Open AccessRemote Work and Post-Bureaucracy: Unintended Consequences of Work Design for Gender Inequality
Author(s) -
Kim de Laat
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
industrial and labor relations review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.927
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 2162-271X
pISSN - 0019-7939
DOI - 10.1177/00197939221076134
Subject(s) - work (physics) , bureaucracy , agile software development , waterfall , flexibility (engineering) , unintended consequences , public relations , psychology , social psychology , sociology , political science , engineering , management , geography , economics , mechanical engineering , archaeology , politics , law
In-depth interviews with IT employees ( N = 84) working under two types of work design—a post-bureaucratic work design labeled “agile,” and a bureaucratic work design labeled “waterfall”—are used to examine gendered patterns in the adoption of remote work. Interviews reveal an unintended consequence of the agile model: It promotes a physical orientation that induces on-site work. Agile is gender-inegalitarian, with more women than men working remotely despite its perceived unacceptability, and low numbers of employees working remotely overall. By contrast, workers within a waterfall work design express a digital orientation to work and feel empowered to work remotely. The waterfall model is associated with gender egalitarianism; most employees opt to work remotely, and men and women do so in even numbers. Findings suggest that when compared to the post-bureaucratic work design, the bureaucratic work design provides more flexibility. This article refines our understanding of barriers to remote work and provides a lens on the gender dynamics underlying work design.