Adaptations and Tensions in Remote Work: A Longitudinal Study of the Covid-19 Environmental Jolt

Abstract

Remote work provides alternative methods of working which in turn became the norm during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this, paper, we study adaptation practices introduced by both individuals and organisations as a way for managing the enforced remote work. The study draws upon 51 interviews of knowledge workers collected over two years during different phases of the Covid 19 pandemic. We apply adaptation theory and the concept of environmental jolt as lenses to examine the transformation of work as an adaptation process towards new digital working practices. We approach adaptation as a way of coping with a radical change or dynamic situation and building resilience. Based on the data analysis, we expend the adaptation theory in relation to different forms of adaptation to digital work practices (e.g. at technological, organisational, and behavioural level). We also find that remote work overall was a positive experience among knowledge workers, and it has increased their autonomy and accountability at the cost of a number of emerging tensions. Findings emphasize phases of adaptation and tensions that emerge over time in remote work at both individual and organizational level.