‘Work from anywhere’ as a fashionable organizational trend

Since the planetary remote work experimentation ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of working from anywhere, but an office, has become trendier. Seeking to attract talents, some organizations began to propose ‘Work from Anywhere’ (WFA) modalities. This paper explores how organizations promote WFA, through an analysis of promotional materials from 27 organizations. Our findings reveal that these discourses employ aspirational marketing techniques similar to those used by Haute Couture and luxury brands, and strategically appropriate the ideals of digital nomadism as they redefine both the nature of work and the characteristics of the idealized worker. The paper makes two key contributions. First, it sheds light on how HR promotional discourses enable the organizational appropriation of what was originally a personal aspiration. Second, it demonstrates that the ‘rebranding’ of digital nomadism serves to enhance employer attractiveness while simultaneously encouraging prospective employees to align themselves with the organization’s vision of flexibility.