The Impact of Remote Work on Managerial Compliance: Changes in the Control Regime over Line Managers

Francisca Gutiérrez-Crocco, Angel Martin-Caballero and Andrés Godoy
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Francisca Gutiérrez-Crocco: Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile
Angel Martin-Caballero: University of Manchester, UK
Andrés Godoy: Universidad de Barcelona, Spain

Work, Employment & Society, 2024, vol. 38, issue 2, 527-548

Abstract: Labour process approaches have extensively documented the impact of digitalisation and remote work on managerial control, though the role of managers has been less explored. This article fills that gap in the extant literature by examining how adopting remote work affects managerial compliance with corporate goals. Particularly, it shows that this development entails a process of de-institutionalisation and re-institutionalisation of the control regime operating over lower-level managers to act on behalf of companies. These processes are driven by corporate decisions but also by the managers’ attempts to negotiate this regime. Overall, the article claims the need to study managers as agents rather than as a mere extension of the management function or passive subjects of corporate restructurings. The arguments are based on a study conducted in a multinational mining company operating in Chile, which adopted a research-in-action approach and included interviews, document reviews and a survey of line managers.

Keywords: Chile; inter-managerial relations; labour process theory; line managers; managerial compliance; remote working (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:2:p:527-548

DOI: 10.1177/09500170221142713

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