Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2022

Bodies of Proof: COVID-19 and Unwitnessed Remote Work

Chalice Randazzo Utah Tech University

Abstract

Using a case study of four professionals who suddenly worked from home during COVID-19, this article discusses participants' experiences of proving work when their bodies were not physically near coworkers ("proof"). I explain proof's features; participants' concerns and responses to it; its consequences for workers; and its potential devaluation of nonproductive, unwitnessed processes. I suggest technical and professional communicators are in a kairotic moment for negotiating the value of nonproductive time and unwitnessed work.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2022-04-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2021.1998639
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Duong et al. (2023)
    Distress Coping Responses Among Teleworkers
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (54) · 14 in this index

  1. Adams J. L. (1976)
    Conceptual blockbusting: A pleasurable guide to better problem solving
  2. Adler-Kassner L. (2015)
    Naming what we know: Threshold concepts of writing studies
  3. Allyn B. (2020 May 13). Your boss is watching you: Work-from-home boom leads to more surveillance. NPR. Retri…
  4. Andersen (2007)
    The Rhetoric of Enterprise Content Management (ECM): Confronting the Assumption…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. 10.1007/978-3-540-73101-6_37
     ↗
Show all 54 →
  1. Berliner U. (2020a April 24). The office as we knew it isn’t coming back anytime soon. Maybe it’s changed for…
  2. Berliner U. (2020b June 22). Get a comfortable chair: Permanent work from home is coming. NPR. Retrieved from…
  3. Berthoff A. E (1978)
    Forming, thinking, writing: The composing imagination
  4. 10.1145/587078.587110
     ↗
  5. Brady et al. (2013)
    Static to Dynamic: Professional Identity as Inventory, Invention, and Performan…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. 10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch001
     ↗
  7. ELBOW (1999)
    In Defense of Private Writing: Consequences for Theory and Research
    Written Communication
  8. 10.1023/A:1008648532192
     ↗
  9. Fleury S. (2014)
    The Montaigne method: Adding content and consciousness through revision as invention
    Journal of Teaching Writing
  10. 10.1080/13546783.2012.749812
     ↗
  11. Haas et al. (2001)
    Writing as an Embodied Practice: The Case of Engineering Standards
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  12. Herndl C. G. (2017)
    Communicative practices in workplaces and the professions: Cultural perspectives on the r…
  13. Jovanović M. (2016)
    Agile retrospective games for different team development phases
    Journal of Universal Computer Science
  14. Kalin et al. (2016)
    Wearing the City: Memory P(a)laces, Smartphones, and the Rhetorical Invention o…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  15. 10.5465/amle.2010.0048
     ↗
  16. Kynell-Hunt T. (2004)
    Power and legitimacy in technical communication: Strategies for professional status
  17. 10.1109/IPCC.2003.1245518
     ↗
  18. 10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8
     ↗
  19. 10.1016/S0191-3085(06)27003-5
     ↗
  20. 10.1080/01440350500068999
     ↗
  21. 10.1109/AGILE.2011.35
     ↗
  22. 10.4324/9781315231501
     ↗
  23. Melonçon L (2017)
    Embodied personas for a mobile world
    Technical Communication
  24. Merkel J (2015)
    Coworking in the city
    Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization
  25. 10.1111/medu.12583
     ↗
  26. 10.1207/S15327051HCI1523_4
     ↗
  27. Portewig T. C (2010)
    Qualitative research in technical communication
  28. 10.1016/j.infsof.2007.02.002
     ↗
  29. Rice-Bailey T (2014)
    Remote technical communicators: Accessing audiences and working on project teams
    Technical Communication
  30. Saldaña J (2012)
    The coding manual for qualitative researchers
  31. Shalamova et al. (2019)
    Evolving skill sets and job pathways of technical communicators
    Communication Design Quarterly
  32. 10.1037/a0014212
     ↗
  33. 10.1080/14427591.2003.9686512
     ↗
  34. Spinuzzi et al. (2019)
    “Coworking Is About Community”: But What Is “Community” in Coworking?
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  35. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  36. Spinuzzi (2012)
    Working Alone Together: Coworking as Emergent Collaborative Activity
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  37. Spinuzzi (2014)
    How Nonemployer Firms Stage-Manage Ad Hoc Collaboration: An Activity Theory Analysis
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  38. 10.1023/A:1008651105359
     ↗
  39. 10.1111/j.1556-4797.2008.00021.x
     ↗
  40. 10.1145/223248.223263
     ↗
  41. 10.1177/0163443711398692
     ↗
  42. Vasel K. (2020 November 10). Want to work from home forever? Here’s what you need to know. CNN Business. Retr…
  43. Vealey (2016)
    The Shape of Problems to Come: Troubleshooting Visibility Problems in Remote Te…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  44. Warnock et al. (2007)
    Expressive/Exploratory Technical Writing (XTW) in Engineering: Shifting the Tec…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  45. WINSOR (1994)
    Invention and Writing in Technical Work: Representing the Object
    Written Communication
  46. 10.2307/357634
     ↗
  47. Wood (2018)
    Framing Wearing: Genre, Embodiment, and Exploring Wearable Technology in the Co…
    Computers and Composition
  48. 10.1177/1080569909357783
     ↗
  49. Zarroli J. (2020 September 24). When everybody’s working at home and the magic is gone. NPR. Retrieved from h…
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Assessing Writing Jul 2026
    Epistemic cognition and feedback engagement: A case study of Chinese L2 writers ↗
    Ge Xu; Danli Li; Xuegong (Andy) Gao
    qualitative research multilingual writers
  2. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    “Article laundry” or “tutor in pocket?”: Multilingual writers’ generative AI-assisted writing in professional settings ↗
    Qianqian Zhang-Wu
    writing pedagogy teacher development professional writing qualitative research digital rhetoric artificial intelligence multilingual writers
  3. Written Communication May 2026
    Toward a Sociohistorical Writing Ethnography: Community Writing as History-Making ↗
    Stacie Klinowski
    qualitative research literacy studies
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication May 2026
    The User Experience of Virtual Reality for Longitudinal Writing: A Diary Study of Immersive Graduate Dissertation Composing Experience ↗
    Jason Tham; Rich Shivener; Niveditha Pookkottuvariam; Sarah Riddick
    rhetorical criticism graduate education technical communication archival research empirical research qualitative research
  5. Argumentation Apr 2026
    Stance-Dependent Fallacy Judgments and Rhetorical Structure: A Computationally Assisted Case Study of Tolstoy’s What Is Art? ↗
    Shuchun Zhang
    rhetorical criticism qualitative research