Flexible work: Does it really mean more autonomy? Time poverty in flexible time-space working arrangements.

This article investigates the multifaceted experience of time poverty among individuals engaged in flexible time-space working arrangements in the Czech Republic, employing the concept of power-chronography to analyze uneven temporalities and power dynamics. Based on qualitative interviews with mainly higher-educated, non-primary caregivers working remotely or with flexible hours, the study reveals that despite perceived temporal autonomy, these workers often face pressures of constant availability, temporal unpredictability, and accelerated work rhythms driven by technological communication and sociocultural norms. Time poverty emerges not only from economic precarity but also through internalized work ethics and the need to recalibrate personal time with dominant socioeconomic rhythms, leading to blurred boundaries between work and leisure and the redistribution of time poverty within social networks. The research highlights that these temporal challenges are embedded in broader socioeconomic and material-discursive practices rather than solely individual failings, suggesting the need for further exploration of power relations and temporal inequalities in contemporary flexible work contexts.