Redefining Quality of Work Within New Configurations of Work and Mobility

Project Lead

Anna Triandafyllidou

Team Members

Marshia Akbar, Hari KC

Cluster: ADTs and the Future of Work

Given the flexibility of gig work, combined with relatively limited oversight and regulation, it is important to understand how immigrants integrate this form of employment into their everyday lives and manage occupational balance across work, learning, and other responsibilities.

This project investigates two contrasting facets of digital labour: digital nomads working remotely and migrant workers engaged in platform-based jobs. Examining these opposing yet interconnected realities will generate new insights into contemporary understandings of quality of work.

1. How has the rise of gig economy work changed the way quality of work is perceived, defined, and assessed? 
2. Are there differences among workers and across sectors in terms of citizenship status, migration status, and workers' definitions/perception of quality of work?
3. What new concepts are needed to make sense of these new work realities? 
4. How can we provide supports, work, and welfare policies for migrant workers in the platform economy as well as for digital nomads?

This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, bringing together policy analysis, stakeholder interview, stakeholder consultations, and digital ethnography.

The project is currently in progress, with research underway on both migrant workers in digital platforms and remote work. Several publications are in development, including some building on earlier ongoing work.

Expected completion date: August 2026

Publications: 

Hari, C. K. (2025). Leveraging transnational remote work for inclusive sustainable development (external link) . Migration Policy Practice, 14(3). International Organization for Migration.

Triandafyllidou, A. (2025). Migration, Advanced Digital Technologies, and the Future of Work (external link) . International Migration Review, 0(0).

KC, H., & Triandafyllidou, A. (2025). Digital Nomadism and the Emergence of Digital Nomad Visas: What Policy Objectives Do States Aim to Achieve? (external link)  International Migration Review, 0(0).

Mathurin, G., Lam, L., Al-Alaoui, S., & Triandafyllidou, A. (2025). A Fine Balance: Exploring Job Quality in Platform Work Between Migrants and Nonmigrants (external link) . International Migration Review, 0(0).

Dreher N., Triandafyllidou A. 2023. Digital Nomads: Toward a Future Research Agenda. Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) and the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration. Working Paper No. 2023/04. 

In progress:

KC, H. Leveraging Transnational Remote Work for Inclusive Sustainable Development. Migration Policy Practice, IOM.

KC, H., Dreher, N., & Triandafyllidou, A. Digital Nomads as Transnational Workers. In EE Handbook on Temporary Migration.

KC, H., Triandafyllidou, A., & Dreher, N. ‘Privilege’ in International Migration—An Analytical Framework: Digital Nomads as a Case in Point. In Privilege in Migration.

Past events and presentations:

• "Panel: Paradise, Displaced: Digital Nomadism in Southeast Asia" presented by Hari KC, Digital Nomadism, Migration Inequalities, and Power in Southeast Asia, April 1, 2026
• "Decentering Digital Nomadism: Rethinking North–South Migration through a Critical Migration Studies Lens" presented by Hari KC at International Studies Association Annual Convention, Columbus, March 23, 2026
• "Governing International Remote Work for Inclusive and Sustainable Development" presented by Hari KC at International Studies Association Annual Convention, Columbus, March 22, 2026
• "Decentring Digital Nomadism: North–South Mobilities and Inequalities in Contentious Migration Times" presented by Hari KC at IMISCOE Spring Conference, Liege, Belgium, March 18, 2026
• “The paradox of the digital nomad”, presented by Hari KC, Toronto, Canada, August 22, 2025

Digital nomads; digital platforms; gig economy; migrant work; quality of work