Reshaping the Geography of Work

The COVID-19 pandemic altered work patterns in almost all industrialised nations, with a marked increase in remote work. This shift from office-based to home-based work carries far-reaching consequences for workers, communities, regions and nation-states. By decoupling place of residence from place of work, remote work-fuelled migration has the potential to exacerbate or mitigate inequalities and disparities. While researchers have begun investigating the migration dynamics prompted by COVID-19, key questions persist. These include the extent to which new remote work opportunities are fuelling internal migration, the impact of this migration on inequality and prosperity in receiving regions and how remote workers and their households make migration decisions and adapt to their new work-life circumstances. This chapter explores these questions drawing on current literature on internal migration and remote work and discusses their relevance in two countries that have experienced significant growth in remote work during the pandemic: the United Kingdom and Canada.