WFH in the times of Corona (and a cacophony of thoughts)
WFH - a topic befitting the times. For those who are not acquainted with social media parlance, these three letters mean “work from home.”
The acronym “WFH” apparently is also used in Indonesian communities, despite the acronym representing three English words. One would have guessed that in a country that has such a strong tradition of keeping the prominence of its own language (compare this to, for example, the use of English in many former English colonies), it would have developed its own acronym. It is perhaps also a stark reminder that, in this country, foreign influence lies not in usage of language but in the formation of the language itself, evident in the number of loan words from various influencing cultures.
Living in a “foreign” country, my hypothesis would have been that the “experience” of WFH would be different as one traversed country boundaries. After running a few thought experiments, my conclusion is that in fact they would be more or less the same at a personal level and social level, regardless of which country you were in, provided that you had a relatively established and stable lifestyle as a middle class white collar worker who may or may not have worked in office jobs across several countries.
A typical day of activities include workout, reading, work, watching TV, cooking, eating, defecate, sleeping, social media, shopping, and any other little things one might be doing (like things for hobbies, zoom calls, learning local language etc.). The above references my life in Indonesia. Imagine if I were in Singapore or Malaysia, where I have previously been living, staying home actually would consist of more or less the same activities.
The difference of the cycle of basic lifestyles (not the lifestyle itself), therefore, is less than significant across countries. Social distancing, in a way, is a realization of how little the surroundings, language and culture shape our own lifestyles once they have been established. The change of personal habits and lifestyle will always be a part of the journey of self exploration.
One thing that evokes one’s reflections on lifestyle is an oft-repeated word during these times - boredom.
“I’m so bored.”
“It’s so boring mate.”
“How bored can I get?”
It does make one wonder: is life really becoming boring because we’re staying at home, or is boredom just an à la mode thing to say?
Observing ones in a work environment during non-corona days, majority head home after work, watch TV and spend time with family or whatever it is they do. On the occasional night one goes out for a drink, or a workout sesh before hitting a healthy food chain, or perhaps a movie capitalizing on the cheaper tickets..Certain individuals spend more time out than others do, out of necessity or out of the innate need to fill time.
Realistically speaking, with the occasional evening out routines being removed, that just adds a few more moments at home doing whatever one wishes. Assuming during the normal 9-6 hours are still work related and consumes one’s full energy, that just leaves several hours of “free” time at home, which is no material change to what was already present in our lives. The weekend is a natural extension of that - think of it as the tail end of the week, free time of the larger cycle of the work week, when free time gets multiplied into days.
Where does boredom kick in?
Hints can be discovered. For many in this economy, 9-6 is a porous concept. The hours are not actually fully consumed in work-related activities, for 9-6 is a preset way and requirement to organize capitalist society. It often includes times of social bonding, or browsing this and that online, or chit chat during a cup of tea or a drag of cigarette. Depending on how much time is spent on this, that does add a significant number of hours idleness in one day to be spent. Commute is no longer required, which adds some further time. And for those with the occasional night out, that is when one socially engages and lets off steam, being home provides one with lackluster alternatives.
This explains the shift of demand on social media products. Over the past years individuals have been allocating more time on social media. Often time allocation in social media is a mix between physical social activities and online sharing - one goes on a workout and afterwards shares the workout routine. Pre-corona times, the allocation used to be 70-30 physical-online, now it’s perhaps 30-70 physical-online - a shift of demand that reflects higher time allocation to on online social media time. Further breaking down the online portion, it consists of proactive sharing and reactive information browsing. Given the nature of physical interactions reduced, people fill the void by channeling that energy into proactive sharing. Each individual only gets 24 hours of time a day - in this regard everyone is created equal.
Boredom, then, kicks in from the removal of time fillers of going out enjoying physical activities like social gatherings, hitting the gym, music festivals.
