When the Daily Commute Stops
A Long-Distance Commuter's Reflections on Commuting and Telecommuting across the Covid-19 Pandemic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2374750 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Clive Trusson (0000-0001-7334-1824, Loughborough University), Gwen K-W Chen (0000-0001-8107-0286, Nottingham Trent University, corresponding author), John Bridger (Engineering Design Specialist) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 279-290 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Work Employment and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09500170231188660 |
| OpenAlex | W4386091852 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 26 |
This article foregrounds the working experience of a knowledge worker in the United Kingdom across three years (2019-2022) that included periods of 'lockdown' and other social restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across seven separate interview extracts, it offers a longitudinal narrative on the lived experience of substituting a workday comprising a long-distance commute by car to work 'standard' hours for an extended workday telecommuting from home. Over time the worker paradoxically recognises that telecommuting entails added pressures of work intensification, extensification and greater domestic responsibility but this is preferable to returning to a long-distance dissatisfying commute. The reflexive narrative reveals how he embraces the pressures of telecommuting through job crafting to re-identify as an autonomous professional and more engaged care-giving parent. The article contributes to the literature on hybrid/flexible forms of work organisation emerging from the pandemic by indicating the importance of micro-level considerations and implications for gender equality
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Narrative · Pandemic · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Telecommuting · Work (physics · Workforce · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Medicine · Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges
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Commute variability and strain
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Enhanced job satisfaction under tighter technological control
Til Work Do Us Part
Responsible Autonomy Versus Direct Control Over the Labour Process
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Employee satisfaction and use of flexible working arrangements
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Covid-19, Flexible Working, and Implications for Gender Equality in the United Kingdom
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |