In the very first episode of The Office Reset, I spoke with Drew Austin, writer and technologist in New York and author of Kneeling Bus, a newsletter about the intersection of physical and digital spaces.
Drew has a background in technology and urban planning. His riveting article Home Screens, which explores how the “pandemic is the ideal proof-of-concept for the particular utopia that the tech industry has tried to build” provided the ideal starting point to discuss how the big ‘work from home experiment’ has been going.
With each of us now being completely consumed by our screens in our homes, we talked about everything from how all this technology use might impact our future office status to some of the dangers of remote work.
Highlights
Why some of are more likely to thrive than others in this remote setup
Remote working and the dangers and shift in the power dynamic between employers and employees
Remote working’s impact on our existing and new office relationships
The potential for video games to help create more immersive office environments
Links
Kneeling Bus, Drew’s newsletter about technology and urbanism
Home Screens, Drew’s article which formed the basis of our discussion
Drew on Twitter
Barclays Boss: Big offices ‘may be a thing of the past’
Is working remote a blessing or burden? Weighing the pros and cons
On if the remote work trend continues
You just have less bargaining power. If anyone can work remotely, then everybody is competing for their job with everybody else. There are some benefits to being in a geographically constrained labour market. If you are in New York, you are only competing with other people who have chosen to live in New York for the jobs you are applying for.
On who is likely to thrive in this remote setup
If you’re making everything more anonymous and more streamlined, it kind of benefits the people who already have an identity and have made connections in the past. They are going to consolidate their position now and the new people who are trying to get their foot in the door - it’s just going to be a lot harder for them.
On being seen as a human being
If you are trying to get your boss to think of you as a human being, depending on how empathetic they are, it might be a lot harder for you now if they just see you as another person who is just emailing them instead of a person they sit next to everyday or have dinner with multiple times.
I would love to have your feedback! Please write to: theofficereset@gmail.com
The Office Reset podcast #01: Just another name