AI Is Killing Off Workplace Interaction: Hurrah

 A big part of the euphoria over Work From Home (WFH) was being liberated from the in-person social aspects of the office. You know, how everyone watches each other, the fear about the poison in the grapevines and the oversharing by colleagues. Yes, the office pests.

So, the outcry in BusinessInsider about how getting tasks done with AI tools is reducing that human interaction might represent the opinions of outliers. The rhetoric reads:

"AI is unraveling the social fabric of work."

Essentially that fabric had been woven by necessity through the technology of the Industrial Revolution. Labor moved to the factories where the machines were. And out of the home where craftspeople had operated for centuries in isolation. 

COVID brought back the opportunity to again earn a living at home. Those I coached were unhinged by Return to the Office (RTO). For one thing, they experienced a falloff in creativity and productivity. After all, back again were all those interruptions by co-workers.

Sure, there are benefits to the in-person social stuff. Classic is the ability of associates in law firms to pop their heads into partners' offices and request assignments. Without those they won't be able to bill enough hours and that could mean being terminated. Also, our neurons can light up as we connect with a superior seemingly taking interest in our careers. Romance is possible, if we welcome that sort of complexity in our work lives. 

But greater often has been the downside. To me that state of being was analogous to the mandatory housing in the dorm. Too many people forced into our daily lives. So intrusive. Too much to process. And recall our sense of having made it when we no longer needed roommates to pay the rent. 

AI can restore the sense of solo craftsmanship of work. Eventually employers could connect the dots and realize the cost savings of moving the tasks from commercial settings back to the employees' homes. That cost-efficiency could be enhanced by the increasing innovation and productivity resulting from not being interrupted by social animals clawing at us for attention.

Careers? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.



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