Remote Workers of the World Unite

Zoom did not set us free. But a bit of solidarity can help remote work live up to its promise.

- By Katherine Alejandra

The masses who settled in to remote or hybrid work during the pandemic are waking up to the fact that Zoom-mediated labor isn't all it was promised to be. Instead of being liberated from unnecessary drudgery, demands on their time have ballooned, they feel permanently on call, and some can't shake the sense that they're working harder than ever for less pay.

They're experiencing a lesson that everyone who's ever used so-called labor-saving devices has learned the hard way: Expectations swell to fill the gaps left by the time you save. Women have always felt this most acutely; if a washing machine saved you hours on doing laundry, then you had to fill that time with other displays of devotion to your family. Zoom is no different: The hour you save on your unpaid commute is now an hour that can be filled with a pointless meeting.

A bit of pushback is required, because over the past three years much of the public has too often treated remote work as an inherent good. The managers and bosses who wailed to the high heavens about how remote work would end civilization certainly did nothing to hurt the impression that it could be a mighty strike against capitalist exploitation. If it were making them this mad, surely it was revolutionary. But it's not. Like expectations, capitalism expands to fill all available space, co-opting anything put before it. Remote work is no different, and if we're not careful, the tech that makes it possible will obliterate the already porous wall between home and workplace.