New spaces of inequality with the rise of remote work: Autonomy, technostress, and life disruption

Abstract

The proliferation of remote work with the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a new geography of work and new spaces of inequality. While working remotely can be advantageous, remote work experiences have varied substantially. Those who balanced work-from-home with childcare and education required greater life adjustments. Additionally, while some may have found flexibility and autonomy in where and when they work, others experienced technology-related stress. The upshot is that remote work has transformed the spatial dynamics of work and living space in ways that require reexamining geographic conceptualizations of labor inequality. We build on research on remote work in economic geography, organizational science, and urban studies to (re)conceptualize the varieties of experiences with the transition to remote work and the inequalities embodied in those experiences. To investigate these dynamics, we surveyed 1,172 remote workers in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic, examining how remote work has (re)shaped their working lives and lived experiences of the labor market, as measured by autonomy, technostress, and life disruption. The results identify old and new spaces of inequality as manifested in a wide divergence of work experiences and outcomes, especially across race, age/generation, and the number of dependents.