Remote Working - the saviour of the common man?

[papasmurf]

So the question is, what is to be done about the millions of resultant unemployed?

Universal Basic Income.

[Borchester]

Certainly. Much of life is about making work easier, which means reducing the level of training and skill required to perform any particular task.

There are next to no strong in the arm thick in the head jobs left.

Exactly Pappy. That is the point. Technology is about replacing strong backs and weak minds with machinery of one sort or another. So the question is, what is to be done about the millions of resultant unemployed?

[papasmurf]

Certainly. Much of life is about making work easier, which means reducing the level of training and skill required to perform any particular task.

There are next to no strong in the arm thick in the head jobs left.

[Borchester]

Probably not, but most work does not require much in the way of training or skills,

Really? Could you expand on that please?

Certainly. Much of life is about making work easier, which means reducing the level of training and skill required to perform any particular task.

[papasmurf]

Probably not, but most work does not require much in the way of training or skills,

Really? Could you expand on that please?

[Borchester]

Why not? There's plenty of degree qualified personnel in Asia. After all, Scotland has about 90,000 call centre employees and these are ripe for home working....

I was not referring to call centres I am commenting about rare skills, knowledge and experience that can't be taught in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or even a couple of years.

Probably not, but most work does not require much in the way of training or skills, which is why we have call centres in the first place. The real problem (and I apologise for repeating the words of myself and others on this forum), is that with all its disadvantages, many folk need the workplace. I love the woman dearly and have done so for nearly 50 years, but being locked up together all day and every day would severely strain the relationship.

Which does raise the question, what happens when we run out of work? Improvements in technology have made the production of most everything cheaper and faster and we have matched that with our ability to consume. But that can't go on forever. Sooner or later that bloke will get out of bed and press the button that starts the machine that provide us with everything we could ever wish for. And shortly after that he will have a lie in but the machines will still start up because his job will have been automated. And this will leave billions of folk wandering around looking for something to fill their day.

[GregB]

The proponents of the "work from home is the way to go" mentality deliberately ignore the elephant in the room, which is that such technologies can just as well be performed by some asian in a sweathouse with none of the HSE, pension of indeed tax that burdens the UK. This is why we now have a race to the bottom for Min wage Call Centre Jobs instead of genuinely productive innovation which we used to be rather good at....

Dont worry john , as i keep saying in my opinion i dont think it will happen , and is nothing more than wishfull thinking on workers part , and short term fear of covd health and safety prosecution on employers part.

I think sampan and streetwalker both raised interesting points though.

I don't think it will happen wholesale and clearly it can't work for all jobs. It can work for some though and it was interesting to see an oil and gas operator deciding to do so full based on perceived increase in efficiency and output in recent months.

[Sheepy]

But is some Asian in a sweathouse going to have the skills and knowledge?

In the past I could point to half a dozen examples of why they did not.

In 1990 at the very start of my freelance career I was working on a satellite comms system. I arrived to find the company had outsourced the contract for transcription of telex and X400 (email) messaging for transmission via fax to an indian software company.  They had sent three of their finest to the UK to work alongside us integrating the fax driver into the main system. They didn't have a bloody clue.  Even when I loaned them the used of my own company PC to which I had fitted a fax card - making it one a few hundred - if that - in the UK capable of sending and receiving faxes, they had no idea how to communicate with it wven though my card had a diagnostic window that told you step by step where it was.

And In early 2006 I found myself near guildford sorting out a problem for a company that supplied tills and equipment to betting shops. Suffice to say the World Cup was upon us and the tills did not correctly accept bets. It took me about three days to solve that, and doing so led me to a variety of follow on work. Suffice to say the company had outsourced the development to the curry continent and the software house chosen simply lied through its teeth about the qualifications and experience of the people they had allocated.

and that's before we deal with the problem Barclays had with their disastrous decision to outsource the banking network transaction logging....

But they are cheap. and they have no reason to tell the truth

Probably because as I said historically the decisions made were never made with John or his grandchildren in mind. Except maybe you were the prey. Maybe we need the like of Dominic Cummings more than we all know as nobody else would dare take on what is basically the deeply entrenched Victorian establishment. 

[johnofgwent]

But is some Asian in a sweathouse going to have the skills and knowledge?

In the past I could point to half a dozen examples of why they did not.

In 1990 at the very start of my freelance career I was working on a satellite comms system. I arrived to find the company had outsourced the contract for transcription of telex and X400 (email) messaging for transmission via fax to an indian software company.  They had sent three of their finest to the UK to work alongside us integrating the fax driver into the main system. They didn't have a bloody clue.  Even when I loaned them the used of my own company PC to which I had fitted a fax card - making it one a few hundred - if that - in the UK capable of sending and receiving faxes, they had no idea how to communicate with it wven though my card had a diagnostic window that told you step by step where it was.

And In early 2006 I found myself near guildford sorting out a problem for a company that supplied tills and equipment to betting shops. Suffice to say the World Cup was upon us and the tills did not correctly accept bets. It took me about three days to solve that, and doing so led me to a variety of follow on work. Suffice to say the company had outsourced the development to the curry continent and the software house chosen simply lied through its teeth about the qualifications and experience of the people they had allocated.

and that's before we deal with the problem Barclays had with their disastrous decision to outsource the banking network transaction logging....

But they are cheap. and they have no reason to tell the truth

[Streetwalker]

I worked from home when it was unfashionable.

I have a whole third floor dedicated to being an office area. In our previous home I had an extension built for the same purpose.

Few homes constructed after 1950 have the space needed.

And that's before we get to the isolation.

I'm sure some people love the idea. Good for them. Its not so easy to repair nuclear subs from your back yard, nor do anything requiring production. Butvthesecarevoverlooked by the tree hugger brigade.

Good point jog . The Mrs has currently set up in our bedroom which isn't ideal and if it becomes long term Ill have to think of something more permanent like putting her out in the shed

[Sheepy]

Why not? There's plenty of degree qualified personnel in Asia. After all, Scotland has about 90,000 call centre employees and these are ripe for home working....

I was not referring to call centres I am commenting about rare skills, knowledge and experience that can't be taught in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or even a couple of years.

I have tons of it, because I am an avid chaser of knowledge. Trouble is nobody thinks experience is valuable. But then we live in a society where everyone thinks it all comes for free. 5 million + unemployed what could possibly go wrong.

[papasmurf]

Why not? There's plenty of degree qualified personnel in Asia. After all, Scotland has about 90,000 call centre employees and these are ripe for home working....

I was not referring to call centres I am commenting about rare skills, knowledge and experience that can't be taught in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or even a couple of years.

[patman post]

But is some Asian in a sweathouse going to have the skills and knowledge?

Why not? There's plenty of degree qualified personnel in Asia. After all, Scotland has about 90,000 call centre employees and these are ripe for home working....

[Thomas]

The proponents of the "work from home is the way to go" mentality deliberately ignore the elephant in the room, which is that such technologies can just as well be performed by some asian in a sweathouse with none of the HSE, pension of indeed tax that burdens the UK.

But is some Asian in a sweathouse going to have the skills and knowledge?

why not?

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[papasmurf]

The proponents of the "work from home is the way to go" mentality deliberately ignore the elephant in the room, which is that such technologies can just as well be performed by some asian in a sweathouse with none of the HSE, pension of indeed tax that burdens the UK.

But is some Asian in a sweathouse going to have the skills and knowledge?