This was a great read! I think one aspect that is often overlooked (especially by companies dictating RTO in a hybrid company culture) is that the ways companies have changed since the pandemic also made in-office jobs less enjoyable.
A lot of companies have teams spanning many locations so they can hire the best people from everywhere. You’re working in a loud, open layout office, don’t have your own desk and in some cases (as I experienced) you’re not even allowed to grab a desk for the day, you’re expected to clear your stuff for every meeting. All of this means: when you do come to the office, you’re spending the day alone, jumping between floating desks and virtual meetings, eating lunch by yourself in a room full of strangers.
Sure, some people love meeting new people all the time but as an introvert, it has made me feel like I’m even less suitable to work a normal job because I need a stable team to feel comfortable.
I loved the energetic feeling I got in university from working intensely on a project with my class mates and for that, I would happily go to an office. But I’ve pretty much never had this happen at my jobs (I started working in the middle of the pandemic) so it feels completely pointless to go to an office.
I've seen a reduction in my ambitions since going remote, but I don't think it's due to the remote work itself, it's hard to say. I think it's more the work I am doing, it's so far removed from people, I never see the results
Hey Paul, enjoyed this one and identified with a lot here as a 20+ year remote worker who was laid off for refusing to return to office, and now trying to navigate an uncertain but exciting reimagining of work as a self/underemployed remote worker. It has pros and cons to be sure, and I don’t think it’s for everyone.
It does feel like something fundamentally changed during the pandemic. Millions of people got a taste of remote work and many of them realized how much quality of life they were giving up by going to an office.
If we intersect that with the growing creator and gig economies, we now have a ton of people remote working, but not in the traditional sense, they are also exploring completely new kinds of jobs, and I think that’s where this weird feeling of being in uncharted territory comes in. I feel it in my own life and I’m also both puzzled and fascinated when I meet people who are working remotely but have oddly ill-defined “jobs”. When you ask what they do it’s no longer a simple answer, I get a lot of hesitation and giggles as they try to explain what they’re actually up to.
We’re living in fascinating times for workers, it feels like the start of a new amoebic era for work that hasn’t quite figured itself out yet.
Great article, really loved your analysis of the new laptop man. Question for you and any others, if Austin, parts of NYC/SF, and Mexico City are American epicenters of this type of remote work environment, where would you say the biggest European centers are? Lisbon, Prague?
What you said about creators basically trying to replicate the certainty of a traditional career stood out to me. I think as an older creator I look at this path a lot differently than other creators who are younger. The vanity milestones like views and subscriber counts are nice to hit, but they're really poor KPIs for qualitatively measuring if the work is worth continuing. Also, I am not trying to "arrive" at a set destination. I'm just trying to play an infinite game so that I can just keep doing what I'm doing for as long as I can.
Love the connection you made between The Organization Man and Laptop Man. With this shift we're seeing in work I think cities and places will start competing for our attention to attract top talent.
We already see this happening in places like Dubai and Singapore with their tax regulations and places like Portugal and Spain offering golden visas with investments above $500k.
Seeing a lot of extended young adulthood, preferencing larger houses and leveraging dual income remote work
yup - 6br houses and 500k income or bust
meanwhile, spending my days as i wish in my rental :-)
This was a great read! I think one aspect that is often overlooked (especially by companies dictating RTO in a hybrid company culture) is that the ways companies have changed since the pandemic also made in-office jobs less enjoyable.
A lot of companies have teams spanning many locations so they can hire the best people from everywhere. You’re working in a loud, open layout office, don’t have your own desk and in some cases (as I experienced) you’re not even allowed to grab a desk for the day, you’re expected to clear your stuff for every meeting. All of this means: when you do come to the office, you’re spending the day alone, jumping between floating desks and virtual meetings, eating lunch by yourself in a room full of strangers.
Sure, some people love meeting new people all the time but as an introvert, it has made me feel like I’m even less suitable to work a normal job because I need a stable team to feel comfortable.
I loved the energetic feeling I got in university from working intensely on a project with my class mates and for that, I would happily go to an office. But I’ve pretty much never had this happen at my jobs (I started working in the middle of the pandemic) so it feels completely pointless to go to an office.
ah this is fascinating - i am gonna add this to the piece
So cool, I feel honored!
I've seen a reduction in my ambitions since going remote, but I don't think it's due to the remote work itself, it's hard to say. I think it's more the work I am doing, it's so far removed from people, I never see the results
Hey Paul, enjoyed this one and identified with a lot here as a 20+ year remote worker who was laid off for refusing to return to office, and now trying to navigate an uncertain but exciting reimagining of work as a self/underemployed remote worker. It has pros and cons to be sure, and I don’t think it’s for everyone.
It does feel like something fundamentally changed during the pandemic. Millions of people got a taste of remote work and many of them realized how much quality of life they were giving up by going to an office.
If we intersect that with the growing creator and gig economies, we now have a ton of people remote working, but not in the traditional sense, they are also exploring completely new kinds of jobs, and I think that’s where this weird feeling of being in uncharted territory comes in. I feel it in my own life and I’m also both puzzled and fascinated when I meet people who are working remotely but have oddly ill-defined “jobs”. When you ask what they do it’s no longer a simple answer, I get a lot of hesitation and giggles as they try to explain what they’re actually up to.
We’re living in fascinating times for workers, it feels like the start of a new amoebic era for work that hasn’t quite figured itself out yet.
Great article, really loved your analysis of the new laptop man. Question for you and any others, if Austin, parts of NYC/SF, and Mexico City are American epicenters of this type of remote work environment, where would you say the biggest European centers are? Lisbon, Prague?
Some places in Europe that come to mind: Lisbon, Lagos, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Tallin
yes - very spread out too
even places like brighton, many spanish cities, canary islands, madeira, remote parts of france, albania, montenegro
many emergent scenes right now
Thank you both!
We still have a long way to go before more people break free from the cubicle prison and embrace the new way of working.
What you said about creators basically trying to replicate the certainty of a traditional career stood out to me. I think as an older creator I look at this path a lot differently than other creators who are younger. The vanity milestones like views and subscriber counts are nice to hit, but they're really poor KPIs for qualitatively measuring if the work is worth continuing. Also, I am not trying to "arrive" at a set destination. I'm just trying to play an infinite game so that I can just keep doing what I'm doing for as long as I can.
yeah i think im in a similar camp - i do see this as inherently an unstable artist path, i dont expect any sort of career stability!
Love the connection you made between The Organization Man and Laptop Man. With this shift we're seeing in work I think cities and places will start competing for our attention to attract top talent.
We already see this happening in places like Dubai and Singapore with their tax regulations and places like Portugal and Spain offering golden visas with investments above $500k.
Exciting times ahead!