Work - A New Relationship (#31)

The sight through the windows was misleading - a beautiful view of the horizon; with hills at the far end wrapping a city that holds an array of traditional houses designed for both taste and utility, and a smattering of few dull high rise buildings built solely for utility. It is misleading as its comforting views through the windows do not match its reality - one of cold discomfort. Strong winds made it feel colder than usual - but as with anything in life, one can find comfort within discomfort. At least we can try.

Another week, another post - I told myself. The challenge I have is to come up with something meaningful each week, as profundity is an outcome of deep effort. Effort doesn't sound appropriate - it sounds like intense labour - which tires you. The right way to describe this would be - 'profoundness is an outcome of intense contemplation.'

And to come to that state of intense contemplation, one needs to gather thoughts from a source in the first place. This can be a book, a conversation with a friend or family, a chatter with your child, or any other form of experience where you receive. In an increasingly isolated world, gaining this source is a challenge for many. The best source in such scarce scenarios is books. If I had a chance to advise my younger self today, I would only say, "Never lose the habit of reading. A book may or may not be useful, but reading as a habit is always invaluable."

But reading alone doesn't suffice. It gives you thoughts but these thoughts become your own only when you contemplate on them deeply, intensely. That is not an easy thing to do, especially when we have surrounded ourselves with entities whose sole aim is to consume our attention, our time.

Going back to where I was earlier, it is a challenge to write each week.

'But I have made a commitment to myself; an option to opt-out doesn't exist.' I tell myself with resolve. But to be honest it is not as difficult as I put it earlier. The point is not to post - but to arrive at something meaningful every week, that makes it worthwhile to post.

The topic, I had for this week, was work. Our relationship with it.

The world of work has changed; changed permanently. To be precise, the definition of work and our relationship with it has changed drastically. Work - as a central theme of our lives - is going through a transformation phase. And for the first time in possibly a century, individuals have a chance to redefine work and their relationship with it.

When the world went remote after the pandemic, I like many, believed that it would be a temporary change. But as months went by, I began to doubt if we would ever get back to office. And what about travel and client visits? As wave after wave hit the society shores, a foundational change was happening- one layer after another. But I and possibly many, were still in denial mode.

It was only in 2022, nearly in the middle of the year, I started to ask myself a question. "Am I in denial of accepting remote work?" But I continued to resist it.

I was earlier a vociferous defender of work-from-office but now (in mid 2022), I started to defend it politely, with a certain sense of passive resignation. And in 2023, I realised something else - deep and paradigm shifting.

The thing I had been uncomfortable with all along was not remote work. In fact most teams and even I had been working in remote teams for a long time. We had an office but our colleagues or team still sat distributed across the world. So the thing that I was discomforted with was not remote work. It was the very idea of work - Work 2.0 - a new definition of work, one that fundamentally changes the very way individuals related with work all these years.

And so what has changed?

1. Work is a fluid activity that is as much determined by us (the worker) as it is determined by the ones who we work for.
2. Work does not occupy a fixed, rigid block of time in our day-to-day lives.
3. The idea that work has to make meaning has given way to something else. Work now has to be flexible - it again ties back to the first point on work being fluid.
4. Work = Wages is an old construct. It was and continues to be a major driving force for people to approach their jobs. If you go deeper, there is a latent assumption in there that ties wages with happiness. The more you earn, the more happy you are, has been the prevalent thinking. It still continues to hold sway. But now a new trend is emerging where work is measured as a combination of flexibility, independence, growth and wages. A number of people are realising that there are factors, other than money, that can give them happiness. And this trend is gaining pace and more believers on the way - shaking the very foundation of work as it emerged post Second World War.

All these applies to jobs that only require a PC and an internet connection. As an ex-engineer myself, I don't think blue collar jobs are going to be hit by this trend - at least in the immediate future. These jobs are already becoming less fashionable because they do not provide the comfort which a white-collar, knowledge work can give. So I believe something will change course in these segments too, but they may happen a bit later.

Notwithstanding the positives, I also see several areas of concern which is often overlooked by those promoting the new approach. So far, I am able to conceive the following limitations.

• If the previous era of work was rigid in its structure, the new era of work has 'no structure'. Some may take offence and say that it does have a self-defined structure. But the problem there is that in most cases, this freedom or flexibility as its labelled, often becomes a segue to indiscipline. The previous work life required us to be at least physically disciplined, if not mentally.
• An office environment, with colleagues junior and senior, was a place of unconscious learnings. One had to deal with difficult situations and had no option to opt-out. This built character. But the remote, freedom-seeking worker, has lost this source of learning. Much worse, the new knowledge-worker will not even be aware of this aspect.
• The erstwhile era had an in-built commitment criteria that everyone had to sign up for. Being committed to a task, project, team, or an employer was a healthy attitude that brings internal growth. Many may say that this also became a tool for exploitation by employers - which is true. But the point is, from the standpoint of a young individual, this provides an opportunity to live through difficult situations and overcome challenges. The new work approach has now eliminated this need because there is not much to be committed to, except the intangible task or gig you have agreed for.
• Another central argument made in favour of remote, flexible, independent working is that of high productivity. This is again a misnomer. Recently, I have heard from many senior management folks in companies that the initial boost to productivity that they saw during the pandemic is now waning off. In fact, many employees are becoming distant, less invested and interested in their employers. So some companies are now asking employees to head back to work. But they are doing so in vain since most do not want to return. In fact, if you ask me, they can never return to the old way. Employers need to know that the switch to remote work was a one way street - it cannot be turned back now. And those trying to turn it back, will sooner or later realise this truth. And in due course, like me, they are also likely to come to terms with it.

As I shared earlier, I managed to discover that it was this change in approach to work that created a discomfort in me. It was a lack of understanding combined with the fallacy of 'golden age thinking' that made me long for a reversal of work culture. But I can now say that I have managed to understand this new era of work, and am fast coming to terms with it. I find a lot of healthy opportunities in this new approach which I can capitalise. The scope of work in my daily life has receded in expanse and intensity, giving me space to expand my interests in other fields. Engaging in these interests, like writing this newsletter, gives me a lot of satisfaction. It also helps me grow in areas which were previously out of reach.

But its important to be aware that the line that separates freedom and discipline is very thin and I am aware if I am not attentive, I will slip across into this terrain of self-damage. As I slowly shape myself into this new model of work, I continue to be cautious of its impact in this aspect of my life.

No matter how humanity reinvents work or even life, this simple truth remains unaltered across ages. The truth that our discipline leads to our destiny. And in this new era of work, its going to be tougher to be disciplined than ever before.

Wishing you a great week ahead!