Remote Working and Inequality

[Wexnident]

Most IT-related fields have been doing remote work afaik. Mandatory meetings every now and then (possibly once or twice a week) is ofc a natural, but other than that, they have the option to choose whether to work in the office or in-home. This doesn't necessarily mean that it happens to every company out there, but I doubt some of them don't take this kind of work idea. Hell, if most companies actually adopt remote work, I'd be very glad for the world by then. Imagine having to travel, and not feeling any traffic due to rush hours and the like. Restaurants are littered, yes, but not to the point you'd think that the noise is unbearable, and you can have a silent meal by then.

Remote working has it's pros and cons. Believe me, it's really bad when you recruit new employee and you have to teach them everything online. Also, at the same time in this case there are less social contacts/relationships and it's not good at all. We, humans are social creatures and staying at home and moving on digital isn't that good at all. There are a lot of people who lack social skills and a lot of them have social anxiety but at the same time want to maintain social contacts and for these people, such situation aren't that good at all.

Remote working doesn't really mean caging yourself up at your home though. It's completely optional, and you just need to do your work at a suitable pace, and you can basically still have your own free time. Plus, the issue about new employees is to have them a trial period at the office, then slowly integrate them to the idea of remote work. It just needs proper guidance is all, but I think most companies have no idea what to do, hence they don't try to apply it.

[Darker45]

~snip~

If we can assume that a large amount of the new remote-working due to CV19 will remain remote in the longer-term, then does this help to reduce inequality within societies? The situation applies to many countries, but taking the UK as an example, cost of living in London (and to an extent the wider SE) is considerably higher than in the rest of the country. So with no need for people working for 'London companies' to live within or in close proximity to London, will there be a population shift towards rural and cheaper areas, a sort of reverse brain-drain of people still working 'London jobs' but now living elsewhere in the country? And the other side of this, will it create new job opportunities for people in poorer areas? A young graduate in a poor northern town might previously have been limited in their job opportunities because of a desire to remain in the area (for social or other reasons)... but can now apply for and work a 'city centre' job without leaving the area?

And looking further, will this then, eventually, lead to greater equality of opportunity across the world, if all you need to work a 'London job' or a 'New York job' is an internet connection and the ability to speak the language?

To be fair, in a developed country setup, I would answer all your questions in the affirmative, with the assumption that even your most rural areas have fast internet connection and that the people there are more than capable to pay monthly internet fees, purchase all the necessary gadgets, and so on.

However, the picture is altogether different from where I am speaking. As a matter of fact, countless of rural areas here may mean absence of electricity, weak to no telecommunication services at all, much less internet access, poor living condition, and so on and so forth.

As a matter of fact, when the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in this forsaken country and education was ordered to shift online, students end up travelling to nearby towns and climbed trees and hills to get a better signal only to submit class requirements. Moreover, properties, some as precious as pieces of tilled land, were pawned or sold to finance this inutile online class system.

My point being is that if there indeed is a kind of reverse shift from large city centers, it would highly be limited to nearby towns and suburbs. It might not actually reach the more rural areas. I am speaking of developed countries, of which the world is largely made up.

Also, I wouldn't call this a "reverse brain-drain" as these people working from afar are still serving the companies and businesses in large cities.

[Lorence.xD]

Inequality has existed before, it still exists and also will continue to exist in the future too. But the amount of Inequality within the same industry will reduce. What I mean by that is, if you are a person doing work in Asia you will get paid he same as a person doing work in America if it is the same work profile.

The reason that inequality still exist is because some people are too whiny and bitches in almost anything, ignorance and greed come side by side, if only people are understanding and reasonable then inequality will slowly fade out.

[Cnut237]

when the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in this forsaken country and education was ordered to shift online, students end up travelling to nearby towns and climbed trees and hills to get a better signal only to submit class requirements. Moreover, properties, some as precious as pieces of tilled land, were pawned or sold to finance this inutile online class system.

