Of the consequences of the pandemic, one that worries me a lot is the transformation of the way we work. It is true that we discover new technologies that make online work possible and in some dimensions make us more efficient. We don’t have to travel for hours to attend a meeting, for example. And in large cities where traffic is a problem, meeting through an online platform saves years of life and has the virtue that people arrive on time, and planned schedules are met. Being able to work from home is practical for those who live far from their workplaces and save long trips, and for people who have minor children or others whom they must care for, who can be better served under the new arrangement. The flexibility that is possible is also practical. I have colleagues who modify their schedules starting very early in the morning when they are at home and others who travel to beautiful places where they can enjoy a change of environment without interrupting work. These are all good things. But it’s not clear to me that the advantages of this new way of working outweigh the disadvantages.
The other side is a world where the informal chat in the corridor disappears, the possibility of having a coffee with the office neighbor and all the informal spaces where great discussions and the best ideas usually arise. A world where one knows less and less about one’s colleagues on a personal level and it becomes more difficult to build friendships in the workplace. Where young people who complete their studies and go out into the new world of work navigate with little mentoring and alone. Where people work in their pajamas, without getting ready, because why, and then you sometimes have work meetings with people you don’t see.
It is possible that it is a limitation of mine not to value more the advantages of this new way of life at work.
Little by little, work, that activity to which most of us dedicate eight or more hours each day, is being relegated to a marginal place, while life takes place in other spaces. I find it difficult to accept the world of empty offices, depersonalized cubicles, and online communications. I find it difficult to accept that in-person interactions at work take a backseat and are not seen as an essential part of the work itself and a source of productivity and joy. Sure, there are unfortunate interactions. But, in general, meeting others in your work life who share the same purpose is great.
Two years after the pandemic, it seems that there is no going back. But I think we are making a mistake. Surely there is an intermediate place, different from this, where face-to-face work can once again be the rule and the importance of closer contact with others is recognized, also at work, without losing flexibility and the possibility of saving unnecessary trips. . With the pandemic we forgot this. Life during the pandemic was a very strange thing, and it seems to me that we still do not fully see the consequences of the way we lived it.
It is possible that it is a limitation of mine not to value more the advantages of this new way of life at work.
My excuse is nostalgia for spaces shared with others, which I treasure. Fantastic meetings we had, for example, in the process of building the chapters of the Mission of Equity and Social Mobility, even now one of my most beloved projects, which forever marked many of us who participated. Unforgettable discussions in moments of rest with the youngest members of the team about difficult topics such as gender identity, politics and religion, which gave rise to professional friendships that have lasted throughout life. So many projects designed around a coffee or a glass of wine.
Work is that too. I miss.
2024-04-09 12:36:48
#Virtual #work
