Digitalization of Work

6 (Re)creating the Inhabited Workspace: Rematerialization Practices of Remote Work

6.1. Introduction

The notions of work and space are implicitly linked in everyday language. From a lexical point of view, by using the expressions “going to work” or even “going to the office”, we make the place of activity a symbolic space. Combining container and content, the activity of work is associated with the place “office”, a term which itself designates an individual space within a whole (the employer’s premises). This association between “work” and a specific place comes from the industrial revolution: the worker went “to work” by physically going to the factory. Since the 1980s, the possibility of working “remotely” has gradually emerged, first via fax or telephone, then thanks to digital tools and, recently, to collaborative platforms. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, as a large part of the working population has started to work remotely. “Work” itself can be seen as a space, which explains why remote workers sometimes need to perceive and design “their” workspace (putting on shoes at home, walking around the neighborhood to “make the commute”). While some of the literature agrees on the immaterial character of telework, the worker’s body is necessarily inscribed in a physical space, whatever it may be.

So how can we (re)create telework spaces? The research question that animates this chapter seeks to improve understanding of the experiences of remote work. It allows ...