eWorkLife: work, life and wellbeing

In today's episode, Prof Anna Cox talks to Dave Cook, a digital anthropologist researching the practices of digital nomads. These are people who've taken remote working to the extreme by choosing to live in a different country from where they work. We talk about how he started out as a designer in the early days of the internet, set up one of the first gay online services, and went on to run the nascent BBC Online, at a time when media producers thought the internet was a flash in the pan. We discover what the fallout from the dotcom boom and bust taught him about the importance of focusing on user experience, how he discovered his true calling as a research geek, and his love of ethnographic approaches. He describes how he has applied those in his study of digital nomads, and the insights he has gained into the paradoxical experience of these extreme remote workers, who are discovering that the work-related disciplines they initially wanted to escape, are actually the ones that help them to create work life boundaries, and avoid burnout. We also explore how these practices might benefit us too, as many of us continue to work from home.

Dave Cook is a PhD candidate at UCL. His work explores the lives of self-described ‘digital nomads’ who work out of co-working spaces in Southeast Asia. The research focuses on the work practices and routines that are required to sustain working on the road.

Find out more about eWorkLife, including tips for managing your own wellbeing and work-life balance, on our website https://www.eworklife.co.uk/

Episode transcript and show-notes: https://www.eworklife.co.uk/podcast/

Follow us on twitter @_e_worklife and @annacox_

Show Notes

In today's episode, Prof Anna Cox talks to Dave Cook, a digital anthropologist researching the practices of digital nomads. These are people who've taken remote working to the extreme by choosing to live in a different country from where they work. We talk about how he started out as a designer in the early days of the internet, set up one of the first gay online services, and went on to run the nascent BBC Online, at a time when media producers thought the internet was a flash in the pan.  We discover what the fallout from the dotcom boom and bust taught him about the importance of focusing on user experience, how he discovered his true calling as a research geek, and his love of ethnographic approaches. He describes how he has applied those in his study of digital nomads, and the insights he has gained into the paradoxical experience of these extreme remote workers, who are discovering that the work-related disciplines they initially wanted to escape, are actually the ones that help them to create work life boundaries, and avoid burnout.  We also explore how these practices might benefit us too, as many of us continue to work from home. 

Dave Cook is a PhD candidate at UCL. His work explores the lives of self-described ‘digital nomads’ who work out of co-working spaces in Southeast Asia. The research focuses on the work practices and routines that are required to sustain working on the road. 

 
Find out more about eWorkLife, including tips for managing your own wellbeing and work-life balance, on our website https://www.eworklife.co.uk/  
Episode transcript and show-notes: https://www.eworklife.co.uk/podcast/  
Follow us on twitter @_e_worklife and @annacox_  

What is eWorkLife: work, life and wellbeing?

Does technology just keep us all chained to our desks, glued to our screens and slumped on our sofas, or can we harness it to help us all to move more, do more and feel happier, more energetic, focused and creative? eWorklife is about work, life and wellbeing: the podcast where we talk to researchers in the field about productivity, wellbeing and work-life balance. We talk to scientists and others who can help us make the most of our technology to get our work done, keep connected to others, and support our health and wellbeing. Your host is Anna Cox, Professor of Human Computer Interaction at UCL in London. Her guests are colleagues and collaborators – all experts who are breaking new ground in fields as diverse as psychology, technology design and artificial intelligence. Anna gets up close and personal in a series of revealing interviews in which her guests share their personal journeys as researchers, how they got to where they are, and what they’ve learned along the way, as well as the secrets of their research, and the new discoveries they’re making about how technology can help us to thrive at work and in our home lives.

Find out more about eWorkLife, including tips for managing your own wellbeing and work-life balance, on our website https://www.eworklife.co.uk/ Episode transcripts and show-notes: https://www.eworklife.co.uk/podcast/

Follow us on twitter @_e_worklife and @annacox_

Music credit: ScottHolmesMusic.com

Season 1 producer: Clare Casson

eWorkLife is powered by UCL Minds