4 ms·

> Just a few years after most knowledge workers shifted to remote work, it’s now mostly wealthy, college-educated employees who are still being allowed to work

> Just a few years after most knowledge workers shifted to remote work, it’s now mostly wealthy, college-educated employees who are still being allowed to work from home What job does a poor, uneducated knowledge worker do?

glitchc 3y ago
Customer/employee service, executive assistant, front-line IT support...
- MattGaiser 3y ago
  Except for really frontline customer service, those jobs seem to require a degree nowadays or at least have everywhere I have worked.
dangus 3y ago
On top of that, in what universe is the typical remote knowledge worker “wealthy?” Making a 50-70% higher salary than the median isn’t “wealthy.” That’s just “upper quartile middle class.” That’s a wage employee who depends on a regular paycheck and couldn’t remain unemployed for an extended period of time. The word “wealthy” doesn’t meant that at all. “Wealthy” means you fly first class. “Wealthy” means you pay for luxury cars with cash. “Wealthy” means you own more than one home. The median software engineering salary is now at the bottom cutoff for being approved for a mortgage on a basic home. I bet most of the “wealthy” software engineers who worked in-office in 2018 and are remote now make less today after adjusting for inflation.
- XorNot 3y ago
  I mean this is just another entry in the various hit pieces being sponsored by anyone who's long on downtown corporate real estate.
- alisonatwork 3y ago
  By definition upper quartile means being in the top 25%. I think most people would understand "middle class" to mean exactly what it sounds like it means: the 50% of people clustered around the middle. I know some wealthy people like to imagine they aren't wealthy because there are always other people around even wealthier than they are, but that doesn't mean they're not wealthy compared to the average.
  - mplscarnut 3y ago
    There’s no agreed-upon definition of middle class. If there was going to be, it’s certainly not a mathematical definition like that though, it’s an emotional one.
  - dangus 3y ago
    But I’m saying “Wealthy” doesn’t mean “being in the top 25%” when you emphasize lifestyle and what options you have. There is a massive difference between the lifestyle of the (e.g.) top 5-10%, 2%, 1%, and 0.5%. Those numbers are basically jumping from “still has a mortgage” to “has a 80-foot yacht.” There is almost no difference in lifestyle when you compare the top 50%, 25%, 20%, 15%, maybe even 10%. It’s the same deal: depending on a continuing wage, getting 1-4 weeks of time off every year but no more, needing to use a financial instrument to pay for kids’ college, having a house and probably a car loan. All of those attributes stay the same.
FuriouslyAdrift 3y ago
Truck driver is the number 1 job in most states in the US. Walmart is paying $95k per year starting salary. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/business/walmart-truck-driver-pay/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/business/walmart-truck-driver...
- walthamstow 3y ago
  Isn't that skilled labour, rather than knowledge work? A truck driver is operating heavy machinery with his hands
  - FuriouslyAdrift 3y ago
    They are also doing route management, time management, fuel management, etc. There are very very few jobs I wound't classify as "knowledge work" these days. I work in manufacturing as IT and everyone is using computers for all kinds of forecasting and estimating along with running the actual production machinery.
    - sixstringtheory 3y ago
      I think “knowledge work” refers to work that solely requires knowledge with no physical labor component and no physical object manipulation (other than a keyboard, mouse, and writing utensil, I guess). Every job that requires physical labor requires knowledge of how to accomplish the task at hand.
pjc50 3y ago
"Knowledge worker who doesn't know anything" => straight out of college management consultants.

glitchc 3y ago

Customer/employee service, executive assistant, front-line IT support...

MattGaiser 3y ago
Except for really frontline customer service, those jobs seem to require a degree nowadays or at least have everywhere I have worked.

dangus 3y ago

On top of that, in what universe is the typical remote knowledge worker “wealthy?” Making a 50-70% higher salary than the median isn’t “wealthy.” That’s just “upper quartile middle class.” That’s a wage employee who depends on a regular paycheck and couldn’t remain unemployed for an extended period of time. The word “wealthy” doesn’t meant that at all. “Wealthy” means you fly first class. “Wealthy” means you pay for luxury cars with cash. “Wealthy” means you own more than one home. The median software engineering salary is now at the bottom cutoff for being approved for a mortgage on a basic home. I bet most of the “wealthy” software engineers who worked in-office in 2018 and are remote now make less today after adjusting for inflation.

XorNot 3y ago
I mean this is just another entry in the various hit pieces being sponsored by anyone who's long on downtown corporate real estate.
alisonatwork 3y ago
By definition upper quartile means being in the top 25%. I think most people would understand "middle class" to mean exactly what it sounds like it means: the 50% of people clustered around the middle. I know some wealthy people like to imagine they aren't wealthy because there are always other people around even wealthier than they are, but that doesn't mean they're not wealthy compared to the average.
- mplscarnut 3y ago
  There’s no agreed-upon definition of middle class. If there was going to be, it’s certainly not a mathematical definition like that though, it’s an emotional one.
- dangus 3y ago
  But I’m saying “Wealthy” doesn’t mean “being in the top 25%” when you emphasize lifestyle and what options you have. There is a massive difference between the lifestyle of the (e.g.) top 5-10%, 2%, 1%, and 0.5%. Those numbers are basically jumping from “still has a mortgage” to “has a 80-foot yacht.” There is almost no difference in lifestyle when you compare the top 50%, 25%, 20%, 15%, maybe even 10%. It’s the same deal: depending on a continuing wage, getting 1-4 weeks of time off every year but no more, needing to use a financial instrument to pay for kids’ college, having a house and probably a car loan. All of those attributes stay the same.

FuriouslyAdrift 3y ago

Truck driver is the number 1 job in most states in the US. Walmart is paying $95k per year starting salary. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/business/walmart-truck-driver-pay/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/07/business/walmart-truck-driver...

walthamstow 3y ago
Isn't that skilled labour, rather than knowledge work? A truck driver is operating heavy machinery with his hands
- FuriouslyAdrift 3y ago
  They are also doing route management, time management, fuel management, etc. There are very very few jobs I wound't classify as "knowledge work" these days. I work in manufacturing as IT and everyone is using computers for all kinds of forecasting and estimating along with running the actual production machinery.
  - sixstringtheory 3y ago
    I think “knowledge work” refers to work that solely requires knowledge with no physical labor component and no physical object manipulation (other than a keyboard, mouse, and writing utensil, I guess). Every job that requires physical labor requires knowledge of how to accomplish the task at hand.

pjc50 3y ago

"Knowledge worker who doesn't know anything" => straight out of college management consultants.