It is revealing how much economic activities and growth rely on human need (for a substantial portion of the population) to be physically engaged. And to constantly fuel its growth a demand is generated, a demand of a socially constructed necessity to always do something (the demand to get something is already slightly saturated, and functions more in emerging markets with increasing disposable income). The flipside is the boredom that subsides when one slows down, like that feeling that many are familiar with - the hollowness after an out-of-the-world party.
What corona has set in to accomplish is disrupt the fabric of the economy, forcing a harsh unplugging of all these forces of economic hypergrowth. At the individual level, many have remarked that WFH was nice at the beginning as the grass was always greener on the other side. But given time, WFH may not have been so positive for the same crowd. Boredom is the keyword. And arguably this affects all regardless of whether one lives alone or with family, albeit in different ways.One who is alone will be devoid of human contact, increasingly lose touch of “interesting topics” to talk about. Those who are with someone and now have more time spent together, the nature of their relationship will naturally change - evolve or backtrack depending on how different parties interact. “Corona baby boom,” as many have predicted, is a demonstration of this.
While some on social media have been trying to focus on the wins in corona (like learning this extra dance move, take this online course, spend more time to pursue that passion, or anything of this sort), reality will be much harsher.
It relies on an individual to either have an abundance of talent (because only then the individual is motivated enough on whatever he/she is doing) or have an inner purpose in life that is not fueled by fulfilling external economic activities that have relied on filling time as a demand.
That means doing so-and-so experience and adding to a list of shareable personal stories of “what I’ve done.” That means not starting a startup because society defines it as a mark of success. That means, at times, that one has a hobby or pastime during his/her free time, and that one is properly fulfilled by it. Constant self orientation, it turns out, is difficult to achieve.
Personally speaking, life has not changed much - I’m still “boring” as a person. I don’t think I feel bored per se amidst physical activity pattern changes. I think I am happy (a fact that requires daily reaffirmation and reflection), not in the out-of-the-world sense, but in the mild glowy sense, like constantly floating around the brief moment of cleansed skin after a sauna. Had I encountered this five or ten years ago, my reaction might have been slightly different (hopefully not by a lot). Should this situation continue for a few more months, I don’t envision my feelings to change much (except having to find new ways of responding to my loved one’s comments thatI am boring).
It is important to remember that, at a societal level, one who is staying at home peacefully is fortunate. Many are working hard in such tough times to keep society functioning as much as possible. The frontline medical workers, for instance, are fully admirable and deserve our full salute. Likewise for the people who continue to man the supply chains to keep food and essential resources delivered.
But most important of all is not to forget ones who do not have the luxury to not work for a substantial period of time. The truth is that we have come to a stage where the economic growth fueling based on stimulus of demand has become so ingrained to society that a large portion of the population depends on it. Without economic activity, there is no gig economy, and therefore a basis for keeping many people afloat - those who live day to day and those who are living in conditions where social distancing is not such a possible reality. This is a reality, it turns out, not just in emerging markets but also developed ones.
As such, the biggest legacy of corona is us as a whole being forced to rethink the deeper questions of our economic structure and model of growth. Economic growth cannot stop or it will have devastating effects given our population count. But how to achieve growth that is sustainable or keep a safety net for the in case of another black swan? It is finding a mild alternative model to continue economic growth. Education and healthcare provision certainly remain the big investments governments need to make, but as gains are made in those areas the bigger question remains in how to create sufficient economic activity to create enough opportunities to change their economic status, or merely to survive.
These are perhaps underlying questions in society more for policy makers and economists. At a more practical level, corona creates a huge shift in consumption patterns that challenge pre-existing business models. Facebook and Google for instance face challenges on hugely increased traffic but reduced revenue stream due to heavy reliance on ads.
On the supply side suddenly the world wakes up to over-reliance on the China supply chain, which, on a good day is not a particularly big problem, but on other days is not entirely fathomable. Those who react quickly enough can diversify, and this perhaps creates a partial answer on the safety net for all - to be truly self-sufficient, some core industries and supply chains cannot be entirely outsourced opting for the cheapest cost, instead some production capacity should be kept within the country, or at minimum diversify at source.
