Managing non-standard work arrangements: choices and constraints

Non-standard work lacks the predictability of standard employment arrangements and relationships. As a result, it requires a different approach as workers self-manage their working environment and rhythm. This article explores the self-management and self-policing strategies of a group of skilled and professional non-standard workers in New Zealand. The issues that are related to managing time (including time-off), space and the home–work nexus are explored via an examination of such strategies as temporal and spatial marking, switching, defending and intruding. These help structure work-related tasks, and how these tasks intersect with non-work spaces and activities, although with varying degrees of success.