Understanding teleworking after Covid-19 : Researching office workers in Denmark - a qualitative study on teleworking motivations, experiences and strategies of employees living and working in Copenhagen

Abstract: This qualitative case study provides a communication-driven perspective into the functioning of teleworking in the post-Covid Danish work society. Teleworking, performing office work outside of the conventional office space by using ICTs, became part of the modern-day work arrangement of many employees, mainly due to the severe effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world economy. This study’s aim is to find out how teleworking is perceived by its practitioners in the Danish post-Covid labor market. Interviewees were recruited working for different Danish companies, in the same building, in central Copenhagen. A total of ten semi-structured qualitative interviews are conducted with employees working in the Danish corporate sector. Interviewees were of mixed nationalities as well as professions. By coding the interview data according to an inductive thematic coding process, a number of seven conceptual general themes were found, of which three were selected as being part of a larger analytical narrative. Work processes, Time & Space and Negotiation & Policy are the three concepts receiving the most thorough discussion in the analysis, while the remaining themes were briefly discussed in the context of the research. It has been found that by using a multitude of strategies, employees use teleworking as a tool to balance their private and professional lives, in line with previous studies. Covid-19 has normalized teleworking in such a way, that it has become a standard part of employees’ hybrid work arrangements. At the same time, downsides to teleworking are mitigated by formal and informal communication policies and active use of communication concepts like the connectivity paradox. Nevertheless, teleworking can occasionally be part of negotiation processes: between employees and employers as well as partners in private spheres, emphasizing the limits to spatial and temporal recourses. Additionally, even after experiencing a high degree of teleworking, employees are still finding obstacles in the use of ICTs, which are essential to the teleworking arrangement. The limitations of the study are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research on teleworking and corporate communication.