Social Sustainability
Telecommuting / Remote Work
Working outside a central office using digital connectivity — with real but contested effects on emissions, equity and cities.
Definition
Telecommuting is performing work remotely using information and communication technologies instead of travelling to a central workplace. Its environmental case rests on avoided commuting emissions and reduced office space; its complications are rebound effects — longer commutes when people do travel, larger homes farther from centres, home energy use — meaning net effects depend on frequency, distance and behaviour. The post-2020 normalisation of remote work made it the largest natural experiment in work redesign ever conducted.
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