Remote work is at an exponential growth, yet, the majority of us are still in disbelief in front of the situation. The kind where we feel a lot of time needs to pass before any concrete deeds will seem to flourish.
Regardless of our nonchalance, the impact of technology is irrevocable, even in our workspaces. It is the time of alteration, transition, and transformation. The time of superhuman abilities and artificial machine learning.
To be surprised, would be an overstatement. For as long as we can remember, we asked for better working environments, less stress and ado to prepare for the office. And, indeed less wasted time on our commute to and from work.
The lack of attention in exploring its usability is not exactly on our side.
So, why remote work?
Had a rough start and barely managed to get yourself at your desk? Then you already know a few things about the need for remote work. Adding to that your surroundings – the noise, smells, machines, colleagues – the time required to settle down and be able to focus on what you need to get done for the day is not at your advantage. Having a job that requires intense precision makes regular office work a harder battle to overcome. At least, dreading for the commute back home is still a few hours away.
For many of us, working for companies in countries other than our own, meant moving to a new place and possibly a new language that would translate into a greater sacrifice – a side dish we did not quite order, we’re already disappointed with the main course. However, the wish for change remained in our thoughts. Perhaps, for a later future.
A future which is finally here. The possibilities offered through affordable and reliable video conferencing equipment today, online task tracking platforms, seamless real-time collaboration options, digital whiteboards, and numerous other gadgets and features offer us the best solutions for a job well done from the comfort of our own chosen spaces. Together with mobile device advancements, our technology serves us from wherever we are. Whenever we must.
Are we overly hesitating?
Well, for one, we don’t feel at ease with change. We knew we wanted remote offices, but what do we do with this possibility? Self-doubt – is not new, after all.
The same process of self-doubt unfolds for the employers who’d otherwise have implemented the new working trend immediately.
The main factors contributing to our skepticism remain:
- Lack of trust – most employers are not in favor of home-working because they don’t trust their workforce enough. How do remote workers organize their day? How are the deadlines going to be met? For some, it’s impossible without monitoring and controlling.
- The need to be there in person – hospitals, police stations, and similar institutions cannot fall into the category of remote work as physical presence is absolutely required.
- The cost of the technology – not all are willing to pay to take advantage of the technology at hand.
As a whole, there is timid disbelief whenever we imagine relying on distant work. Contributing to this, was also the sky-high cost of technology advancements, specifically used for remote work purposes.
This, however, was way back when. Nowadays, there is a myriad of companies focused on resolving the issue of affordability. And a few have actually proven to be great at it. What’s holding us back?
Entering Tech
Utilizing our surroundings to alleviate our daily struggles towards fulfillment has been passed down to us through generations of trial and error.
Being around in the most primitive of ways, technology has inadvertently put us in a level of unparalleled comfort. In the form of better tools for hunting, to building, protecting, and surviving. Serving us. What’s more, it has enabled us to focus on bigger issues and come up with better ideas. In this way, becoming an extension of ourselves, making our lives easier, connected, better.
At first it scared us. Every new technology meant a challenge: to learn, explore, and understand. Similarly to anything else that requires us to accept, adapt and reinvent. When we do get out of our comfort zone and reap the rewards, we again tend to retreat and long for our shell.
Perhaps, this is precisely where we encounter barrier. Instead of focusing on being scared of the unknown, we need a new plan on how to utilize our devices.
To adapt, we first need to fulfil the fundamentals:
- Regular sleep
- Healthy food
- Exercise
- Leisure
Moving onto the pro-active steps, to name a few: Exploration, Usefulness, Usability, Prioritizing risks, Relocation – finding a new job for technology.
Until we get our organizational skills right, we won’t be able to take care of our technology, and in turn, our technology will not be able to take care of us. For the sake of our own progress, onwards.
The constant chase between the human and the tech
The constant journey of exploring who we are and what we want has pushed us to co-evolve. And in this journey, we push to improve the machine and the machine improves us.
However, believing that our technology is becoming smarter than us falls into a meaningless concept. Humans will not become extinct. At least, not for this reason.
Think about historical inventors. Without the use of the technology of the time and the wish to take things further they could not have delivered what they have delivered. Only through the introduction of new technology did we manage to see light into our innovations. And this includes arts, science and almost everything else.
Now that we can afford robots to complete the tasks we dread, we need them for efficiency and productivity. What’s more, we can teach the machine easier than ever before: train it to learn from our behavior. Which means, we will be able to control and improve these bots and AIs to move beyond its limitations and curate our new categories of tasks.
Aligning ourselves is part of a very long story. We can continue to be part of it, move and create with it. So that whenever we seem to be missing a piece of the puzzle, we can find that piece together with our new self-made mechanic avatars.
Towards a healthier relationship
Are we capable to start anew? As in all our relationships, to co-evolve, we need to accept change and moderately asses our routine.
It might be healthy to unplug every now and then, however, to refrain altogether from technology isn’t necessarily vital. Finding out ways to tweak and change it to our advantage, seems only rational.
So, when new technology comes along, rather than shun away, we might consider and evaluate:
- The degree of effort required during the use of tech
- Whether the use of the technology will be able to increase our own performance
Our inventions will aid us at our jobs and, over time, slight changes will shape our tasks, allowing us to allocate extra time for innovation, creativity, further advancements in the high-tech era and, of course, time for ourselves.