Proof of work is a concept used in some public blockchains to demonstrate that a program did the work required to propose a new block for the chain. It is commonly called a consensus mechanism because, eventually, network consensus is reached after there is proof the work was done honestly (in this case, "honestly" means there were no attempts to alter data).
But this is not what we are talking about here today.
I was talking with a colleague this morning about some work related topics, some of which I will dive into in more detail at later points. But one of the aspects was how the required skills for a job have changed, where we need more than we previously did. In the past, a manager would have had a secretary and a data analyst, as well as possible other support roles surrounding them. Now however, all of the specialized skill those roles carried, are the manager's responsibility on top of what else is required. New tools obviously help close the gaps in some respects, but what it means is that if we were truly going to be brilliant at our jobs, we would need to be renaissance people, with high-level, broad skillsets - like Da Vinci.
Let's face it - most of us don't come close.
However, another thing has changed in our working world for pretty much everyone who sits behind a desk at a computer - Knowledge workers often need to prove their work indirectly through reporting and other mechanisms, creating increasing amounts of work about work. This was not an issue with physical work, where thee work itself created the evidence of it being done.
A lumberjack cuts down trees, there is a pile of trees.
This means that there are tools required and processes to follow to create a trail of proof of work, to ensure that people are actually working. Pretty much every business these days requires evidence of tasks performed in some way - it is inescapable. So, making it as easy as possible, means making work visible, but that also means that there is more focus on variation.
Using the lumberjack analogy, if 90% of the expected wood was cut, even though the target wasn't met, it is still possible to get 90% sold at market. But, when there is no clear deliverable, it makes it hard to put a number on both the cost of incompletion, or the potential gains and in some cases, nothing can be gained unless the task is 100% complete. But when there is a shortfall, this gets essentially all focus, because what is missing stands out more than what is included, even if there is no clear reasoning as to what that piece is worth.
It is an interesting problem and many have noted the impacts of not having a clear deliverable in their daily work many times, even if it is somewhat via negativa. For instance, many who work at a desk will note how great manual work is that they do on the weekend, because they can see what is achieved, which highlights the opposite in their working life. The action and result are in a straight line. I mow the lawn, the grass is shorter. This is not the same for projects that can stretch potentially years into the future, or with tasks that look to shift behaviors, as they take six months at the minimum to see a significant shift.
What I was discussing with my colleague however, was how all of these things put added stress on our working lives, where we have to be good enough at many things in order to be in a specific role, plus have our expertise are to standout from the crowd, plus prove that we are not only doing the work, but the work we are doing is valuable, in an environment where we get to choose to some degree how we are going to use our brain to provide value.
This in itself requires multiple skill clusters to be able to manage the tasks, and manage the self to be able to cope in a diverse range of environments. It is no wonder that so many young people are struggling, because they haven't necessarily learned the lessons they need at either the practical skill level for the workplace, the social skill level for the interpersonal interactions, or the personal skill level for how to cope with it all.
“And don’t blame your mother for sending you away to boarding-school. Life is tough, and the sooner you learn how to cope with it the better for you.”
Boy - Roald Dahl,
This is from the book I am reading to my daughter, with the current chapters on the life Experiences of Roald Dahl when he was around my daughter's age, one hundred years ago. She is learning a lot about life back then, with boarding schools and canes, cars with no seatbelts and no driver's licenses, medical operations performed in the home on kitchen table, and the death of parents and children.
Up until relatively recently, life for children was much different than it is today, and there are many things that those of the past didn't have to face. However, the fact is that regardless of what has changed in technology, culture, society and process, there is one enduring aspect.
The sooner we learn how to cope with it, the better.
And what we are seeing in society now is a lot of people who are struggling to cope, struggling to deal with what they face, and they blame the situation. However, what if it is just that the right work wasn't done, and now what we are seeing is the Proof of lack of work? The conditions are what they are and while we can influence them over time, at a daily level, we have to manage them, which means,
Learning how to manage ourselves.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
We see a lot of that here. What used to be three or four jobs they bundle together into one position and expect a new person to be able to handle all the specialized work. What you usually end up with is the one person doing all the jobs poorly. I get that companies need to get the value for their money when it comes to pay and stuff like that, but when nothing is getting done well or properly, how can you really justify it. It's not that they just haven't found the right person either, they are literally expecting the impossible. There are probably only a handful of people who could accomplish what they actually want and they would demand exorbitant pay. On the other hand, there are some who can't even do simple tasks well, so I don't know the answer!
Sorry it has taken me so long to reply - A bit swamped.
