Tugs and Lines: Working from Home, on the River

• In Event: 50220 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 18: Precarious and Nonstandard Work

Abstract

Now more than ever, employees are being given options over when and where they do their work. These new options reduce the number of times workers have to commute to the office, giving them more flexibility as to where they can live. While most people assume these changes only apply to professional and white-collar jobs that can work remotely, some blue collar jobs are creating their own flexible options, too. In this paper, I will provide a brief overview of the recent shift to alternative workplace arrangements and describe how they are being adapted to two blue-collar jobs that are essential to the shipping industry on the lower Mississippi River near the Port of New Orleans. The “non-standard” shifts of these jobs serve to stretch the traditional geographic tether between where people work and where they live. I will conclude by outlining the costs and benefits of these new types of arrangements for employers, employees, and the communities where people live and/or work.

Author

• Kenneth H. Kolb, The Water Institute