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.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Chalice Randazzo
Chalice Randazzo researches the intersection of practical and critical-cultural technical and professional communication, especially missing work and silence. She is an Associate Professor at Dixie State University.