The Future of Work in Extended Reality: Conceptualizing Extended Work

This research-in-progress explores how Extended Reality (XR) technologies, encompassing Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), are transforming the nature of work. As organizations increasingly integrate XR, traditional assumptions about space, time, and interaction in the workplace are being challenged. We introduce the concept of extended work, a digitally mediated form of labor that spans a continuum of XR. Our conceptual framework integrates perspectives from the XR conceptual framework and the integrative work design framework to identify five dynamic components of extended work: space, objects, agents, tasks, and time. We theorize how XR reconfigures these components to enable novel forms of interaction, presence, and engagement at work. The framework is supported by propositions that articulate the mechanisms by which XR reshapes work. Empirical validation is currently underway through semi-structured interviews with XR practitioners. We conclude with implications for future research and managerial practice.