A terrible consequence of the way the world is structured at the moment is that whenever there is a crisis, it is poorer and more vulnerable people who are hit hardest. This is particularly true of a pandemic. My hope is that  if remote-working becomes embedded and more generally accepted, then eventually this can spread beyond national boundaries, and that educated people in poorer nations might be able to secure lucrative jobs that were previously based in city-centre offices in richer nations. Of course this doesn't solve the problem of how difficult it is to even get an education in a poorer country.

I wouldn't call this a "reverse brain-drain" as these people working from afar are still serving the companies and businesses in large cities.

What I meant by this was that people who have returned to local towns but still have 'big city' jobs will spend (a portion of) their high income in the local economy, thus giving it a boost and potentially helping to create more local jobs. I'm not suggesting it will be a huge effect, just that if this happens then there should be some positive effects for the local economy.

[davis196]

The theory that "working-from-home" has the same productivity compared with working in the office seems like a myth to me.There's no valid evidence for such thing.
Imagine having a family and kids and trying to work from home.The distractions are just too many.
90% of the jobs can't become remote,so the benefits of remote work are exaggerated.Also,there are some flaws,which have to be further examined.You don't socialize enough with people(I mean directly,not online chatting and emails),when you are working from home.Sitting in front of a PC for many hours every day is not healthy.
Remote work means freelance,so you might have to compete with freelancers from India and Pakistan,who are willing to work remotely for $1 per hour,so your employer might cut your salary and make more profits,which actually means MORE inequality than before.

[abhiseshakana]

And looking further, will this then, eventually, lead to greater equality of opportunity across the world, if all you need to work a 'London job' or a 'New York job' is an internet connection and the ability to speak the language?

The dynamics of the pandemic economy will certainly have an effect on the level of welfare which is measured in several macroeconomic indicators, especially the poverty level, where the poverty rate increases in urban areas and decreases in rural areas. This anomaly can be concluded that rural areas have better economic resilience and resilience than cities in the face of a pandemic.

The economic structure of the city is relatively more complex compared to the population living in rural areas who depend on the economy in the agriculture or fisheries sector. The pandemic phenomenon causes residents in urban areas to have to rack their brains to survive without a source of income dealing with basic needs that cannot be postponed. Some may survive with the remaining financial cushion in the form of savings, some may decide to return to the village.

The ruralization program is one of the strategies to reduce the impact of the pandemic by relying on the agribusiness and agro-industry sectors as a buffer at least for local market share. When collapses occur in urban areas, people have no other option but to return to rural areas to survive and reorganize their livelihood sources based on local potential.

Countries such as Thailand and Vietnam managed to suppress the economic impact of the pandemic because they have strong economic fundamentals based on agriculture and plantations.

[yhiaali3]

I think that the culture of remote work will witness a great turnout in the future, especially after the Corona epidemic, which had a great role in encouraging remote work.
In fact, remote work provides many job opportunities for competencies who live in remote or poor areas, especially here in the third world countries where there are only a few job opportunities, so remote work via the Internet will be a great opportunity for the competencies in these countries.
In fact, this type of work has been around for a long time and many young people who have competencies in poor countries depend on it, where it is difficult for them to find work in their countries and I think it will be the common type of work in the future. Where you will be able to live far from cities and congestion, live in the beauty of the countryside, do your business, and get a good income at the same time.
Personally, I work remotely and I know a lot here of young men in my poor country who have started working on the Internet where they are paid much higher than what they get here.

[eaLiTy]

~
And looking further, will this then, eventually, lead to greater equality of opportunity across the world, if all you need to work a 'London job' or a 'New York job' is an internet connection and the ability to speak the language?

It is a truth that the pandemic has changed the dynamic of things when it comes to how jobs and education, many companies changed their concept and you can work at the comfort of your home and the education system can be done virtually and students can apply to universities world wide without moving to different countries and it will be a major change in the perception we had in the past.

If you look at US, people are moving from New York where they had high tax rates to much lower tax slab states like Texas. These migration shows a major shift in how people view things.

