Working apart: Remote working and social bonding in the Big Four audit firms

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the influence of remote working on social bonding in Big Four audit firms. Through analysis of 42 interviews, we show that remote working places less demand on auditors to get involved in their firms’ collectives, in addition to individualizing their experience of work and reducing spontaneous mutual support mechanisms. While remote working is sometimes perceived as a way to achieve a better work-life balance in these firms, our results suggest that the potential gain in wellbeing may be achieved to the detriment of social bonding between auditors. Our results contribute to auditing research in two ways. They reveal the collective dimension of auditors’ identity construction by confirming that the place of work is not just a setting, but one of the chief mechanisms of social bonding at work. Additionally, they highlight remote working’s ambivalent impact on the attractiveness of Big Four audit firms.