Work? What is that…?
Like it or not, just as we outsourced much of our manufacturing because it was/is cheaper, so too are we going to continue to outsource support of all sorts, if not to a cheaper country, at least to a cheaper part of the US. My previous megacorp employer got rid of all the expensive underwriting assistants located in expensive cities around the US and replaced them with a service center full of people in Kuala Lumpur. Their work quality was fine. They worked US hours and only took US holidays so they were always able to turn around tasks at the SLA dictated time frame. However, they were simply not as good as having a good local UA because a good local UA who had been on the job awhile was able to expand the job duties above and beyond what was officially their job and be a bigger help to the people they supported. There was no way for the service center to go beyond doing whatever task showed up in the queue.
It seems odd to me that a person could work full or most of the time with just a computer and a telephone, at home or otherwise. I can't imagine any of my career type jobs that would fit into that profile, and the lack of real life workplace diversity might bother me. I never had much of a commute and only traveled occasionally, but those could be deal breakers. Maybe I've been out of the work force for too long (if that's possible).
As an on-line course editor, I could and did work from home with no trouble at all. But having employees out of the office apparently made my boss nervous, even though we rarely saw him, so we didn't get to work remotely full time. My immediate supervisor was from China by way of Israel, so diversity was definitely happening. We have video-conferencing now, so I really don't get the point of going to an office if it isn't absolutely necessary. The life energy lost in preparation, commuting, office gossip, clock watching and thumb-twiddling, not to mention various associated costs, is not a minor consideration.
Last edited by JaneV2.0; 10-10-21 at 12:17pm.
Hardly even use the phone, work is doing stuff on a computer, stuff can be done on a computer at home too.
Trees don't grow on money
I did field and laboratory work in fisheries and aquaculture and also process and quality control in the food and beverage industry. Many of my friends were or are in the natural sciences and involved in lab or did field work at least some of the time, although later in their careers they tended to be stuck at a desk more often. My brother and a relative are/were in social work and my father and an uncle were funeral directors. I really don't know of many people where the computer/phone type of realm is the bulk or exclusive nature of their jobs.
Well if one doesn't even know any office workers, it's office work that lends itself to working at home.
And offices are stultifying, it's visceral for me. People used to mock cubicals. Then much of the world went to open offices, and I'm so so sorry we ever said anything bad about cubicals, they were just scapegoats for the overall stultifying nature of offices and office work, they were GOOD actually ....
But working at home is better still.
Trees don't grow on money
Good for you! Luckily you've never worked in Hospitality, Maintenance, Construction, Law Enforcement, Medical Care, IT Systems, Warehousing, Delivery, Retail Sales, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Research & Development, Firefighting, Quality Assurance, Transportation, Child Care, Entertainment, Military, etc., although everyone who does is still available to support you in one way or another, but seldom from the privileged luxury of their own homes.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
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