From homework to remote work. Reflecting on the porosity of spaces, times and social relationships at home and in workplaces

The article aims to contextualise the phenomenon of remote work in the preand post-pandemic times. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home was diffused among specific occupational groups, such as manufacturing homeworkers, lawyers, doctors, and, since the mid-1980s, with the implementation of new technologies, an increasing share of white collar and knowledge workers. During the pandemic, the number of remote workers massively escalated worldwide. Although this increase was largely unexpected, the introduction of remote work found fertile ground following several long-term transformations impacting the labour market and productive processes, above all the digitalization, labour flexibilization, and tertiarization of the economy. The paper summarises the ongoing academic debate on remote work, which has mainly focused on the reconfiguration of spaces, times, and social relationships both at work and in the domestic sphere. Finally, by introducing the three papers collected in this monographic section, it discusses ongoing and future trends in remote work, investigating workers’, companies’, and trade unions’ perspectives.