When technology is taken for granted: the paradox of co working

Co-working is an exemplary case for exploring the organisation and significance of work. Two main thrusts prompt co-working arrangements: the idea of exploiting information and communication technology (ICT) to share ex-periences and knowledge, and the idea of joining forces to survive economically. While extant research has recognised the need to understand how these new spa-tial work arrangements function in practice, the time has come for an analysis of co-working informed by a socio-technical perspective. Drawing upon a scoping review, this qualitative paper argues that the role of ICT artefacts in studies on co-working takes a back seat. Invoking technology ‘in name only’ prevents re-search from connecting the social to the technological. We claim it is crucial to bring technology into the analysis to better understand how co-working ‘works’. We could do that by considering co-working as a ‘work-oriented infrastructure’ and recognising its dynamic complexity.