The internet is incredibly adept at decomposition. Take any large, rigid, archaic system from the past, and with enough exposure to the internet, it will completely emulsify.
One hundred years ago, if I wanted people all over the world to read my thoughts, I would have to build serious cachet, relationships, partnerships to get published in a prominent newspaper with global reach and distribution.
Now, anyone with an internet connection can skip the decades of work and amass a global audience seemingly overnight.
The institution and system of “work” are undergoing a similar state change at the moment. And while some of this is temporary, I am not sure we will fully go back to the way things used to be.
For knowledge workers especially, it will be hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
My days used to be structured into discreet segments.
Wake up. Make coffee. Freshen Up. Get Ready. Check Public Transportation. Commute. Show up to work. Work. Lunch. Work some more. Check Public Transportation. Go home.
Rinse and repeat. You get the idea.
Now, my “work” happens all the time. Wake up. Check Email *working*. Make coffee. Respond to email *working*. Go for a run. Attend meetings *working*. Take a break to read a book…
Sometimes I am working at midnight. Sometimes I am napping at 2 PM. The second law of thermodynamics applied to work means it can now occupy all moments on the temporal plane.
Suddenly we are thrust into playing all the different roles, all the time.
Work and life are sewn into every single hour and even minute of our days. A blended tapestry of the different lives we lead.
What might be some of the impacts of such transformation?
As I interact with my team, it’s meant more empathy for all the different parts of my colleagues’ life. Whether they have kids or other obligations, it’s the ability to accommodate and understand those obligations.
This decomposition and emulsification of traditional work will likely mean that we can arrange our days, weeks, months, and entire careers in a way that is best optimized for us.
I was never one that understood the concept of “work/life balance”. Though, to be fair, as a late 20s male with no children or biological clock to worry about, there is immense privilege behind that statement.
To me, work has always been about being productive. And productivity is a part of the social contract. It’s about contributing to you, your family, team, company, organization, community, country, and world.
I am hopeful that by unlocking more freedom in our schedules and lives, we will be more productive. By spending little moments throughout the day on self-care or playing with your new-born child or talking to distant relatives, it will give us the stamina and energy to be better at work, better at being productive. And more importantly, understand the meaning behind what we do.
The challenge, of course, is that this is mainly about knowledge workers.
We still have much work to do if we want to have a whole society that can benefit from this state change.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.