Purpose The purpose of this paper, a “thought piece”, is to consider the everyday realities of homebased working and the implications for work during a global pandemic and beyond. Design/methodology/approach The authors present a conceptual framework for considering the domestic sphere as a social space and apply this framework to consider the existing evidence base on homebased working. In particular, the authors consider the implications of homebased working during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of gender. Findings The authors identify key challenges in relation to flexibility, work intensification and socio-economic differences. Consideration of these areas highlights the potential pitfalls and challenges that are likely to persist as many organisations begin to plan for an increase in homebased working. Originality/value The authors argue that some commentators have been too quick to celebrate the apparent successes of the sudden, unplanned move to intensive homebased working. Important differences in occupation, gender and other socio-economic factors will have important implications for the experience of homebased working for many workers and their co-residents.

This paper examines facets of the developing business relations between two important actors in the supply-chain of transnational healthcare: medical tourism facilitators and medical doctors (MDs) practicing privately and internationalising their services. The empirical focus is Greece, an emerging destination for medical care. Drawing on the sociology of the professions as an analytical framework, rich qualitative data reveals a conflictual aspect in the relation between the two actors, and informs the literature on transnational healthcare of barriers to market development. Particularly, MDs practicing privately often resist what is perceived to be medical tourism facilitators' pressures to control the 'rules of the game' in the submarket which inhibits their collaboration. The paper contributes, thus, to the sociology of the professions by bringing to light a new challenge for MDs engaged in the transnational business arena, represented here by the facilitators; and encourages tourism practitioners to consider MDs' self-understanding, attitudes, and expectations

Interest in international patient travel and trade in healthcare has grown considerably over the past decade. Whilst the field is under-researched, patients’ motivation to travel to seek healthcare solutions has attracted significant attention. In contrast, the perspective of the medical doctors (MDs) remains unexplored. This article directs attention to medical professionals as key players in the internationalisation of private healthcare provision. Through the lens of the sociology of the professions, it examines the ongoing initiatives of MDs in Greece to attract patients from abroad. Findings indicate that international patient movement has given an incentive to MDs to exhibit an entrepreneurial approach. Their attitudes portray professionals with business aspirations which go well beyond their role as medics, and stand in contrast to the traditional image of medical professionals. In addition, it fosters competition among professionals at a domestic and international level, threatening the cohesion of the medical community.

Medical tourism has gained prominence in academic, policy and business arenas in describing the growth in the number of people travelling outside of their home country to receive planned medical treatment, with the emphasis on the combination of addressing pressing health concerns with a leisure trip. This conceptual essay offers insights into how patients are being reconceptualised in a neo- liberal setting as medical tourists. In so doing it offers two key contributions. First it offers a deeper theorisation of trends in international healthcare through a political economy of care framework. This framework is not only focused on human interaction and experience but also on the political, economic and social space in which human life is played out. Second, it offers new insights into the exploration of human relationships within a market economy so that the medical tourist is seen with new eyes as a relational being

Responding to calls for more substantive studies into ethical and responsible lobbying, we analyze data collected over a 5-year period in Brussels to explore how individual lobbyists understand the ethical dimensions of their work. Mobilizing insights from the sociology of the professions, we expose an emerging lobbying professionalism and unpack practitioners’ understandings of what being a professional lobbyist entails, focusing in particular on their espoused values of transparency and honesty. While expectations to lobby more transparently and honestly stem from political institutions, we find individual lobbyists—acting as conduits—attempt to disseminate these expectations by setting limits that incite their clients to embrace what policymakers consider professional lobbying practice. Our study contributes to corporate political activity (CPA) scholarship by providing a professions-based understanding of ethical and responsible approaches to lobbying. We provide new insights into contextual and individual-level factors behind the emergence of such approaches, and elucidate implications of lobbying professionalism for business and European Union (EU) governance.

Utilising the sociology of the professions as an analytical framework, the article explores the response of the Greek medical profession to state-imposed managerialism during times of economic recession and socio-political turbulence. It is argued that the case of Southern welfare states, permeated by clientelism and corruption, underpins a distinct form of professional-state relations, currently missing from relevant theoretical discussions. Rich qualitative data collected from practising hospital doctors in Greece reveals a willingness to concede elements of clinical autonomy in exchange for the minimisation of the role of a corrupt state in the organisation of the Greek National Health Service.

Moving away from paternalism to more equal forms of interaction in the patient–doctor relationship has been seen in positive light by policymakers, patients’ rights advocates and scholars alike. Nonetheless, against the background of commercialisation and consumerism, empirical research showcases how reduced asymmetries bring in tensions and friction between patients and doctors (Greenfield et al. 2012). This paper contributes to the discussion through the examination of the patient–doctor relationship in the niche setting of private transnational healthcare markets which involve patients travelling overseas for care and where commodification, consumerism and care go hand‐in‐hand. It is geographically focused on two large cities in South‐Eastern Europe as settings where health care is provided to foreign patients – Athens and Istanbul – and empirically draws on qualitative interviews with doctors who run small/medium practices. The findings highlight that, despite excessive consumerism, power asymmetries are not mitigated but patient vulnerability shapes the patient–doctor relationship. In the transnational context, the patient faces an additional source of vulnerability: a condition of foreignness. As such, the findings stress that one relationship model (the consumerist) does not, per se, replace an older one (e.g. the Parsonian). Instead, the consumer–provider dimension co‐exists with the client–expert, patient–doctor and, finally, host–guest relation.

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