How Remote Work Changes the World of Work

Abstract

Remote work is typically characterized as work that is done at some physical distance from the office. Existing research has shown that the main elements of this characterization—physical distance and the office—are far more complex than most people realize. This review develops a framework that refracts the concept of remote work into four types of distance—psychological, temporal, technological, and structural—and three objects from which one can be distant—material resources, social resources, and symbolic resources. We then use this refraction framework to answer five questions about the way remote work is changing the future of work: ( a) Who will work remotely? ( b) Where will people work remotely? ( c) When will people work remotely? ( d) Why will people work remotely? and ( e) How will people work remotely? After demonstrating how existing research can help us answer these questions, we discuss important avenues for future investigation.