Whilst having lunch with my supervisor today, we found ourselves talking about human behavior, as we often do. It was just the two of us, so we could vent a little also, which is also needed. She like me, is interested in processes and the dynamics in play that affect outcomes and how we as people affect and are affected. For me, it is fascinating, which is why so much of my content creation centers around my observations of behavior.
One of the many things that were covered was how people (myself included) don't want to close the gaps in their understanding and they would rather stay in their comfort zone, because it is far more convenient. This impacts on many parts of our experience, yet how much of it is actually beneficial to us, how much value does staying comfortable bring?
Last night in a team meeting we were asked about our work from home thoughts and where we thought we were the most effective. This is a touchy topic these days, because people seem to have an intuition about what works for them, but most haven't really explored it or crunched the numbers. We tend to see the upside of it, but we don't create the cons list.
Working from home is more convenient for the person in many ways, but to believe that it is better requires more thought than convenience. Even the arguments about open-plan offices and distractions, need more thought than most give, because getting distracted in the workplace, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Value isn't only found in what you think needs to be done at any given point of time, it can also come from random interaction. It is like being on the bus listening to your favorite song and getting interrupted by your soulmate, then being annoyed and tell them to go away. Which is more valuable?
And this is one of the challenges we have in terms of evaluating value, because convenience is a "now" value and favoring the convenient moment doesn't mean that what is being done right now, is actually valuable. And yeah, people say "live in the moment", which is fine, but time is just a series of moments, which means that the future is going to be full of moments to live also.
Are the future moments less valuable than the present moment?
In some ways yes, but if what we are doing in the present moment leads us to have terrible future moments, was the past moment worth it? For instance, if you ate whatever food you wanted, whenever you wanted for the next five years of moments, how would you feel in that final moment? Are you happy with yourself, are you glad you lived your truth, are the now present moments appreciated?
Convenient now...
is rarely convenient later.
Through the conversation I mentioned how people value convenience over value, even if they know it is in their best interest to go the other way. So many I know will choose not to do what they know they should to get the results they want, because it is inconvenient. So, they work out all kinds of strategies to avoid having to do what they know they will eventually have to do anyway. Which, just makes it harder later.
Tee, tai itke ja tee.
This is perhaps my favorite Finnish saying.
(I only know a couple)
It translates as "Do, or cry and do"
Either way, you are going to have to do it, so why add crying on top? Why not just suck it up and get on with it, get it out of the way, progress so time, energy and attention can be spent on something else more likeable?
And I think that this is changing in culture these days, where people are less resilient to the feeling of discomfort, probably because we are able to insulate and surround ourselves with what we like, what we enjoy, what is easy, passive, convenient. We can curate so much of our on-demand lives that when we do meet something that we have to do, we struggle to overcome it, complaining, whining, crying.
Resistant to change, not resilient to change.
We will through up all kinds of walls to try and stop the inevitable, but inevitably, they all fail, they all crumble under the tide. And even when we run to the hills, we are going to meet new challenges that will demand our time and attention. There are always hurdles to face, this is life.
Life is not convenient.
It is messy and unpredictable. It is filled with constant pushing and pulling, opposing forces of what we want and what we can have, what is possible, and what is out of reach. When we choose the line of most convenience, we are going to miss the parts of life that make all the shit worth it, the real value. The fulfilling career, the sense of purpose we crave and the people who we will love with all we have, and mourn with all we have when we lose them.
A good life is incredibly inconvenient.
Perhaps some people are able to build strong enough walls to keep the discomfort at bay, but what kind of life are they living - prisoners of convenience.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I used to be very organized, efficient, and did the least attractive tasks first. Now I am a terrible procrastinator! Something about having to do a task that I have done annually, or even more often, for fifty years makes it less likely for me to tackle it early. Where once my motto was "put everything in its place, and if it doesn't have a place, make one for it." Now I make catch-all piles on my desks. Yes, desks. Every level surface in my house functions as a desk. I think I need your enabler services something awful!
