Editors Note: The following interview was conducted with Charles Darrah, Ph.D. who has studied the lives of busy working families. Dr. Darrah’s recent research, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, has examined the lives of families in Silicon Valley.

Pitt-Catsouphes: On a practical level, it seems that most people are very familiar with the concept of “busyness.”  And yet, your in-depth examination brings new understanding to the experience of busyness. Could you provide some background about your research?

Darrah: I am a cultural anthropologist and that means that I spend a lot of time just observing people.

What did I see observing these families? The striking thing is that you see people doing a lot of different things when you have the opportunity to watch them. Often, it is the seemingly small things – perhaps something a bit out of place – that helps you to understand the important issues in their lives. Just imagine. As a researcher, you might go into a workplace. You see whiteboards and you expect to see notes related to work, things such as technological drawings. However, what you find might be reminders of family schedules and notes about upcoming community events. Or, you go in people’s homes. What do you see? Space is organized for an office and it is configured around demands of workplace.

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