ABSTRACT
Before COVID-19, remote working was a rising trend. It was also seen as a luxury, an indulgence, or an inferior type of work. Global lockdowns made remote work the new normal. At first workers were excited to experience the freedom of working from home. Soon they started to grapple with practicalities such as getting the right home office setup. Then workers realized that it took effort to structure an effective balance between work life and home life. Many soon realized that remote working tantalizes with the promise of freedom, but it can end up delivering the exact opposite. Anthropologist and remote work specialist Dave Cook explores the new digital etiquette around Zoom® meetings and email that the world suddenly had to accept—uninvited—into their homes. He also uses his experience tracking the remote work habits of digital nomads—an extreme form of remote worker—to explore how this global remote work experiment will shape life after lockdown.