WFH can take one’s mind to far seemingly corners indeed.
The acronym “WFH” apparently is also used in Indonesian communities, despite the acronym representing three English words. One would have guessed that in a country that has such a strong tradition of keeping the prominence of its own language (compare this to, for example, the use of English in many former English colonies), it would have developed its own acronym. It is perhaps also a stark reminder that, in this country, foreign influence lies not in usage of language but in the formation of the language itself, evident in the number of loan words from various influencing cultures.
Living in a “foreign” country, my hypothesis would have been that the “experience” of WFH would be different as one traversed country boundaries. After running a few thought experiments, my conclusion is that in fact they would be more or less the same at a personal level and social level, regardless of which country you were in, provided that you had a relatively established and stable lifestyle as a middle class white collar worker who may or may not have worked in office jobs across several countries.
A typical day of activities include workout, reading, work, watching TV, cooking, eating, defecate, sleeping, social media, shopping, and any other little things one might be doing (like things for hobbies, zoom calls, learning local language etc.). The above references my life in Indonesia. Imagine if I were in Singapore or Malaysia, where I have previously been living, staying home actually would consist of more or less the same activities.
The difference of the cycle of basic lifestyles (not the lifestyle itself), therefore, is less than significant across countries. Social distancing, in a way, is a realization of how little the surroundings, language and culture shape our own lifestyles once they have been established. The change of personal habits and lifestyle will always be a part of the journey of self exploration.
One thing that evokes one’s reflections on lifestyle is an oft-repeated word during these times - boredom.
“I’m so bored.”
“It’s so boring mate.”
“How bored can I get?”
It does make one wonder: is life really becoming boring because we’re staying at home, or is boredom just an à la mode thing to say?
Observing ones in a work environment during non-corona days, majority head home after work, watch TV and spend time with family or whatever it is they do. On the occasional night one goes out for a drink, or a workout sesh before hitting a healthy food chain, or perhaps a movie capitalizing on the cheaper tickets..Certain individuals spend more time out than others do, out of necessity or out of the innate need to fill time.
Realistically speaking, with the occasional evening out routines being removed, that just adds a few more moments at home doing whatever one wishes. Assuming during the normal 9-6 hours are still work related and consumes one’s full energy, that just leaves several hours of “free” time at home, which is no material change to what was already present in our lives. The weekend is a natural extension of that - think of it as the tail end of the week, free time of the larger cycle of the work week, when free time gets multiplied into days.
Where does boredom kick in?
Hints can be discovered. For many in this economy, 9-6 is a porous concept. The hours are not actually fully consumed in work-related activities, for 9-6 is a preset way and requirement to organize capitalist society. It often includes times of social bonding, or browsing this and that online, or chit chat during a cup of tea or a drag of cigarette. Depending on how much time is spent on this, that does add a significant number of hours idleness in one day to be spent. Commute is no longer required, which adds some further time. And for those with the occasional night out, that is when one socially engages and lets off steam, being home provides one with lackluster alternatives.
This explains the shift of demand on social media products. Over the past years individuals have been allocating more time on social media. Often time allocation in social media is a mix between physical social activities and online sharing - one goes on a workout and afterwards shares the workout routine. Pre-corona times, the allocation used to be 70-30 physical-online, now it’s perhaps 30-70 physical-online - a shift of demand that reflects higher time allocation to on online social media time. Further breaking down the online portion, it consists of proactive sharing and reactive information browsing. Given the nature of physical interactions reduced, people fill the void by channeling that energy into proactive sharing. Each individual only gets 24 hours of time a day - in this regard everyone is created equal.
Boredom, then, kicks in from the removal of time fillers of going out enjoying physical activities like social gatherings, hitting the gym, music festivals.
It is revealing how much economic activities and growth rely on human need (for a substantial portion of the population) to be physically engaged. And to constantly fuel its growth a demand is generated, a demand of a socially constructed necessity to always do something (the demand to get something is already slightly saturated, and functions more in emerging markets with increasing disposable income). The flipside is the boredom that subsides when one slows down, like that feeling that many are familiar with - the hollowness after an out-of-the-world party.
