Remote work from the eyes of remote workers: understanding the changing nature of work in the 21st century

Abstract

This thesis examines remote work as a labour process in which remote workers make sense of social life and themselves through their work. In this regard, it aims to contribute to the conceptualisation of remote work in the context of the changing nature of work in the 21st century. More specifically, this study asks the following question: “How and under what conditions does remote work transform the meaning of work for remote workers?” This question will be explored through an examination of the working experiences of remote workers in Turkey. With this aim in mind, a critical examination of the meaning of work in modern and contemporary social theory, as well as the recent discussions on the digitalization of work will be provided. In this thesis, the experiences of remote workers are obtained as the main data of the study which is analysed by adopting a methodology inspired by ‘grounded theory’ approach. Under this methodological framework, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with remote workers in Turkey. Among the interviewees, there are freelancers, full-time employees and business owners working in sectors that are suitable for remote work in terms of the digitalizability of the work. In the end, this study argues that remote work does not enable a full emancipation from negative work conditions as is widely argued; however, it is also not possible to say that remote workers are simply the passive sufferers of relations of exploitation beyond their control. Rather, it is argued that remote workers are engaged in an attempt to liberate themselves from the existing social and economic conditions with a desire to construct what they consider to be ‘better’ living and working conditions for themselves under the unique circumstances of the 21st century.