Correct. And now they can. So-called "Knowledge Economy" workers aiming to prove that their roles can be done remotely and on flexible schedules, i.e., prove that their work can be reduced to a set of tasks they complete throughout arbitrary times of the week, are creating for their employers a perfect working model for insourcing/outsourcing.
Correct. And now they can. So-called "Knowledge Economy" workers aiming to prove that their roles can be done remotely and on flexible schedules, i.e., prove that their work can be reduced to a set of tasks they complete throughout arbitrary times of the week, are creating for their employers a perfect working model for insourcing/outsourcing.
But they didn’t. Outsourcing is not working from home. not even close to the same thing. If it was, it would be done outsourced. Mindless call centers are outsourced and even something as simple is that is a cluster.
Anti-Trump feeling and the strong Canadian preference for social cohesion meant lockdown and vaccine skeptics north of the border faced off-the-charts pressure.
Correct. And now they can. So-called "Knowledge Economy" workers aiming to prove that their roles can be done remotely and on flexible schedules, i.e., prove that their work can be reduced to a set of tasks they complete throughout arbitrary times of the week, are creating for their employers a perfect working model for insourcing/outsourcing.
But they didn’t. Outsourcing is not working from home. not even close to the same thing. If it was, it would be done outsourced. Mindless call centers are outsourced and even something as simple is that is a cluster.
What will happen is that roles considered to require work that is highly complex, strategic, important, will be simplified or dumbed down to accommodate the employee demand for remote work. Possibly, salaried work will go away, and employees will be like contractors receiving a fee for unit of work.
I have been mostly working from home for 20 years - approximately 2/3 of my career. I work to live, I don't live to work. Being remote has allowed me a lot of freedom in my daily schedule and in my travel schedule. I spent a lot more time with my family than I could have as a full time, in office employee. I saved a ton of money on gas. And I was still very productive work wise and I do enough in person visits to have personal relationships with co-workers - some of whom I have only met when hired for mostly remote consulting jobs.
Not everyone has this opportunity because many jobs just require face to face interaction. Some people really need a social aspect of work. Heck, I met my wife at work (same building, different company). But for me, it is rarely necessary anymore, so I avoid the office unless there is a compelling work reason.
I had good mentors early in my career and it was wonderful to have people to learn from. This can be critical early in your career. Team chat / video meetings are just not the same, but it is so much better than what was available in the 90s as I started my career. I have been surprised how well some younger workers do in remote environment. I suspect it has a lot to do with being able to search the internet for answers and not necessarily rely on mentors as much.
But they didn’t. Outsourcing is not working from home. not even close to the same thing. If it was, it would be done outsourced. Mindless call centers are outsourced and even something as simple is that is a cluster.
What will happen is that roles considered to require work that is highly complex, strategic, important, will be simplified or dumbed down to accommodate the employee demand for remote work. Possibly, salaried work will go away, and employees will be like contractors receiving a fee for unit of work.
Some of you are WAY over-thinking this. The office is not some kind of magical sanctuary. The physical office space is not the critical factor in production. Whatever skilled work you were doing before in one location, the office, is just done in a different location, in your home, which is typically not very far away from the office. This change in location does not necessitate a complete overhaul of the work process.
Companies have been outsourcing for decades when the benefits outweigh the costs: manufacturing, call centers, some coding, maybe some accounting functions, etc.
At this point, most jobs cannot be done effectively on the other side of the planet, overcoming cultural, language, time zone, relationship issues etc. If it could, it would. None of those things are changing. It barely works for something as simple as a call center, and I would argue that the experience is almost always fu$ked up. And it’s 100x more fuc&ed up when dealing with real work, complex projects, etc.
I believe the evolution will be a reworking of the office space. The office will be used mostly for collaborative work that is better face to face. Come together In one spot in a space that is designed to facilitate that kind of work, and then work wherever you want the rest of the time.
Remote work will backfire in workers in the US. If your work can truly be done remotely why in hayl would anyone looking to make a profit pay you $150K for your remote work when that same work can be done remotely in Ukraine, India, China etc for far less in pay and benefits? Better get yer a$es back into the office ASAP.
So we should be luddites and pretend the job absolutely has to be done from an office, otherwise it will go to India? Some people look beyond borders and realize the problem of low wages in India and the problem of companies abandoning their workers to move there, are caused by the same race to the bottom.
Remote workers are of little value. The technology they use to process and communicate information will ultimately be their downfall as artificial intelligence takes over more tasks currently performed by humans. Sales, marketing, accounting and HR clowns please stay home and watch Judge Judy. The world won't notice the absence of your faux productivity.
The first mass layoff of remote workers is coming soon. Gonna be a kick in the head to leave the house when a potential employer insists upon an in-person interview.
All W-2 serfs are expendable.
It's been known for some time there isn't an actual need for everybody to work every hour for there to be an economy.
The contradiction is though, if those workers lose their income or if AI removed 60% of jobs, the system collapses due to the reduction in participation in the economy and social unrest.
Work from home is polarizing. Last week I was on Smerconish, and after articulating the benefits of remote work for four minutes, I spent 30 seconds on the downsides: Offices are where young professionals establish relationsh...
I don't think working from home is very "polarizing" as the article suggests. I think it's pretty one sided in favor of working from home by any study / survey that I've seen. Polarizing is not the right word.
I have seen a lot of work get offshored to India, get performed terribly then slowly be brought back on shore. People think you can just dump jobs to “India” and pocket huge savings. The reality is that the people performing that job now in India naturally have no loyalty or regard for the actual role. Turnover is incredibly high because people will move on for a few more rupee a week and so most of the time it’s a revolving cycle of new people being trained then leaving (repeat) and your western product suffers as a result.
Let's bottom line this thing: Gladwell is a contrarian gadfly who wouldn't know an office environment or a boss if one bit him on the as-cheek. He has become a wealthy personality without much to say anymore but (wrongly) believes that his opinion on EVERYTHING is valid and must be heard. In this case he has no clue and has embarrassed himself and lost credibility, but hey his name is in stories so the coverage must be good.
That's what it comes down to in this sh-tty modern world: how can I get clicks/eyeballs on my name to keep 'my brand' (barf) relevant?
Let's bottom line this thing: Gladwell is a contrarian gadfly who wouldn't know an office environment or a boss if one bit him on the as-cheek. He has become a wealthy personality without much to say anymore but (wrongly) believes that his opinion on EVERYTHING is valid and must be heard. In this case he has no clue and has embarrassed himself and lost credibility, but hey his name is in stories so the coverage must be good.
That's what it comes down to in this sh-tty modern world: how can I get clicks/eyeballs on my name to keep 'my brand' (barf) relevant?