Spatial, temporal and contextual mobility: an ethnography approach about mobile work in shopping center

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the behavior of mobile workers, users of Mobile and Wireless Technologies (MWT), in a shopping while workspace. Through an ethnographic look, with interviews and observation, picked up the Solar Shopping as a field of study. Shopping as a workplace means for respondents optimization “dead time”. To deal with factors intrinsic to Shopping dispersion (spatial mobility), mobile workers develop strategies to dribble these distractions. The temporal mobility is seen as an obstacle in the face of lack of separation of work and leisure time, but also the advantage of the flexibility that communication tools offer. Concerning contextual mobility, email creates an obtrusive relationship entering in one's life, so almost invasive.