Remote work and the hybridisation of work relations: blurring the boundaries between subordination and self-employment?

Remote working can be read in terms of the destructuring of the ‘standard employment relationship’ and its organizational implications. Because it changes space-time constraints in the employment relationship, subordinate work becomes more subject to regulation by objectives and could provide greater autonomy in performing work, with consequences for the employment relationship but also for the quality of work. In particular, remote work seems to blur the boundaries between self-employment and dependent work. Furthermore, this way of working was strongly affected by IT and digital revolution, even if with multifaceted consequences. To make it profitable, it is necessary to balance technological development, suitable organizational models and human capital training. This article investigates whether and how remote work has contributed to blurring the distinction between self-employment and dependent work through an empirical qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews collected between March and September 2021 in 24 Piedmontese firms. To do so, it focuses on companies’ point of view and, in particular, on organizational adjustments (working hours schedules, modes of control and forms of communication and relational aspects).