The service sector has embraced its long waiting armour, "work from home". As tech-powered solutions to avoid social gatherings continue to rise, I was concerned about the long-lasting ripples it might leave behind in the modern work culture. In fact, there could be other changes that this phenomena of working from home might trigger.
The push for using technology to create a virtual presence rather than a physical one was booming over the past few years thanks to better communication architecture. The coronavirus pandemic, only served to coerce it. But there is hardly any way of getting back from this. Infact, its better in two aspects one that if something could be done more comfortably from home there is apparently no point in forcing a culture. In fact, large corporates like google were actively working to make employees feel home at their offices. Now they have to feel official at their homes. Which can be done by simply having a soundproof conferencing room (or maybe corner) in the house. What has the employer to gain from this? The workhour suddenly expanded, the falsehood of segregated professional and personal life is now over. its deadlines that will now become terms of working not the office hours. To some extent that sounds like exploitation of the workers. Maybe a just exchange for a newfound comfort.
The second important advantage is less commute:- the single greatest burden on modern cities. This means lesser pollution, no rush hour traffic jam and lesser accidents. I understand that the changes might be unnoticeable since all corporates might not switch to work from home. The other greatest advantage is that working from home does open up a hoard of jobs, most in geographical locations that were earlier inaccessible. Germany could get its cheap tech-labour from Bangladesh (both of these countries are just an example). The very idea of urbanisation or bringing workers together is a product of industrialisation, and it makes no sense that the services sector still holds to this archaic policy.
There are disadvantages and complications too. Without social contact co-workers would get alienated from one another, meeting mostly online like gamers. This could serve to fall of dedicated unions that enforced labour rights. Also these days, social living is mostly based on the jobs we do. Apartments filled with strangers who probably work in the city. Given that the social life of office has now dried up, you still need friends to share a beer with. This is where I believe we could look back at our neighbours, going back to the culture of the countryside or maybe into something new and interesting. Whatever may happen, the impetus that coronavirus gave to tech in the field of running offices will spin changes in the social fabric like none other.