a sustainable balance and to identify the most effective societal supports. The study employs qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, to collect data. Boundary theory serves as the primary framework, while conflict theory and gender theory concepts are used as interpretive tools. The results show that parents often feel overwhelmed by demands from both work and home, but clear communication, guidelines, and support structures can help. Additionally, the importance of societal supports, such as parental insurance and efforts to change norms, is highlighted as crucial for facilitating balance. The conclusion is that a combination of individual strategies and structural support is necessary for parents of young children to maintain a sustainable balance between work and family life.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of selected companies in the area of work-life balance of employees, with a focus on the concept of corporate social responsibility. The issue of reconciliation both parts of life has recently become a topic that attracts more and more attention as there has been an incresed number of people facing struggles in this area. Therefore, in the first part of the thesis the topic of work-life balance was put into social context, subsequently into the context of public and social policy and finally also to the concept of corporate social responsibility which represents a framework through which the work-life balance issue is viewed. There are lots of actors influencing one's possibilities regarding reconciliation of work and personal life, however, employers are one of the most significant ones. The thesis thus focuses on two companies with a different scope of work-life balance policy in a form of case study. The first aim of the research that was conducted within this thesis was to provide a comprehensive view of the approaches towards work-life balance policy of the selected companies through data obtained from semi-structure interviews with relevant representatives of both companies, these data were subsequently analyzed through optics of the...

Guided by family/work border theory, this phenomenological study explored the effects of stress while attempting to balance work and home through the lens of six high school female principals from the Central and Northern parts of California. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to examine the effects stress had on the physical and mental health of participants. Phenomenological interviews provided a rich description of the lived experiences of female high school principals. A thorough analysis of data exposed six distinct themes: (a) work became the priority, (b) coping mechanisms, (c) implications of being a woman, (d) lonely at the top, (e) blurred boundaries, and (f) the need for more support. Study participants’ experiences provide insight into the primary sources of stress, how stress affected their physical and mental health, the effect their stress had on their home domain, and how participants coped with the stress. Findings from this study address ways stress can be minimized to better balance work and home.

This master thesis highlights employees’ perceptions and experiences of working remotely in the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of the thesis is to understand how remote work during pandemic times impacts employees’ perception of their overall working life. In addition to that, it highlights employees’ experience of their social interaction, impression exchange, feedback sharing, trust-building, and performance at work. It strives to illuminate employees’ impression of their work-life balance and the specific company’s organizational culture when working remotely in pandemic times. The research problem is built upon possible reductions of informal interaction between employees when working remotely, which further on can cause separation of teams and a decreased employee identification with the organization. The research problem also has its foundation in the possible blurring of boundaries between two components, personal- and professional life, when working from home. The thesis was formed by a qualitative research approach where the empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with employees at a specific company. The analysis illuminates insightful findings with support from previous research, theories, and concepts. The empirical results show that employees have a variety of opinions about their work situation. Some argued for positive work-life balance, workflow, and collaboration, whereas other interviewees pointed out that informal interaction, trust-building, and feedback-sharing suffer when working remotely. Empirical data claim that remote work influences employees’ identification and sense of belonging within organizations, especially for new employees. Additionally, work-life balance became more balanced for some but challenging for others. Another finding shows that the perception and experience about the overall work life and organizational culture might not only be impacted by Covid-19 but also by the fast-growing company size.

In the early 1990s, a series of gruesome murders of young women in Ciudad Juárez, a city located in the U.S.-Mexico border, shook the political landscape of Mexico. A decade later, the strange and violent murders, known as the feminicides or feminicidios of Juárez, reached international infamy across hemispheres and continents. During this time, the city and the cases became the subjects of an extensive body of scholarship and of any imaginable artistic medium (narrative, poetry, theater, performance, music, and so on). Eventually, the complexity and overexposure of the cases and the sociopolitical conditions of Ciudad Juárez placed them at the center of a paradoxical debate: on one hand, the work of activists, feminists, and scholars of social sciences (like anthropologists and sociologists) studied the murders as a localized example of a larger phenomenon of mysoginistic violence; on the other, journalistic and media investigations of Juárez understood the murders as the products of specific agents (serial killers, murderers, drug cartels, amongst others) and the fractures within the Mexican Nation-State. And yet, despite the expansion and overlapping of these discourses, fictional representations of Juárez remained tangential to this intricate debate. Thus, this research explores the different ways in which writers, artists, and filmmakers deployed and negotiated existent perspectives on the feminicides within fictional environments. As a result of the vast amount of published work available on Ciudad Juárez, I narrowed the objects of my research through a transnational scope. The resulting sample of texts transverses borders (Mexico and the U.S.), continents (Latin America and Europe), genres (fiction and nonfiction), and mediums (literature and film). The first chapter explores the connections of Sergio González Rodríguez’s Huesos en el desierto and Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 through the theoretical framework of the possible worlds of fiction. The second chapter moves to issues of representation, gender, and race through the analysis of two novels written by Chicana scholars: Alicia Gaspar de Alba’s Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders and Stella Pope Duarte’s If I Die in Juárez. Finally, the third chapter focuses on film representations of Juárez and the feminicides in the form of Gregory Nava’s Bordertown and Carlos Carrera’s Backyard/El Traspatio. / text

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