National Culture and the Social Relations of Anywhere Working

Abstract

Western ideas about work have developed as macro and micro level changes continue to shape the social relations of work. As anywhere working developed as an alternative to traditional work arrangements in the 1990s, a system of checks and balances ensured the work practice delivered customer service and product quality. Western low-context work cultures situated the work practice as a logical development in the chronology of the social relations of work. With its tipping-point in the West reached, anywhere working received less attention in high-context work cultures. Specifically, this chapter investigates how the concept of “national culture” impacts thinking about anywhere working. In the high-context work cultures of East and South East Asia, employers, employees, and the stakeholders of organizations and governments have divergent views about the legitimacy of this work practice. The chapter discusses the influence of national culture on thinking about anywhere working in high-context work cultures, drawing on current data concerning anywhere working in selected Asian economies.