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Interesting subpoint here: people who are able to work remotely are going to add about an hour or perhaps a bit less to their productivity but those who cannot

Interesting subpoint here: people who are able to work remotely are going to add about an hour or perhaps a bit less to their productivity but those who cannot (let's say a hypothetical janitor/sales clerk) will not, further adding a layer of inequality to those who work with their minds versus those who work with their hands. This is all things equal, and assuming that the advent of self-driving cars doesn't also bring a whole new economy/job market.

cm2187 9y ago
I wouldn't overdo the remote working. My experience is that it is terribly inefficient in my business. It's fine at small dose to help people cope with other obligation but I don't see that being the future of office work.
- majewsky 9y ago
  It depends on the person. Some people are amazingly productive while working from home (I have two such colleagues), while others (e.g. me) are clearly less productive and more easily distracted at home.
  - cm2187 9y ago
    I think what you have in mind is jobs producing code. But when the job involves a lot of interactions with other employees, it becomes quite inefficient.
jerf 9y ago
You can't just imagine that that change will occur to the job market and nothing else will react to it. All commuters already get a sort of averaged-out pay for their commute since they all have to make it. Rather than the market being permanently unfair, you will see over time some sort of wage adjustment occur to compensate for the work-on-commute advantage... and if I had to guess, it would be via a reduction in the wages of those who can work by the competition between the jobs that offer it as a perk with less salary vs. those that don't but have to pay more, whereas those who already must attend work will continue to be paid mostly the same. I think this is fairly unlikely to stay a permanent source of inequality between classes of people. I also think it is very likely that people who don't notice the wage reactions will continue to complain about it indefinitely, though.
hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
It's not like remote work is the only option with self driving cars. People can read a book, watch a movie, video chat with friends, or heck, just sleep. It would still help cut down on "wasted time" for everyone, regardless of how they choose to use it.

cm2187 9y ago

I wouldn't overdo the remote working. My experience is that it is terribly inefficient in my business. It's fine at small dose to help people cope with other obligation but I don't see that being the future of office work.

majewsky 9y ago
It depends on the person. Some people are amazingly productive while working from home (I have two such colleagues), while others (e.g. me) are clearly less productive and more easily distracted at home.
- cm2187 9y ago
  I think what you have in mind is jobs producing code. But when the job involves a lot of interactions with other employees, it becomes quite inefficient.

jerf 9y ago

You can't just imagine that that change will occur to the job market and nothing else will react to it. All commuters already get a sort of averaged-out pay for their commute since they all have to make it. Rather than the market being permanently unfair, you will see over time some sort of wage adjustment occur to compensate for the work-on-commute advantage... and if I had to guess, it would be via a reduction in the wages of those who can work by the competition between the jobs that offer it as a perk with less salary vs. those that don't but have to pay more, whereas those who already must attend work will continue to be paid mostly the same. I think this is fairly unlikely to stay a permanent source of inequality between classes of people. I also think it is very likely that people who don't notice the wage reactions will continue to complain about it indefinitely, though.

hn_throwaway_99 9y ago

It's not like remote work is the only option with self driving cars. People can read a book, watch a movie, video chat with friends, or heck, just sleep. It would still help cut down on "wasted time" for everyone, regardless of how they choose to use it.