[Rengga Jati]

The policy will be remote working or work from home systems, depending on each country and also specifically each company. In my country, for the employee that work for the government, some of them have to work still from home by remote working. But some have conducted the same as other, going to office and also doing some trips on jobs.
Not only working, school is now by online learning progress that makes it controversial. We can use the technology to support the study of our children. But in fact, it seems not good enough. many are willing to enter their school, but it is still risky. It is beter to wait for certain times in order to wait for any vaccine.

[arwin100]

~
And looking further, will this then, eventually, lead to greater equality of opportunity across the world, if all you need to work a 'London job' or a 'New York job' is an internet connection and the ability to speak the language?

It is a truth that the pandemic has changed the dynamic of things when it comes to how jobs and education, many companies changed their concept and you can work at the comfort of your home and the education system can be done virtually and students can apply to universities world wide without moving to different countries and it will be a major change in the perception we had in the past.

The pandemic really change the work set-up of the world but I believe this is just a temporary solution for company and people since once everything is normal all office set up will be back and its really different vibe to work at the office although there are countries might possibly adopt this but majority cannot since there are struggles regarding on network on some countries that might intervene their productivity and effectiveness.

But let see in educational system if this will really work since we know kids are playful and might they will not learn anything on online classes.

[verita1]

Due to the pandemic there will be an evolution of office jobs. We are noticing this change, more companies are digitizing all their systems so that their employees continue to operate from remote jobs. But not all companies work from a computer. There are companies that need to continue their operations from workstations such as agricultural, industrial, manufacturing fields, etc.

[MCobian]

Remote working is a solution to keep working even at home. The COVID-19 pandemic has indeed changed many things, one of them is working
from home which is becoming popular nowadays. Since the government carried out quarantine and lockdown, several companies have started
have to tell employees to work from home. But without realizing it, there are many positive things that happen by running this remote working.
So some companies continue to run remote working, even though the government has lifted quarantine and lockdown. What is good about Working
from home can reduce the cost of living, especially for those who live in big cities.

[stompix]

Countries such as Thailand and Vietnam managed to suppress the economic impact of the pandemic because they have strong economic fundamentals based on agriculture and plantations.

Really?
Thai economy shrinks 12% in 2Q, worst decline in 22 years

Things don't work this way, this is how Europe exports more food that the entire Asia:
THIS TINY COUNTRY FEEDS THE WORLD

The ruralization program is one of the strategies to reduce the impact of the pandemic by relying on the agribusiness and agro-industry sectors as a buffer at least for local market share. When collapses occur in urban areas, people have no other option but to return to rural areas to survive and reorganize their livelihood sources based on local potential.

Ruralization would mean we will go back two millenias in human civilization, returning to the years BC.
There will be no collapses there will be no return to everyone with a patch of dirt in front of his house and growing tomatoes and potatoes and two chickens. There will be still cities, there will still be urban areas, there will still be hundreds and thousands buying Ferrari and Bugatti cars. spending millions on parties booze and hookers, the new that will draw the short straw will be the ones that were already in a bad situation and guess what...They don't have the money to buy that patch of dirt to grow two dozens cabbages a year.

Ok, maybe in-person jobs haven't restarted fully, by my point is that there are only a few jobs that can function online/without workers being present (if you don't mind, you could list jobs that can work that way/how effective it'll be). Afaik, it's very much comfortable for workers to work from home, it saves quite a lot of stress, but can't produce the same efficiency imo.

You see, that's your opinion, but it doesn't mean it's also true.
How have you reached it, have you analyzed productivity for companies, are your overseeing teams and you've compared their work with the previous year?
Or are just saying that because your own experience, which even if true is singular and irrelevant on a global scale?
As for stress, what can be more stressful than commuting for 1 hour in cold or rain or snow, and then start work?

@Cnut237 and o_e_l_e_o have already provided you with lits, in my first post I have linked to an article how tech companies have chosen to postpone the return to 2021.

[TheUltraElite]

Due to the pandemic there will be an evolution of office jobs. We are noticing this change, more companies are digitizing all their systems so that their employees continue to operate from remote jobs.