For sure. It is about optimization, not the best result unfortunately.
I think this is part of the deal - this way, everyone (almost) fails, because even if you get 4 out of 5 tasks "perfect", the focus can be on the fifth.
No worries! I get how that goes. Yeah, it's a broken system, but the money isn't there to pay what it takes to fix it or run it right.
It is interesting how in the older days, encoders and typists were paid a lot of money. That knowing how to use a computer, or Excel is a plus in a resume. Nowadays, these are skills that are expected, and not even considered as a minimum requirement. In smaller companies, I have heard that their IT personnel not only handles the software and hardware duties like computer maintenance, but they also do the network and access responsibilities.
I wish I could use Excel well. I am terrible with it.
For sure. I work for a company that was a startup and the people who were there at the start, did everything. Many of those people kind of still do. Our CEO (founder) still answers support tickets from time to time, as well as coding a bit here and there. He definitely doesn't need to now, but he enjoys it and helps him be part of the process to understand better.
Wow, your CEO sound like a really cool dude. It's really nice when the boss, let alone the CEO, still knows how things work.
nice post.Recently my art gallery stopped showing my works and ended our partnership because they had not sold any of them in a while. This means that now I have to create art as well as find buyers. But I don't see this as a big problem because gallery sold only 1 my piece so I sold more on my own. So not much is going to change. Also maybe I will finally dare to sign with international gallery. Like Saatchi art. I am still worried about sending my paintings to a different countries but maybe it will all workout for the best?
I have no idea about the art world now, though my parents owned a gallery when I was very small. It was a different time though. My father sent some paintings to the national gallery and they lost one of them - they gave him a painting from another artist that was up and coming as a payment, and that guy ended up being pretty famous and then dying - put the value up a bit.
‘Da Vinci’, like many greats of the past, would have no life in these modern times, for what they had plenty of in their time was ‘time’. I have always said and I still say: ‘NECESSITY OBLIGATES’, the roles of companies are based on this phrase.
Comparing the population and its needs, from the 16th century to the 21st century; first, it could be said that we have tripled the number of individuals, second, technological development brought with it new challenges and third, the evolution of man has been towards conformism ‘the ease with which technology provides comfort’.
Today, the active population, ‘those who work’, do so purely out of necessity, whether it is to support themselves, their families or to maintain their luxuries. Basically, they do not feel the need to do things ‘well done’, that is to say, an artefact of 100 years ago was made to last; today that same artefact is made with a ‘programmed’ expiry date. This is the way companies can stay afloat...
I am not sure if all people only work for those reasons. I think many also get satisfaction out of what they do, they get meaning. In a world that seems starved for meaning, I think more people should be looking to what kind of work they can do for it.
Being good enough in so many things just to acquire a specific role happens here a lot. Presently in Nigeria, if you are in search of a particular job, you have to be multipurpose if you want to get the job.
You should be able to do two or more things and it keeps me wondering if they are doing that because they want the rate of workers to decrease or what?
The more a person can do of value, the less people are needed. It is more efficient for the company.
The sooner children learn about life and the sooner the spirit of taking responsibility is instilled, the easier and more stress-free life will await them in the future. I want children to work, do internships and apprenticeships during summer holidays.
I would want my daughter to also have a couple shifts at the supermarket or burger place all year round.
I am not sure what lessons today's young people will take. They seem to live in another world, mostly virtual one.
It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Companies expect one person to do the job of three, but it's impossible. Quality suffers, and it's tough to justify. Today's young people face a different world, more virtual than real. But I fear they'll use this as excuse to let AI replace humans 🤔
These days, companies don’t want to pay workers anymore and that is why you see them tell just one person to do the job of about three people. How do they expect such a person to cope? Also, we get to realize that most people are doing more than the job they are being paid for
Ideally business ownership is the workaround. If you own the business, then you don't need to expend time and energy proving to the owner (or his subordinate's subordinate), that you did the work.
You still need to show the customer or they won't pay the invoice; but they're less interested in seeing you busy, and more interested in the deliverable they're paying you for.
I expect that's the reason there was a trend a while ago for different departments in a business to actually buy and sell from each other, either using dollars or some internal token. I wonder if that's worth revisiting now that we have crypto.
Precisely! They are not paying you to do your work, they are paying you to solve their problem. They don't care about utilization rates.
This is something I have thought a little about and think you are onto something. Crypto is helping to redefine value, and the way we trade it. I think that many organizations are actually working more in a decentralized way through their departments, and their "processes" are the "rules of the blockchain" they have to adhere to - but otherwise, they are acting independently.