Isn't "disruption" now considered a good thing in many cases? Put up a barrier and see if going around isn't more efficacious than going straight to whatever you are trying to solve. You pick up on other aspects of the problem that you may have missed when the task seemed straightforward.
Which makes me question this statement. The walls do not always fail us:
What's the salary? ;D
You'd think so. But even in the tech companies, they are far more set in their ways than they like to admit.
Just realized it says through, not throw... sorry. they sound similar, so my brain just types it out and if I miss it in the moment, it is there...
All the walls fail eventually, as all authority fails. We can have our rules, set our boundaries, but inevitably, something will come along to undermine and break them down.
I'd choose to come into work. I mean it sucks that it is a half hour drive from home, but as I have mentioned before, I just feel more productive here. Oddly enough, when I am at work, my time is my own. When I am at home, my time is my wife's. Whether I am supposed to be working or not. Actually, since we work in the same place a lot of times my time at work is also hers...
Lol! And here I thought I was the only one who had that. There is always some chore that needs to be done or re-done :p
Indeed! I love spending time with her, but my office at work is my domain!
Spending time with my wife is one thing, but doing chores by myself....not my favourite work from home activity....hahaha
I actually get more done when I am doing chores by myself I think. I find myself more motivated.
And they never use the time for fun stuff, do they!? :D
I like being at work and having the hybrid option. It is convenient when I need to use it (like if there are schedules for Smallsteps), but I prefer to be in the office so that home is more home, rather than satellite office.
No, it seldom is. I understand what you are saying. I have gotten to the point where I can work from home if I need to and I have on a couple of occasions. I try not to do it too often though because I don't want to take advantage. It's more of an unspoken agreement at this point versus an actual policy that they have enacted.
The company I work for has always been hybrid, so most people were used to have odd days at home. However, I think some people have become too comfortable, justifying the convenience, without calculating the cost to themselves.
Yeah, for sure!
WFH would work perfectly for a city like ours, Dhaka.
Overpopulation, worst traffic, moderate to high transportation costs, meaning a lot of time and money is wasted on the streets during our daily commute. This city is just too centralized, and the list of solutions is very small.
Yet, WFH would fix half of the problems, that I'm sure of.
However, the country is run by old dinosaurs, who are too busy filling up their own pockets. So, I can't really see things changing for the better, not anytime soon at least.
More convenient yes, however, do you think it would be as productive? Do you remember when lockdowns started and they banned Netflix in some areas, because it was stealing all the bandwidth? :D
Productivity will be well maintained I believe. The ones who care about their profession and careers will always prioritize productivity and punctuality.
Yes, every profession and line of work won't match the standards of WHF; yet, the "lucky bunch" will at least have a life. Instead of pushing traffic for 4 to 5 hours a day while spending a decent chunk of their wages on transportation, these people will at least have some extra time for hobbies and other activities.
Everyone out there shouldn't be looking for 9 to 5 jobs, the rat race is still too congested here. No one wants to learn, then maybe create something, or at least solve a problem. It's still just study, get a certificate and then get 9 to 5 job that's maybe just enough to take care of the bills.
It's time for people to outsource their skills and bring in some foreign moolah too. We need more startups here, more businesses; alas, most people here still think a job is the most "secure" source of income that has ever existed lol.
They forget, for every single job/position there's at least 5 candidates waiting to seal the deal. I see no point in competing in such a saturated marketplace; where you have to wait a year or more on the waiting list to finally secure a job that's paying in chump change. At the end of the day it's either the skilled bloke with Cs and Ds who's gonna get the job, or the guy who has inside connections.
However, things are changing though, slowly, but surely.
The WFH trend is already taking over. Bangladesh has been in the top 10 when it comes to the number of Freelancers, after Covid those numbers have jumped much higher. More startups are popping up every day and youngsters nowadays seem to be more eager to build a business than just settle for get a job.
