Is it good to be a knowledge worker?
I'm a knowledge worker. I don't need to be tied to a desk or a phone line. All I need is the Internet, which these days, is floating in the air. Even in the home, I can work from any room I choose.
The days of 9-5 are but a distant memory - which ended upon the turn of the century. Since the proliferation of portable computing and globalized workforces, we are now employed not so much because of our brute strength and good looks, but more to leverage our ability to sleep less, work late and type quickly. Our skill at programming macros and creating pivot tables not only makes us look clever but allows us to squeeze hours of working into a single click. Let the PC do the work while we take that walk to the pantry.
Or kitchen, if you're working from home.
Where do our working hours end and family life begin? I can be on a conference call and carrying Amber at the same time, or checking my email while making sure Nigel practices his piano diligently. I'm on the PC and phone again after dinner, speaking to my manager in Houston and the rest of the team. My spreadsheet is open while I take 10 minutes off to shower Shannon and help brush her teeth. I am the super multi-tasker, knowledge engineer/analyst/consultant man/machine - constantly crunching numbers in my head even as I say the goodnight prayers with the kids.
But can I say I am dedicated? Not really. When I'm working, I think about the family. When I'm with the family, I worry about work. What have I become? My brain is my toolkit which doesn't know the difference between the office and the home, and it's because there are no boundaries these days. My office is the cafe, the bus, the park bench. Wherever I open up my notebook and get online, an imaginary room forms around me, enclosing me in my virtual working place. My neurons spring into action and my fingers spill the words.
I'm just waiting for them to install a SIM card slot in my brain stem so I can work while I sleep. Seriously, that's five whole hours of wasted time. :)
The days of 9-5 are but a distant memory - which ended upon the turn of the century. Since the proliferation of portable computing and globalized workforces, we are now employed not so much because of our brute strength and good looks, but more to leverage our ability to sleep less, work late and type quickly. Our skill at programming macros and creating pivot tables not only makes us look clever but allows us to squeeze hours of working into a single click. Let the PC do the work while we take that walk to the pantry.
Or kitchen, if you're working from home.
Where do our working hours end and family life begin? I can be on a conference call and carrying Amber at the same time, or checking my email while making sure Nigel practices his piano diligently. I'm on the PC and phone again after dinner, speaking to my manager in Houston and the rest of the team. My spreadsheet is open while I take 10 minutes off to shower Shannon and help brush her teeth. I am the super multi-tasker, knowledge engineer/analyst/consultant man/machine - constantly crunching numbers in my head even as I say the goodnight prayers with the kids.
But can I say I am dedicated? Not really. When I'm working, I think about the family. When I'm with the family, I worry about work. What have I become? My brain is my toolkit which doesn't know the difference between the office and the home, and it's because there are no boundaries these days. My office is the cafe, the bus, the park bench. Wherever I open up my notebook and get online, an imaginary room forms around me, enclosing me in my virtual working place. My neurons spring into action and my fingers spill the words.
I'm just waiting for them to install a SIM card slot in my brain stem so I can work while I sleep. Seriously, that's five whole hours of wasted time. :)