Is remote work a real solution?
A crisis is always an opportunity, and I love the entrepreneurship spirit before a crisis, disruptors become lifesavers and visionaries, but there are also poachers and crows, who wish to see a world where banning human interaction and working remotely forever, become a norm.
As you already noticed, the coronavirus crisis brings a new dynamic on how to make business. Remote solutions are popping up and Businesses are moving online: Educators, Managers, Doctors, etc….
Zoom, Google Hangout, Skype, Facebook Live, etc, etc, etc… are at their maximum capacity. And more are joining the “remote” fever.
No more waking up, dressing up, dealing with grumpy faces in the subway or bus. No more morning bad jokes, gossips and complaints at the office. Aleluya!
When 70% of people hate their job, it is obvious the option of remote work sounds a dream coming true…. till the chains of the routine traps you again.
Like Yoga was never mean to break the chains of your mind, trapped in a purposeless job of a broken economy, why then you think Zoom will replace a meaningless career or job?
Is remote work a real solution?
The tech world already declared war to humans a long time ago:
1. Elon Musk´s Neuralink plans for installing chips in our brains.
2. Mark Zuckerberg´s Libra plans for never handing over money at your local shop (Still facing internal resistance).
3. Uber Eats plans for replacing your hungry with gluttony.
4. Netflix plans for stoping you queuing at the cinema.
Edtech is already worth 43 USD Billions, and indeed they offer quality and affordable knowledge, but Education? With up to 80% dropouts in online courses, it seems the education is becoming a “drug” product for personal branding addicts rather than an added-value experience for your professional and personal development.
During times of pandemic, a face-to-face ban is capitalised by techno-anxious *I would add a facepalm here, but I’ve been advised against it*
They want you to ignore powerful facts:
1. Air and Sun are powerful disinfectants.
2. Our economy and our planet can be saved with natural-based products.
3. Well-being & Health depend on our constant interaction with nature.
4. Outdoor education is the highest quality education for our children.
5. A healthy and comfortable workspace guarantee satisfaction & well-being.
When the crisis is over and the time to return to the office comes: the post homework depression might hit hard, and we should all no blame our workplace for that, instead we should rethink the purpose of our skills in the economy and wonder if we really do well to the planet and to ourselves.
Remote work is not a panacea, and this vision is shared by thousands: ONLINE CAN NEVER REPLACE HUMAN INTERACTION.
Yes, digital tools are great for collaboration and learning, but they will never provide you with authenticity, empathy, moral imagination, satisfaction and real systemic thinking through direct contact with real people, their struggles, their dreams, our planet, its beautiful nature and moreover its complexity.
Online tools provide with a great opportunity, but also with a trap of automatizing and disconnecting ourselves from others. Go 100% remote will not change the fact you hate your job. Do not get into the trap of “online” will save the world. Instead…
It´s time to defend our humanity, heal ourselves from our excesses and restore our relationship with our mother earth.
The day to defend humanity has finally arrived, time to re-build social contracts, reprioritise our values, and understand the fragility of our systems and our planetary boundaries.
There is a lot of disruption needed in the real world:
1. To move to a circular economy, we need to go out and talk to our farmers.
2. To build peace and justice, we need to go out and bring people together, listen and understand their pains.
3. To end poverty, we need to build alternative social systems and stop asking billionaires for charity.
4. To achieve sustainable development goals, We need to reconcile ourselves with our planet.
Our mother earth is shouting out for change and we need to listen.
Roberto A. Arrucha – @arrucha
Director & Founder of The Global School for Social Leaders & Author of the Social Innovation Box.