What corona has set in to accomplish is disrupt the fabric of the economy, forcing a harsh unplugging of all these forces of economic hypergrowth. At the individual level, many have remarked that WFH was nice at the beginning as the grass was always greener on the other side. But given time, WFH may not have been so positive for the same crowd. Boredom is the keyword. And arguably this affects all regardless of whether one lives alone or with family, albeit in different ways.One who is alone will be devoid of human contact, increasingly lose touch of “interesting topics” to talk about. Those who are with someone and now have more time spent together, the nature of their relationship will naturally change - evolve or backtrack depending on how different parties interact. “Corona baby boom,” as many have predicted, is a demonstration of this.
While some on social media have been trying to focus on the wins in corona (like learning this extra dance move, take this online course, spend more time to pursue that passion, or anything of this sort), reality will be much harsher.
It relies on an individual to either have an abundance of talent (because only then the individual is motivated enough on whatever he/she is doing) or have an inner purpose in life that is not fueled by fulfilling external economic activities that have relied on filling time as a demand.
That means doing so-and-so experience and adding to a list of shareable personal stories of “what I’ve done.” That means not starting a startup because society defines it as a mark of success. That means, at times, that one has a hobby or pastime during his/her free time, and that one is properly fulfilled by it. Constant self orientation, it turns out, is difficult to achieve.
Personally speaking, life has not changed much - I’m still “boring” as a person. I don’t think I feel bored per se amidst physical activity pattern changes. I think I am happy (a fact that requires daily reaffirmation and reflection), not in the out-of-the-world sense, but in the mild glowy sense, like constantly floating around the brief moment of cleansed skin after a sauna. Had I encountered this five or ten years ago, my reaction might have been slightly different (hopefully not by a lot). Should this situation continue for a few more months, I don’t envision my feelings to change much (except having to find new ways of responding to my loved one’s comments thatI am boring).
It is important to remember that, at a societal level, one who is staying at home peacefully is fortunate. Many are working hard in such tough times to keep society functioning as much as possible. The frontline medical workers, for instance, are fully admirable and deserve our full salute. Likewise for the people who continue to man the supply chains to keep food and essential resources delivered.
But most important of all is not to forget ones who do not have the luxury to not work for a substantial period of time. The truth is that we have come to a stage where the economic growth fueling based on stimulus of demand has become so ingrained to society that a large portion of the population depends on it. Without economic activity, there is no gig economy, and therefore a basis for keeping many people afloat - those who live day to day and those who are living in conditions where social distancing is not such a possible reality. This is a reality, it turns out, not just in emerging markets but also developed ones.
As such, the biggest legacy of corona is us as a whole being forced to rethink the deeper questions of our economic structure and model of growth. Economic growth cannot stop or it will have devastating effects given our population count. But how to achieve growth that is sustainable or keep a safety net for the in case of another black swan? It is finding a mild alternative model to continue economic growth. Education and healthcare provision certainly remain the big investments governments need to make, but as gains are made in those areas the bigger question remains in how to create sufficient economic activity to create enough opportunities to change their economic status, or merely to survive.
These are perhaps underlying questions in society more for policy makers and economists. At a more practical level, corona creates a huge shift in consumption patterns that challenge pre-existing business models. Facebook and Google for instance face challenges on hugely increased traffic but reduced revenue stream due to heavy reliance on ads.
On the supply side suddenly the world wakes up to over-reliance on the China supply chain, which, on a good day is not a particularly big problem, but on other days is not entirely fathomable. Those who react quickly enough can diversify, and this perhaps creates a partial answer on the safety net for all - to be truly self-sufficient, some core industries and supply chains cannot be entirely outsourced opting for the cheapest cost, instead some production capacity should be kept within the country, or at minimum diversify at source.
WFH can take one’s mind to far seemingly corners indeed.
Comments
Post a Comment