Being a remote organization: the example of telecommuting through the lens of the communication constitutive of organizations (CCO) approach[Être une organisation à distance : l’exemple du télétravail au prisme de l’approche de la communication constitutive des organisations]

This chapter explores the concept of "being a remote organization" through the lens of the Communication Constitutive of Organizations (CCO) approach, specifically focusing on the case of telecommuting. Remote work, which has existed since the 1970s but gained widespread adoption only during the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges traditional spatial and temporal boundaries of work. By examining remote work practices through the CCO framework, the chapter investigates how organizations are continuously created and maintained through communication. It highlights that communication is not merely a medium but the essence of organizational existence, intertwining human and non-human agents, such as digital tools, platforms, and physical objects. The chapter includes three case studies illustrating how remote work "exists" in the absence of physical offices and fixed schedules, demonstrating that work at a distance is not disembodied or virtual but remains materially and symbolically grounded. Through the CCO perspective, it reveals how organizational communication is relational, ongoing, and shaped by both the material and symbolic aspects of remote work, ultimately contributing to the construction of virtual, yet very real, organizational structures.