Based on a historical overview on the emergence of telework, this study examines the contradictory capitalist trends of concentrating and displacing labor, investigating the similarities and differences in telework regarding traditional forms of home-based work. To do so, it analyzes the work process and the nature of activities developed under this modality from a Marxist approach. This historical perspective contributes to build a long-term view of the transformations studied and to question deeply rooted preconceptions about female employment, related to women’s supposed preference for performing domestic work activities. Moreover, it allows us to ponder the usefulness of incorporating legal devices created to regulate home-based work into telework legislation, which would contribute to avoid labor flexibility therein.
Telework; Labor flexibility; Labor Law; Female employment; Home-based work