Work Will Always Suck

This Vox piece does a pretty good job of summarizing how the coronavirus has changed work and the workplace, for better and worse:

"In particular, knowledge workers — high-skilled workers whose jobs are done on computers — will likely see the biggest changes, from our physical locations to the technology we use to the ways in which our productivity is measured. In turn, how we work impacts everything from our own personal satisfaction to new inventions to the broader economy and society as a whole.

These changes represent a chance to remake work as we know it and to learn from the mistakes of our working past — if we’re thoughtful about how we enact them."

Of course, "knowledge workers" is a huge tell right off of the bat -- working service or industrial jobs will still suck, be hell on your body, and / or force you to deal with the American public at large i.e., very stupid and insane people, if not stupid, insane, and well-armed people.

But there are upsides -- more flexible hours, more working from home, less need to rent crappy, tiny apartments in New York or San Francisco.

The downsides?  More part-time contracts.  Less overall job security.

The real question remains -- is any of this sustainable on a decades-long basis?  I'm thinking no, not really.