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This is all true, and I do feel very lucky to have a WFH arrangement, but I always think of the people who have jobs that cannot be remote - hospital, care take
by passwordoops 4y ago
This is all true, and I do feel very lucky to have a WFH arrangement, but I always think of the people who have jobs that cannot be remote - hospital, care takers, teachers (right now). Most are carried out by women, earning low wages, doing what's been termed "essential" work.
There is a definite bifurcation between the (generally upper) laptop class and the (generally lower) caretaker class. I'm not sure what the solution is (shorter work weeks, flexible scheduling, etc), but everytime we pat ourselves on the back for pulling off remote work this comes to of mind to me
- lotsofpulp 4y ago>I'm not sure what the solution is (shorter work weeks, flexible scheduling, etc), Solution is more people becoming qualified to work in the “upper”, laptop class, hence decreasing supply of labor for the “lower” caretaker class, resulting in increasing prices for caretaking labor, leading to changes in caretaking labor environments such as shorter work weeks and flexible scheduling. I.e. wealth redistribution from laptop class to caretaker class. Or automation to obviate caretaker class.
- passwordoops 4y agoMakes sense on paper, but so far the solution has been importing cheap foreign labor from overseas (0). Automation is probably the route we'll end up taking. (0) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/06/1069369625/short-staffed-and-covid-battered-u-s-hospitals-are-hiring-more-foreign-nurses https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/06/1069369...
- meindnoch 4y agoDon't worry, the laptop class is on its way to become the unemployed class due to ChatGPT. Or so I was told...
- j45 4y agoMaybe the talkers and bsers
- humanrebar 4y ago> Most are carried out by women, ... Is that true? I can rattle off a list of male-dominated jobs that are absolutely not remote, like basically all the "trades" and a list of jobs popular with women that are at least somewhat remote friendly. Does someone have evidence?
- j45 4y agoInstead of trying to discredit the experience of others or women could it not be a “yes, and trades” instead of a “yes, but”?
- defrost 4y agoThe comment above doesn't read as a "yes, but" questioning the experiences of workers, it reads as questioning the assertion that hands on work that cannot be performed telecommuting from home is "mostly carried out by women". It's a fair question; while I recognise the role of women as care givers, etc it's also true that in many countries trades (mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, buildrs, tilers, etc) are male heavy jobs, point of sale, bartending, etc. have a large number of men, etc. FWiW I question any demarcation over gender and remote work as here (Australia) women are as capable of doing either (telecommute | hands on) and do so - and whatever splits there are today on numbers may change five years down the track.
- j45 4y agoIt's up to you to decide if "mostly carried out by" is all, or not. There's no question men and women do hard jobs. Women are disproportionately a shadow labour force at home too that would make most people not used to it fall apart. That's fair it doesn't and I brought attention to there being a choice to say "yes, and"
- fundad 4y agoThe women-dominated fields are larger and growing faster.
- Der_Einzige 4y agoDon't worry, AI is gonna kill that biforcation in about 2 years. It'll be the other way around.