Remote work is something that took off during COVID-19. Since those in power thought it would be a good idea to shut down the global economy, companies did their best to adjust. Those who were centered around knowledge work were able to adapt to a degree.
After all, if your job is to stare at a computer screen tied to the cloud, as long as you have an Internet connection, that can be done from anywhere.
We also see this transition in alignment with technological advancement. The idea of video conferencing was around long before Zoom skyrocketed a few years ago. It took people being forced to adjust for it to take off.
This is usually the case.
Of course, we now see the reverse. Workers have embraced remote work and it is the companies that are pissed off. We are now to the point where a major battle is taking place.
There is one reason for this that tends to not get a lot of coverage so we will cover it in this article.
While there are a lot of reasons for people wanting to work remotely, one of the main ones is overlooked. This is not often discussed by the mainstream media yet it prevalent.
What is the secret sauce that many are missing?
It simply boils down to this:
For the most part, corporate America is a cesspool. It is like Facebook but in person. The environment is toxic with people believing they are entitled. We see this in most corporations which is why people are opting out.
This is something that has gotten progressively worse over the last couple decades. The United States is the law suit capital of the world. Of course, to win, it depends upon who you are. Fall out of favor with the mainstream and you are not likely to win. This could be a cynical position to take but with a couple of attorneys in the family, it is one I am familiar with.
Remote work offered an oasis.
Those who are producers do not want to engage in nonsense. Office politics, endless meetings, and incompetent middle management is something these people avoid. Unfortunately, this is the norm these days.
Working remotely allows one to avoid this.
There was a time when American businesses excelled because the expectations were clearly set. Productivity was what everyone desired. Naturally, how the pie was split up was often a point of contention, especially in the manufacturing world. During these period, management had a fight on their hands. How it was resolved depended upon the situation.
We also saw incentives aligned with the use of stock options. This was a way that companies, especially in the 1980s were able to attract talent. Many technology startups pushed to get top talent yet lacked the bank account to pull it off. This was compensated by offering options that could end up being worth a fortune if the company succeeded. Those who were involved with the likes of Microsoft ended up millionaires for their efforts.
Today, it is the TikTok culture. How often have we seen the videos online of one describing his or her day? It starts with the arrival about 9:30, then a breakfast. After that, there is relaxation time in the "egg". Then it is time to work, an 11:00 planning meeting. When that ends, it is time for lunch and community time. Next comes a midafternoon workout leading up to the follow up meeting from the earlier planning session.
These were fairly commonplace before the tech layoffs that took place last year. These people, who were pulling down $250K suddenly found themselves out of a job.
Nevertheless, this is the culture. The problem with it is that someone is having to make up for this. Each person who does what is described places the onus upon someone else. Here is where the producers look around and say "screw this".
Remote work offered a temporary reprieve. However, as companies are pushing people to come back, an interesting thing is happening:
People are quitting. We are now to the point where the Boomers, the largest generation the U.S. has ever seen, is retiring. While the Millennials were significant themselves, they are already in the workforce. This leaves the next generation which is much smaller.
What this means is that employees, for the first time since the Boomers entered the workforce 50+ years ago, have some options. This is swinging things in the other direction.
Which brings us back to the cesspool. Anyone who worked at these corporations knows what I am referring to. I spend 30 years in corporate America, albeit much of it for a smaller operation. The last few years, however, the company was taken over by a larger entity.
You guess it: total cesspool within a year.
Suddenly you could cut the air with a knife. Of course, if you said that, you earned a trip to HR and probably a weekend seminar to discuss how to avoid the violent tendencies displayed in the workplace.
The ironic thing is technology is going to kill all of this. People are going to find out that these corporations end up buried. We already have more than 20% of the S&P in the state of zombie. This means they could be wiped out tomorrow.
Web3 is going to create a major stir. There will come a time when many with talent simply are not going to endure this mess. The numbers are growing in terms of people starting to create income streams outside the paycheck.
All of this will doom many of these corporations. After all, they were the ones who attracted the most talented people. It also caused urbanization as they were located in the major cities.
Guess what happened over the last couple decades: many major U.S cities are now warzones.
People are not going to put up with it. They will work from home or they will not work for that company.
That is the message the employment pool has to send when it can.