That was expected was it not? If the pandemic would not have affected us, nobody would have even thought of working like that. Props to the internet providers and laptop manufacturers to continue providing services which are essential to keep the cycle complete.

But not all companies work from a computer. There are companies that need to continue their operations from workstations such as agricultural, industrial, manufacturing fields, etc.

Of course those jobs will never change and they are the basis of life. Farmers in many countries have not idea what a pandemic is how it has spread although they will with time. Many day workers who have worked as laborers have seen job openings and job cuts as well.

But the point is that all these things have not adversely affected the bitcoin price.

[vaultman]

Personally, I like to work remotely more than in the office, for example. The only problem is being able to concentrate on work and not be distracted. Many people are unaware that they can do the same job as now, but receive many times more money by working for a foreign company. If many people find out about this, then, of course, there will be a dumping of the market, because why would an employer pay high wages to an employee if a person from third world countries would do the same for much less money.

[erikoy]

This is an issue with capitalism where an establishment is own by a single person. This they can manipulate how the workforce could be done by giving low salary as possible. Here in our place has this kind of people owning business and giving low salary to its workers. Chinese people who owns the establishment are very stingy when it comes to money. And here comes to the corrupt politicians or managing the government agency concerning the labors of the workforce silence with the money offered by them with these capitalist. So sad but true that the government officials sucumb to money in exchange of low salary workforce to the many who are working in that establishemnt.

[bearexin]

Well, you can both get people to work remotely and still keep those small business open at the same time.
Just because people do not go to offices doesn't mean that they are in lockdown at their houses, they could definitely still go out and eat anywhere they want. So, let's say from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening you work at your home, after 5 o clock just go out and spend the money you just earned on those small business'.

However if people do not want to do that, it means those small business only exists because people go to offices and that is really not a great reason to be a business, I would rather be wanted at all times and not just when office lunch times, I say we should let them close shop and a place where you would want to go even on your free time open up there instead.

[hatshepsut93]

I don't expect any miracles from remote working in terms of it's economic effects. For starters, it's quite debatable whether it raises productivity or not. I've seen a lot of software companies having to delay their products citing remote work as the reason. And even if in general it's positive, it might be only a small improvement, so the companies might choose to not adopt it after the pandemic ends.

Next, this switch to remote work doesn't mean that there's suddenly a lot of new job offers. What happens is that existing jobs were made remote. If economy will continue to sink, there won't be a lot of new jobs, remote or not.

[CarnagexD]

For starters, it's quite debatable whether it raises productivity or not.

Some argues that working at home is less productive than the office or real workplace due to some distraction and it is true in different cases. We live on different place, different environment which is the most factor of working remotely. If a person lives near the highway with broken windows, as he hear the noises outside could be a distraction, and there are more ways for people to be distracted especially if you got responsibility at home, a kid of example.

I've seen a lot of software companies having to delay their products citing remote work as the reason. And even if in general it's positive, it might be only a small improvement, so the companies might choose to not adopt it after the pandemic ends.

It's better to be delayed than risk their employees lives, I think it's one of goodness of some companies considering their employee's safety.

Next, this switch to remote work doesn't mean that there's suddenly a lot of new job offers. What happens is that existing jobs were made remote. If economy will continue to sink, there won't be a lot of new jobs, remote or not.

Some are even decreasing their workers, I've heard some companies in my area firing half of their employees, and the half will work remotely with their assistance for the things they need to work at home.

[el kaka22]

When people live in London (going with the same analogy) they do not live in London just because they can make the most money, in fact you do not make up the difference in there, you could live in Birmingham and make less money but spend a lot less there so you would overall have a much better life there, living in London means you make more but you also spend a ton more than that so life is a lot harder.

Living in London is a bit more like about where you are from and where your family is and where your friends are and places you want to go. Sure you can go to a place nearby and live there outside the main city and take a train there when you want to do something, but the pub you always visit, the place you eat Chinese, or that pizza joint you and your friends always get together, these are personal stuff, not work related, you should consider that as well.