Anyone who has an addiction, whether it be binge watching shows or eating too much, they'll make an excuse to do so no matter what; whether it be at the office or at home. Then they'll complain about how others are making so much money and how life is so unfair. Whenever such people receive a bonus, the first thing they think about is what to buy, and not where to invest.
Whereas maybe they could've used that time to learn a bit more about investing? In stocks? Crypto even? Investing that money in some Luna or FTT? ;)
It sounds like they're skipping both inconvenience and risk. Both of which must be faced daily, or one is only existing.
This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project
Every day I see and hear more evidence of avoidance of living.
I wonder why?
!PIZZA
I am against fully working from home. This would kill corporate culture and would make the personal doubt whether they are employee or not. Hybrid model seems the best, but the personal should choose when to go the office :)
Disconnection from the workplace kills motivation, kills opportunity, kills career path, kills so much of the fun. People will choose "not at all" - I think it is sad that companies have to set a limit.
They say they become much more motivated while working from home.
I like to think of myself less of a prisoner to convenience... and more of a convenient optimist. It is easier to stay positive when living a life of convenience now while kicking the can down the road. I'm ready to do my fair share of crying later, but for now you can find me at the club living it up. 😛
Maybe they're right... I'll own nothing and I'll like it.
Maybe, but for now you own something and like it. When you own nothing, do they let you in the club? :D
I sure hope so. I'm paying for experiences, not possessions.
Working from home is convenient. But in most cases, a person works most productively in a team and when there is a boss in the next office. This does not apply to work in Hive :)
Even if the boss isn't in the office - people do tend to be more productive together. There are also so many other multipliers. And of course, having a chat with randoms is fun :)
As I face another contract where I'm bound to the classroom, I'm thinking along similar lines. It's all very well to resist it because it's going to be uncomfortable (well, I will be crying and doing as I will struggle with my anxiety) but it means next year I can enjoy life a little more.
It's all well and good for people to tell me to look after myself and don't do it if it's going to make me suffer, but if I don't do it, there's other things I lose out on. I can't hide from this fact.
I'd rather hide, no doubt.
A different kind of suffering - which hurts more?
I know a lot of people will want to work from home but let us think about it this way. You know that people will be able to attend to other things if they work from home but at the same time, those things may not allow them to focus on the work that they are supposed to do...
I feel it is just better to go to work but the only thing you can do is not go to your workplace everyday.
Personally, I don't mind working from home, but I like to keep home and work separate. It is hard when always in the home and soon, it doesn't feel very homely.
We don't always do the same work. Sometimes we need to concentrate. Sometimes we need to collaborate. Other times it makes no difference where you work, home or office. Rather than an office or cubicle, it would be better to offer different spaces for the type of work required.
I think most offices these days do offer different spaces. At mine, we have quiet areas, shared spaces and booths that are sound-proofed for small meetings, calls etc. Large, electric desks, multiple screens, quality equipment. The offices are far better than they were even twenty years ago.
I have experience this perhaps more than the average person because of the anxieties I had.
Having social anxiety makes practically anything human, harder. Wanna play an online game? Well, you have to team up with someone! Wanna go buy some snacks? There's people there and you will have to talk to them to BUY.
And then it comes the dreams. I want to be a healer, a psychologyst or whatever works for people. Guess what, to heal people you gotta deal with people. This is how I learned, behind every fear there's an universe a posibilities. You might wonder what favor does to me, facing my fear to roaches? I noticed it makes me kinder. When you fear something, you also hate it. And the satisfaction to crush them, and leave their bodies to "let the other roaches know"... doesn't seem a healthy practice. Now I have taken on my fears so much, I can now try and place them between my hands carefully and release them out of my house. That feels way better.
What you resist, you empower with the same amount of energy. The amount of time and effort wasted on fears is incredible! I get that people have fears, anxiety, depression etc - but is it an excuse not to try and beat it? Look at the humor in life - there is no situation so grave, it can't be laughed at.
the best thing to do is to have capital and live off it. And work just for fun.
Any job where one feels compelled is a killer.
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