Risks, possibilities, and social relations in the computerisation of Swedish university administration

• Published date: 01 November 2023
• Author: David Ö. Regin
• Date: 01 November 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12265

Received: 20 April 2021

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Accepted: 20 December 2022

DOI: 10.1111/ntwe.12265

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Risks, possibilities, and social relations in

the computerisation of Swedish university

administration

David Ö. Regin

Working Life Science, Faculty of Art and

Social Sciences, Karlstad Business

School, Karlstad University, Karlstad,

Sweden

Correspondence

David Ö. Regin, Working Life Science,

Faculty of Art and Social Sciences,

Karlstad Business School, Karlstad

University, Karlstad, Sweden.

Email: David.oborn@kau.se

Abstract

This mixed methods case study discusses how the

introduction of new technology changed the work of

departmental administrators at a Swedish university,

drawing on Cockburn's theories on gender and technol-

ogy, viewing organisations as fields of contestation. This

paper argues that jobs seem more fragmented with less

discretion, as a result of computerisation. However, time

saved by a new division of labour enabled by digitalisa-

tion has increased the possibilities for specialisation and

job crafting. This new division of labour also led to

increased tensions between academics, administrators

and management. As the risks and possibilities con-

nected to computerisation are matters of social relations,

as much as being governed by technology, this paper

adds to the debates on work and technologyby exploring

the complexity of social relations at work place level

experienced by this overlooked group at the periphery

of the managerial and academic power centres in

academia.

KEYWORDS

academia, administrators, computerisation, digitalisation,

gender, new technology, secretaries, social relations in

organisations

New Technol Work Employ. 2023;38:434–452.434

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ntwe

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2022 The Authors. New Technology, Work and Employment published by Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

As part of an ongoing computerisation agenda, the Swedish government suggested in 1987 that

the computer skills of secretaries within the national public administration needed to be

strengthened (Proposition, 1987/88:95). That created a crossroad of risk and possibilities

(Wilhelmson, 1994) for the secretarial functions. If they failed to adapt to computerisation, they

ran the long‐term risk of being out of work, since more of the everyday administration was

going to be handled by computers and jobs were being rationalised. However, if they did

embrace the new technology, they could engage in job crafting and become more specialised

administrators, conducting more qualified tasks. The new technology could, depending on how

it was used and adjusted, either move them up or push them out (cf. also Hartmann

et al., 1986).

Being an occupation dominated by women and surrounded by gendered expectations,

secretaries are often overlooked in workplace studies (Karlsson, 2011; Truss, 1993; Truss et al.,

2013). Some research in this area was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s related to the

computerisation of office work, which is the point of reference for this study (e.g., see

Hartmann et al., 1986; Wilhelmson, 1994). It then fell out of focus, to resurface again in

the 2010s, connected to debates on increased administration in professional organisations (e.g.,

see Forssell & Westerberg, 2014; Hasenfeld, 2009). To answer the call for more qualitative data

on the group (Truss et al., 2013, p. 361), this paper investigates some of the impacts of

technological and organisational changes among administrative staff at a Swedish university. It

is inspired by Hughes (1996, p. 228) urging ‘examining both the direct impact of new

technologies, as well as the indirect consequences’. The paper builds on Cockburn's (1989) work

on gender and technology and Acker's (1990) framework on gender in organisations, while also

using Burawoy's (1982) notion on lateral conflicts as a complementary perspective.

Academia as a gendered terrain is well discussed (by e.g., Clavero & Galligan, 2021; Eslen‐

Ziya & Yildirim, 2022) providing insights on how formal and informal arrangements reinforce

gender patterns (Bird et al., 2004) not least regarding the allocation and organisation of work.

While the studies of gender and academia are set in different contexts, the gender aspect of

academia is almost exclusively explored from the standpoint of academics. Taking the

experiences from this somewhat peripheral group as the point of departure provides insights

otherwise missed (Smith, 2005), as changes in one occupation affects others.

While the governmental decision on changes in technology was taken some 30+ years ago,

the division of labour regarding administrative tasks between academics and administrators

sparked by computerisation remains a highly relevant and debated topic today (Agevall &

Olofsson, 2020; Brante et al., 2015). Computerisation, in this case, the replacement of the

typewriter with microprocessor‐based computers and the physical filing cabinet with the digital

hard drive, also enabled the development of further ICT technology and network solutions.

This made way for the server‐based on‐line systems for management and administration, and

with that, the increased control and self‐administration that is now centre of debate.

With the background of a narrative of hope among the secretaries for computerisation to

increase the skills and status of the occupation, this mixed methods case study of

departmental administrators at a Swedish university sets out to explore how new technology,

in this case computers, changed the job. The paper addresses the questions: what are the

prominent effects of the introduction of the new technology? Was the hope of professional

advancement of the occupation fulfilled? Are gendered expectations influencing the effects

of computerisation?

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