# Maintaining wellbeing in remote work: a digital ethnography into resources, boundaries, and time

## TL;DR

This study explores how remote work affects wellbeing by examining resource dynamics, boundaries, and time perceptions through digital ethnography.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework combining COR and boundary theory to explain wellbeing in virtual mobility contexts.

## Key findings

- Remote work leads to fluctuating emotional rhythms and disrupted wellbeing due to temporal experiences.
- Blurred work-home boundaries and weakened collegial ties reshape subjective wellbeing.
- Coping strategies like boundary setting and job crafting help manage remote work challenges.

## Abstract

This study examines remote work as a form of virtual mobility and its implications for employees' subjective wellbeing (SWB). Using the complementary perspectives of Conservation of Resources (COR) and boundary theory, it presents a theoretical framework that explains how resource dynamics, boundary permeability, and time perceptions influence wellbeing in remote work.

The study employs a digital ethnographic design based on 11 semi-structured interviews. These are complemented by field notes and an experiential elicitation task. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, supported by computational techniques such as similarity measures, co-occurrence networks, and visualization tools implemented in R.

The findings identify three overarching themes: temporal experiences, in which acceleration, stagnation and fluctuating emotional rhythms that disrupted affective wellbeing; blurred boundaries, in which work-home permeability, erosion of collegial ties, and selective connections that reshape SWB; and coping strategies, which included boundary setting practices, job crafting, rituals, and recovery. The experimental task revealed a systematic bias toward underestimating time, consistent with participants' narratives of drift in monotonous work contexts.

The study advances research into mobility and wellbeing theoretically by framing virtual mobility and multidimensional SWB, methodologically by showcasing the value of digital ethnography for capturing lived experiences, and practically by underlining the importance of organizational support and policies.