Beyond the Organization: Implications of Geographic Flexibility for Workers

Abstract

Geographic flexibility among workers to choose where they live rather than remain tethered to a specific physical office has emerged as a valued workplace benefit. Even before the prevalence of remote and distributed work, in-demand skilled workers were known to weigh desirable aspects of locales over pay. However, the COVID-19 pandemic elevated geographic choice to a broader role in workers' lives and the future of work. This study examines how workers derive utility from geographic flexibility and corresponding implications for organizations. I consider both instrumental and symbolic manifestations of utility, including but going beyond pragmatic motives for relocating, such as economic benefits and proximity to family, to encompass the less understood function of place as a target of identification. Findings are derived through an abductive qualitative analysis of 1300 personal narratives on chosen or desired moves at a time of geographic flexibility. Overall this work substantiates four distinct forms of personal utility offered by geographic flexibility—wanderlust, economic, affiliation, and self-fulfillment—and clarifies identity mechanisms that underlie the place (dis)identification process to advance theorizing. Implications for organizational research and practice are discussed.