#work #workplaces #jobs #coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve
Brigid Schulte believes the workplace – at least office workplaces – should not go back to the way they were before the coronavirus pandemic.
Schulte, director of the Better Life Lab at New America, was interviewed by Henry Grabar in an article for Future Tense, published July 13, 2021.
Work, before the pandemic, really didn’t work for most people, she tells the reporter.
It encroached more and more on people’s lives. Some workers, including many so-called essential workers, were underpaid for the necessary work they did.
Others were asked to work more and more hours, taking more family and leisure time away from them, she said in the article.
With the advent of the pandemic, some workers spent more time at home, and started to realize what they were missing, the article points out.
Another issue: child care. With parents at home during the pandemic, they were worker, caregiver and teacher aide to their kids. Now, with the pandemic forcing many day-care and other services for children to close, that limits the options, particularly for women, the article points out.
What you now have is a care crisis, Schulte says in the article. That puts a heavy burden on women.
Then, there is the issue of career advancement. Schulte says that people who work in front of their bosses, or at least where their bosses can see them, can help advance their careers. They can at least give the appearance of being industrious, and, therefore, get noticed.
Those who work from home may produce good work, but it may make it harder to judge someone you don’t see in action very often, she said in the article.
The article talks about digital nomads, people traveling, looking for suitable wireless signals and doing their work while having a good time on the road.
“I think it’s too early to say that digital nomads are a red herring. I think it’s just really going to depend on the cultures that develop and what they allow, what they value, and ultimately what they end up rewarding. Because if you’re a digital nomad, but you keep missing promotions and you’re not getting pay bonuses and you’re not valued, well, I can imagine you’re going to get the message that even though the policy says you can do it, if it’s not working out in practice, you’re going to run right back to the office,” the article quotes Schulte.
So how do you fit in to these scenarios? Is your employer making you come back to the office, because, after all, he’s paying for that space? Or, is the employer allowing you the flexibility you want, without penalizing you, and, perhaps, even rewarding you?
If you are in the latter category, good for you. If not, you may want to rethink what you want to do with the rest of your life.
Fortunately, there are several programs that allow you not only to work from home OR outside the home, but also can perhaps give you a potential income that could dwarf what you are making dealing with all these obstacles.
And, you don’t have to quit your job. You can do these with only a few, part-time, off work hours a week to start. No specific education, experience or background is needed.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
You’ll probably read and hear a lot more about workplace changes – the good, the bad and the ugly – over many years. Try to analyze them and work to make them compatible with your own situation. You can’t do anything about some things, but you probably can do some things that make everything work out for you.
Peter