'I can just do work I'm paid to do' : Hybrid work and tertiary labour time gains

Abstract

This paper adopts a moral economy framework to analyse the unique and collective experience of remote work during the UK pandemic lockdowns. Through analysis of qualitative interviews with workers based at home during periods of lockdown, we explore how this offered workers a new opportunity to evaluate a particular type of work extensification experienced when working onsite. We found that workers gained clarity over ‘preparing-for-work’, commuting and other unpaid labour as unfairly burdening nonwork time and social goods like family, health and leisure. We expand on the idea of tertiary time to suggest that hybrid work, despite its potential drawbacks, is viewed by workers as a way to regain some control over this area of their lives. By examining this in terms of the concept of lay normativity, our analysis draws out the importance of personal needs and emotional connections. We identify how, during the pandemic's extreme circumstances, a new opportunity for evaluation emerged that facilitated the development of a new sentiment around tertiary time devoted to the commute and preparation for work.