On the other side of the screen: Understanding the personal, professional, and cultural impacts of flexible work on nurse academics and institutions

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, flexible work arrangements, including working from home and remote roles, have become a sustained feature of academic life. While these models offer ongoing benefits such as flexibility, accessibility, and accommodation of diverse personal circumstances, there remains limited discussion of how they are reshaping academic work culture and affecting campus-based colleagues. The shift away from shared physical workspaces has altered key dimensions of professional life, diminishing informal collegial interactions. Although existing literature has explored the pedagogical and logistical challenges associated with the rapid shift to online teaching, less attention has been paid to the longer-term impacts of sustained remote work on academic identity, institutional culture, and the everyday practices of academic citizenship. In this paper, we consider how flexible work arrangements are reshaping the social fabric of academic nursing and blurring the boundaries between home and work. We argue that while flexible work patterns are likely to remain embedded in academic structures, they can carry unintended consequences, that require careful consideration. Sustaining a vibrant and inclusive academic culture will require intentional strategies to foster connection, visibility, and equity among both remote and campus-based colleagues.