Migration, Advanced Digital Technologies, and the Future of Work

Abstract

Advanced digital technologies are transforming the way we work, connect, participate, and even live. Their impact is most visible in the migration field where they facilitate decoupling the place of work and the place of residence, potentially leading to whole new opportunities and challenges. Today, digital nomads can travel while they work, while labor migrants, particularly those with temporary status, may find themselves trapped in digital platform work. Contributions to this special Issue shed light on these seemingly opposed phenomena of digital nomadism and migrant worker engagement in digital platforms. This introductory paper offers a critical review of the notion of quality of work, arguing that its contours have been fundamentally shifting in recent times. Empirical insights arising from research on digital platforms (particularly immigrant employment in those) and work on digital nomadism reveal new elements valued by migrant and digital nomad workers. This paper and the other contributions included in this special issue point to the ambivalence of these new configurations, which create vulnerable workers but also agentic subjects who seek to negotiate better career aspirations, whether through digital nomadism or engagement in digital platform work.