Why the Future of Work Is at Home
20th October 2016
Once upon a time, working from home seemed a romantic and highly exclusive option for a luxury creative class. It was for writers and painters who sauntered out of their bedrooms at 10:30 a.m. to drink French roast coffee and eat locally made croissants and jam while lounging on wrap-around porches in Maine, before repairing to the typewriter or canvas. This has never been the reality of working in the home, of course. Domestic laborers and caregivers have always worked in the home, often without compensation and certainly without the leisurely hours of the phantom creative class sipping coffees over art. But the sharp decline in long-term employment at one company and the rise of telecommuting options means more workers than ever are doing their jobs in the same places they sleep. Even a cursory look at the social, environmental, and economic impacts of working from home indicates that even more people could and should be.
October 21st, 2016 at 07:30
Tim,
I hadn’t really given it much thought, but all 4 of my kids (and 2 of their 3 spouses) work from home, if you include home-based businesses. It certainly helps with childcare, and, in fact, being home with kids was a major factor (probably THE major factor) in how their working arrangements evolved. Other factors include a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit and a general unwillingness (maybe inability) to work for other people.
Have an excellent weekend!
Regards,
Debby
October 22nd, 2016 at 04:21
And add into that those parents who so arrange their affairs so that they can avoid sending their children to government schools, the state of modern technology not only facilitates such work arrangements but provides positive incentives to do so, much as the automobile allowed people to work more than a mile or two away from home.
Working remotely is a significant theme of Niven & Pournelle’s OATH OF FEALTY, which came out in 1981 — already the trend was clear to those who were paying attention.