As someone who has disabilities which need relatively minor accomodations (one of those is a serious preference for working from home for various reasons) the topic of how recent events may change the job market for remote work has been on my mind as I read the news.
Before the pandemic, created by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was a severely competitive field for remote work. Millennials with degrees and fresh faces out-jockeyed older and disabled folk who required different solutions than traditional office work, but still wanted to work to build a retirement. Many of my contemporaries expressed anger that those with much better ability to work outside the home, more youth and vigor and, frankly less tenure in life overall felt "entitled" to bypass the "work your way up" models we had all struggled through, like our grandparents and parents before us. "What right do kids these days have to *not* put in the groundwork just like we did?" they asked. And, much like the rebellious youth of the 60's did to their seniors, the answer from the younger classes largely seems to be "times change, man..."
Now, times indeed are changing, but not necessarily the way anyone expected or desired. And much like the "Love" generation before them, some aging millennials are quickly finding that hard work, compassion, respect and a little give and take goes a long towards building the goodwill necessary to develop the foundation for future success. While many have relented to the more traditional office work, that environment has now been turned on it's head, for good or ill.
Remote work has been increasing over the last decade, and moving past the old transcription and text-based customer service. In recent years you could find professional bloggers, video game testers and even work usually reserved for a more traditional setting such as virtual personal assistant.
The question is now how will business adapt to "the new normal?" Will it try and stuff employees who've now tasted freedom back into their cubicle and hope for the best? Will it embrace the reduced necessity for employee break rooms,large office buildings with enormous overhead, and limited parking? Or will it create a whole new paradigm for business that incorporates the best of the old with the best of the new?
Those of us who survived the game and now find ourselves in a position where remote work can keep us in the loop hope for the later. With a political climate the last few decades that values seniors and the disabled less and less, while eyeing the social security systems resources as a possible cash cow to solve growing deficits (caused largely by old outdated ideas of management) it's more and more important for those populations to have options. With the shutdowns of the pandemic, many people hope that the expenses now invested by businesses to remain open using remote technology will translate to greater opportunities for everyone.
Before the pandemic, created by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was a severely competitive field for remote work. Millennials with degrees and fresh faces out-jockeyed older and disabled folk who required different solutions than traditional office work, but still wanted to work to build a retirement. Many of my contemporaries expressed anger that those with much better ability to work outside the home, more youth and vigor and, frankly less tenure in life overall felt "entitled" to bypass the "work your way up" models we had all struggled through, like our grandparents and parents before us. "What right do kids these days have to *not* put in the groundwork just like we did?" they asked. And, much like the rebellious youth of the 60's did to their seniors, the answer from the younger classes largely seems to be "times change, man..."
Now, times indeed are changing, but not necessarily the way anyone expected or desired. And much like the "Love" generation before them, some aging millennials are quickly finding that hard work, compassion, respect and a little give and take goes a long towards building the goodwill necessary to develop the foundation for future success. While many have relented to the more traditional office work, that environment has now been turned on it's head, for good or ill.
Remote work has been increasing over the last decade, and moving past the old transcription and text-based customer service. In recent years you could find professional bloggers, video game testers and even work usually reserved for a more traditional setting such as virtual personal assistant.
The question is now how will business adapt to "the new normal?" Will it try and stuff employees who've now tasted freedom back into their cubicle and hope for the best? Will it embrace the reduced necessity for employee break rooms,large office buildings with enormous overhead, and limited parking? Or will it create a whole new paradigm for business that incorporates the best of the old with the best of the new?
Those of us who survived the game and now find ourselves in a position where remote work can keep us in the loop hope for the later. With a political climate the last few decades that values seniors and the disabled less and less, while eyeing the social security systems resources as a possible cash cow to solve growing deficits (caused largely by old outdated ideas of management) it's more and more important for those populations to have options. With the shutdowns of the pandemic, many people hope that the expenses now invested by businesses to remain open using remote technology will translate to greater opportunities for everyone.