The nexus of remote work and sustanaibility: A bibliometric analysis of the global literature

Remote work has become an increasingly widespread work arrangement due to advancements in information and communication technologies, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly transforming working life. The rapid adoption of remote and hybrid work practices during the pandemic not only accelerated the diffusion of this work model but also increased academic interest in its economic, social, and environmental sustainability implications. Consequently, scientific publications examining the relationship between remote work and sustainability have gained considerable momentum. Against this background, this thesis aims to examine the development trends, intellectual structure, and main research themes of the academic literature on remote work and sustainability through bibliometric analysis. The research data were obtained from the Scopus database, and 258 publications were included in the analysis based on predefined selection criteria. The analyses were conducted using the R programming language, the Bibliometrix package, and the Biblioshiny interface. The findings indicate that publications on remote work and sustainability have increased substantially, particularly in the post-COVID-19 period, with an annual growth rate of 13.35%. Sustainability emerged as the most influential publication source in the field, while the United States, Italy, China, and Australia were identified as the most productive countries. Keyword analyses revealed that the literature is primarily focused on remote work, hybrid work, sustainability, carbon footprint, and COVID-19. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of remote work associated with sustainable development are gaining increasing attention in the academic literature. Furthermore, it provides important insights into future research directions in this emerging, interdisciplinary field.