The Social Experiment of Remote Work Forced by the Pandemic from a Qualitative Research Perspective

Abstract

This paper has two principal goals. The first is reflection over the available source literature, indicating the scant interest in it in the Polish social sciences, and in sociology in particular. The second goal is to present the findings from the first round of qualitative research conducted during lockdown, focusing on the experiences of people working remotely. The analyses of the material accumulated focused on how remote work was imagined prior to the pandemic, on the shock of transition to working remotely, on how a new rhythm took shape in the context of lifestyles, and on a comprehensive appraisal of the remote work experience, including prospects for the future. The findings indicate that despite the dramatic circumstances behind the imposition of remote working and the enormous difficulties experienced by the respondents, they are openminded regarding various options for continuing work in a remote mode. At the same time it proved pertinent to supplement boundary theory as the theoretical interpretative framework with a perspective of the respondents’ lifestyles and current place in life (the life-cycle effect), allowing for a better understanding of the respondents’ experiences and outlining prospects for rewording the schematic representations of this social phenomenon.