what is work

before i dive into work, i want to touch on the evolution of words and how their meaning changes over time.

for the marketing folks reading…

at a certain point in time, marketing was marketing (well marketing still is marketing) and any marketing on the internet was referred to as “digital marketing”.

while some still refer to the internet form of marketing as digital marketing, it’s not necessary. just marketing will suffice.

how about “work”?

work has evolved greatly over the years:

• early 1900s work = long hours, little pay, likely to be killed on the job
• traditional work of today = longer hours (> 40/wk) + more pay (in some cases)
• progressive work of today = work until job gets done, work remote, work at whatever hours you want

there has been a theme of the worker defining the work to better fit into the lifestyle he/she desires.

in some cases that means he/she has quit their job to start their own business and make that happen (see Daniel Vassallo).

i believe that as time goes on, we’ll continue to see work evolve into something that’s less of a burden for the worker. i’m not saying all work is a burden, but there are aspects that can be burdensome. with the evolution of work (and having more options related to where income comes from) the burdens we currently know will fade.

this was inspired by:

The number one reason companies are embracing remote work is to cut costs.

Prediction: while remote work is sexy today, the zeitgeist will flip.

— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) July 11, 2019