In the North and in the South, workers have experienced many disruptions in the last years. The aim of the two special issues 2022-1 et 2022-2 is to look at the boundaries of work and employment in order to rethink work in the light of these contemporary transformations. The present issue (2022-1) examines the shifting and rebuilding of these boundaries in the Global North. The boundaries analysed are established in relation to leisure, activism, and private and family life. Their definition involves the efforts of various actors: researchers elaborating the concept of work, but also individuals mobilising in different arenas (media, politics, etc.) to have their activities recognised as work. The issue of qualification as work is therefore situated at both theoretical and empirical levels.