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When it was short term, I can see the argument both for decency and for a smoother return of keeping people on. I was surprised that my employer pretty much ins

When it was short term, I can see the argument both for decency and for a smoother return of keeping people on. I was surprised that my employer pretty much instantly dumped all the facilities related staff when we went to wfh. But now that it has become structural, it's hard to fault places for adapting. I read comments about people continuing to pay their barbers or cleaners. Are they just going to keep doing that? At some point, and where I am it was probably once we realized we'd still be wfh at the end of last summer, I think it's perfectly reasonable to restructure the business to reflect reality. People doing jobs that aren't needed will realistically need to adapt. When things change back, companies and the labor market can adapt back.

deleted 6y ago
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cheeri0 6y ago
People doing jobs that aren't needed will realistically need to adapt. That doesn't sound pompous to you? This is all because of an extreme overreaction to covid. Are you so weak you would sell out your people, your society, your culture, your children, your freedom, I could go on. You would trade all that for extra comfort and isolation. To me this seems like truly disparaging behavior.
- DJBunnies 6y ago
  Suggesting that folks with needless jobs ought to adapt isn’t pompous, it’s realistic.
  - newsclues 6y ago
    Lots of needless jobs that should disappear but it seems like there is a big difference in class.
  - wayoutthere 6y ago
    My needless job pays me a shitload of money and I work maybe 10 hours a week. Nobody notices my output is crap because my job doesn’t need to exist. If you’re privileged enough you can do nothing and still get paid for it. So yeah, it’s maybe a little pompous when you grasp the inequality of the situation. Is being able to talk like an overeducated white person really worth that much?
    - spaced-out 6y ago
      >If you’re privileged enough you can do nothing and still get paid for it. If you really want something to rant about work in wealth management, and you can meet people who inherited so much they wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for a +$100k do nothing job because even that job will still expect you to show up sober.
      - wayoutthere 6y ago
        Yeah trust fund kids are their own level of privilege
- CalRobert 6y ago
  I mean, it sucks, but yeah, that's life. Twelve years ago I got paid to write a shitty Java Swing app for ad trafficking. Now I'd be laughed at. Times change.
- fredgrott 6y ago
  no, it's a real reaction to COIVD not extreme in the amount of hospitalizations it prevents over-loading the health-medical infrastructure. And it is in fact a new reality as COVID-19 is not the only COIVd out there..
CPLX 6y ago
The reality is that this isn’t something that can be realistically addressed with personal morals or ethics and/or shaming campaigns. These are society wide problems. This, literally, is what government is for. Or should be. With that said it’s honorable and positive for people to notice that our government is not currently set up this way, and to try to make personal decisions to improve things. But if you’re actually looking for solutions they’re on a larger social scale and involve things that Silicon Valley has often been culturally hostile to, like social insurance systems and organized labor.
- wpietri 6y ago
  Depends on your views. I personally think it's more effective to take on the majority of the work. However, a significant chunk of the US has a "government is the problem" ideology, and thinks the correct way to approach problems is via non-government actors. I think often that's not really sincere; it's just a way of trying to limit government reaction. But for those who really mean it, employers are the ones who should be playing a big role here as participants in and conveners of communities. And even if government is generally best suited to solve these problems, there's still a lot for everybody to do here. I hope everybody has been taking action: individuals, companies, NGOs, and all levels of government can contribute to getting us through this.

deleted 6y ago

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cheeri0 6y ago

People doing jobs that aren't needed will realistically need to adapt. That doesn't sound pompous to you? This is all because of an extreme overreaction to covid. Are you so weak you would sell out your people, your society, your culture, your children, your freedom, I could go on. You would trade all that for extra comfort and isolation. To me this seems like truly disparaging behavior.

DJBunnies 6y ago
Suggesting that folks with needless jobs ought to adapt isn’t pompous, it’s realistic.
- newsclues 6y ago
  Lots of needless jobs that should disappear but it seems like there is a big difference in class.
- wayoutthere 6y ago
  My needless job pays me a shitload of money and I work maybe 10 hours a week. Nobody notices my output is crap because my job doesn’t need to exist. If you’re privileged enough you can do nothing and still get paid for it. So yeah, it’s maybe a little pompous when you grasp the inequality of the situation. Is being able to talk like an overeducated white person really worth that much?
  - spaced-out 6y ago
    >If you’re privileged enough you can do nothing and still get paid for it. If you really want something to rant about work in wealth management, and you can meet people who inherited so much they wouldn't even bother getting out of bed for a +$100k do nothing job because even that job will still expect you to show up sober.
    - wayoutthere 6y ago
      Yeah trust fund kids are their own level of privilege
CalRobert 6y ago
I mean, it sucks, but yeah, that's life. Twelve years ago I got paid to write a shitty Java Swing app for ad trafficking. Now I'd be laughed at. Times change.
fredgrott 6y ago
no, it's a real reaction to COIVD not extreme in the amount of hospitalizations it prevents over-loading the health-medical infrastructure. And it is in fact a new reality as COVID-19 is not the only COIVd out there..

CPLX 6y ago

The reality is that this isn’t something that can be realistically addressed with personal morals or ethics and/or shaming campaigns. These are society wide problems. This, literally, is what government is for. Or should be. With that said it’s honorable and positive for people to notice that our government is not currently set up this way, and to try to make personal decisions to improve things. But if you’re actually looking for solutions they’re on a larger social scale and involve things that Silicon Valley has often been culturally hostile to, like social insurance systems and organized labor.

wpietri 6y ago
Depends on your views. I personally think it's more effective to take on the majority of the work. However, a significant chunk of the US has a "government is the problem" ideology, and thinks the correct way to approach problems is via non-government actors. I think often that's not really sincere; it's just a way of trying to limit government reaction. But for those who really mean it, employers are the ones who should be playing a big role here as participants in and conveners of communities. And even if government is generally best suited to solve these problems, there's still a lot for everybody to do here. I hope everybody has been taking action: individuals, companies, NGOs, and all levels of government can contribute to getting us through this.