WLP320 What's Going On: Trends According to Humans and ChatGPT
Maya and Pilar take inspiration from a post (not a very sophisticated one) generated by ChatGPT about the challenges facing those working from home this year. They also review articles by humans, on the future of work and the future of office spaces. Recorded on 24 Jan 2023.
The poem on asynchronous communication generated by ChatGPT was very popular in our newsletter, so we thought we’d ask the bot bout the problems people will face while working from home in 2023, so we could comment on it. Here’s what the bot said:
It's difficult for me to accurately predict the main problems that people will face with working from home in 2023, as a lot can change in a short period of time. However, some potential problems that people might face when working from home in 2023 could include:
- Loneliness and isolation: Working from home can be isolating, and it can be challenging for some people to maintain a sense of connection with their colleagues and work community.
- Difficulty disconnecting: When your home is also your workplace, it can be hard to separate work from leisure and switch off after a long day.
- Limited social interaction: Working from home can limit opportunities for social interaction and in-person collaboration with colleagues.
- Technology issues: Technical difficulties and problems with video conferencing or other remote collaboration tools can be a source of frustration when working from home.
- Distractions at home: It can be hard to focus on work when you're in a familiar home environment with a variety of distractions.
- Limited resources: Some people might find it challenging to work effectively from home if they don't have access to the resources and equipment they need.
- Overwork: It can be easy to feel like you're always "on" when you're working from home, which can lead to feelings of burnout and overwork.
Overall, it's important to find ways to stay connected and engaged while working from home, and to make sure that you have the resources and support you need to be productive and successful.
Yes, what you would expect from an article summarising popular consciousness, but it does bring up those day to day problems like struggling with new technologies, or struggling with the updates and developments of current tech. Also, it looked like tech was going to easily integrate with our work as more people adopted remote work, but the reality is that not everything works, or is easy to work with.
Plus, is 2023 the year when “working from home” becomes unfashionable? Should we all be “working from anywhere”? There is also the realisation that working from anywhere is not that easy, both at an individual level (some of us need a decent setup) and an organisational level, when you take tax and employment laws into account.
15.40mins
Back to what humans are seeing trending, Rafa Diaz from Future for Work Institute had a series of predictions on LinkedIn, including there being more managers in organisations so that they can supervise remote workers. This is worrying - the online space is great for self-organisation so why would you have more managers? (We agree with having smaller teams though...)
Gartner also has an article predicting 9 trends for the future of work in 2023 (much more interesting than the one by our new bot friend), which suggests we are starting to reframe how organisations work - including finding out ways for people in the front line to gain flexibility at work. (Listeners, if you work in an organisation where flexibility is being rolled out to the whole organisation, and not just those who can “work from anywhere”, let us know.) The conversation around mental health is also broadening, which is a good thing.
However, we are worried that being able to work from home means that people begin to find it difficult to take off when they are sick or injured - it’s going to be harder even if our employers don’t expect us to work from home while being ill, it might be difficult for people to take the time to rest properly. (Nothing new though, check out this article by Maya from many years ago…)
30.10mins POETRY BREAK
ChatGPT generated a sonnet about why business leaders want everyone to go back to the office. Have a listen!
32.10mins
Back to the real world. Is this the year when leaders and politicians make drastic decisions about the future of office buildings? This article has a misleading headline: “DC mayor urges Biden to end telework policies for federal workers”, while the real story is: either use the office building or use it for affordable housing. The world has changed and how can we make the most out of it?
Unfortunately, the tech sector is struggling and is also getting rid of some of their office spaces to save costs. This is the case of Salesforce, who made it into one of our episodes (WLP294) last year when they announced they were creating some amazing new spaces for their people.
(By the way, if you want to read more about how working in tech is changing, check out this article by Jennifer Riggins in The New Stack.)
Maya wrote a piece on what the freelance economy could look like in 2023. One of the main things she’s seeing is that the workforce might become hybrid in a non-location way: by having teams made of both employees and freelancers. She mentions Rowena Henningan’s resources on LinkedIn for those people looking for work in tech, especially for those who’ve been laid off tech companies.
43.00mins
Listener Hugh shared the news with Pilar of Shopify’s mandate (or encouragement) to reduce meetings. It’s not just meetings they’re encouraging, but also to be more selective of the internal chat groups they participate in. (Also, what do you mean by “meetings” and how do people know how they need to show up to them?)
And do you know, Pilar got a phone call from one of our listeners - it was a great surprise, Bart!
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