Former Pictou resident looking for volunteers for remote work study
Pictou has always been home for Rhea Bowen, even though she hasn’t lived in the community since childhood.
Even years after she moved with her family to New Brunswick, it was the place they returned to, if only for a visit.
As their family car wound its way along the Sunrise Trail, she would look out the window and wonder, “What do people do here?”
It amazed her that in all these remote communities people found ways to work and make a living.
Now an adult and living in Gatineau, Quebec Bowen is exploring the topic deeper as part of a Master’s degree she’s working on at Carleton University.
The central focus of her thesis project is on remote or telework and how people in Atlantic Canada make money through online labour platforms or marketplaces in rural or resource-dependent communities.
The goal of the work is to understand how people navigate these forms of work in their daily lives.
To help her complete the work, she is looking for volunteers who are willing to share their own experiences.
“I strongly believe that the people living in Atlantic Canada can provide insights into the experiences of remote and digital work,” Bowen stated in her call out on Facebook
With so many people experiencing work from home as a result of the pandemic and a large influx of people choosing to relocate to Atlantic Canada, she believes the timing of this study is perfect.
“For me, over the years I’ve become really interested in the idea of place– why people live where they live, what people do for work in different places,” she told The News.
She believes there is more than just a good internet connection that makes a community a place people want to live in and hopes to find out what those are in her research.
“People live differently and experience life differently outside of urban environments,” she said.
She also hopes to learn more about how people balance work and life.
Bowen is aiming to talk to around 30 people working in various parts of Atlantic Canada for her research.
The only requirements are that they are at least 18, live in a rural or resource-based community and work at least part-time at home or on a remote basis using one of the following:
■ Computers and emails
■ Digital platforms
■ Websites
■ Mobile platforms
■ Social media
■ The internet
■ Virtual spaces
■ Online marketplaces
■ Web-based tools
■ Blogs
In the end, Bowen hopes that her work will expand how people think about remote work.
“It’s not just about IT infrastructure,” she says. “You can put broadband in Tatambouache. It doesn’t mean there’s going to be a sudden influx of people working there.”
Anyone who would like to volunteer to be part of Bowen’s study can contact her by email at rheabowen@cmail.carleton.ca to learn more about the study and how to get involved.
She believes it could help communities think about what other aspects people might be looking for to make a place home. For instance, a person working at home in Halifax is going to have a very different experience than someone working in a remote part of the province.