Online working and learning in the coronavirus era

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the vast opportunities of working and learning digitally. This is one of the reasons why the European Commission, in its Communication of 27 May 2020 on the next EU budget, reiterated its commitment to 'help boost competitiveness and technological sovereignty … [by] … investing in digital infrastructure and skills'. It also stated that 'the crisis has (shown) the importance of digital skills, for children, students, teachers, trainers and all of us to communicate and work'. In these exceptional times, where a large part of the workforce has been obliged to work remotely due to home confinement and social distancing measures, gig or crowd-workers have enjoyed a kind of 'home field' advantage: working and interacting digitally has always been their prevailing mode of operation. What can we learn from these online workers who mastered the art of working and learning remotely long before the public health crisis?

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