To add to this, human labor doesn't begin with the Industrial Revolution. Prior to it, people produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines. Serfs may have been tied to the land, but they worked for themselves on their own schedule, not a micromanaging lord who demanded set working hours. Before mechanization and factories, textiles were made mainly in people’s homes (giving rise to the term cottage industry), with merchants often providing the raw materials and basic equipment, and then picking up the finished product. Workers set their own schedules under this system.
The Industrial Revolution's effect on the working class is somewhat similar to what Chinese peasants who are forced to move out of their ancestral villages experience. Sure, the economist will tell you that real wages increased and the working classes began to have a more varied diet, as if that in total defines the overall happiness of a person. But despite the rise in income, many feel worse off..going from working outside and in a small, yet tight-knit community to being forced to live in polluted cities in cramped apartments where even though there are more people, there is more loneliness and alienation.
I'm fortunate and I work remotely. Due to not having to deal with all the distractions and wastes of time that are part of the modern office, I'm able to be roughly 1.8x more productive (stats from github & RescueTime). I do the same amount of work in 20-25 hours/wk that I did in 40+hrs/wk (not even including commute times). My morale, motivation, and creativity has increased greatly. I don't have to take a vacation day to deal with doctor's appointments, picking up clothes from the cleaners, going to the DMV, or whatever else you can only do from 8-5 M-F. In short, the company I work for is getting the same, if not more productivity out of me (my code is definitely of a higher quality and I'm never burned out enough to take shortcuts.) without any cost. I don't have to commute, pay, spend less on gas, eat healthier and cheaper because I have access to my kitchen, etc. It's a win for both sides without costing either party anything beyond the risk it took on allowing a remote culture.
So much of work in the modern office is pure optics. So many times after lunch I would be well served by taking a nap for an hour or two instead of wasting 2-3 hours staring blankly at a screen while I'm doing the microsleep, head bob dance.
Of course my sentiments don't hold for the entirety of the labor market. As I said, i'm fortunate that I'm a knowledge worker whose physical presence is normally not necessary for me to complete my duties. I'll address your two questions separately.
> Do you feel this dynamic holds true for all developers?
I believe that software engineering is one of the professions that can stand to benefit the most from allowing remote work. It depends on your personality type, transparency/maturity, and, most importantly, communication skills. I currently lead a team of 3 junior developers and we have few if any issues working remotely. For those guys, it's most important for them to speak up when they are having issues, not when there is a deadline. Maybe I'm lucky that they have no problem admitting defeat. When they do have a problem, I've instructed them to prepare their questions as if they are asking Stack Overflow, though not nearly as exhaustive. I've found that this forces them to think critically and exercise their problem solving skills. Often times allows them to find the answer themselves instead of coming to me and disturbing my flow state, gesticulating and waving their hands because they don't even know how to phrase the problem. We all go into the office about 2x a month and those days are usually spent on the more troublesome issues and general shooting of the shit, Overwatch sessions, etc.
Before I started coding professionally, I hadn't worked in a team environment before nor had I been exposed to professional software development, release cycles, etc. I think we live in a different time now where more of those resources are available via the internet, but it wouldn't be ideal for a complete noob.
> What about non-developers?
It depends on the nature and responsibiliteis of the job. It certainly wouldn't work for some of my past gigs, such as being the Systems and Inventory Manager of a chemical storeroom. A lot of that job entailed babysitting my team and repeating over and over don't handle frickin chemicals without wearing PPE's , handle peroxide formers with care, go in the fucking eye wash if you got something on your face, etc. For some, it depends on your personality type. I know a lot of startups want the company to feel like a family. But, if I had a family, I'd opt to spend more time with my real family than the family I am paid to be around.
However, that's not me. I'm an extroverted introvert. I'd rather spend 40 hrs/wk with my girlfriend, dog, and friends (sometimes meet up at co-working spots, each other's place lunch, etc.) than in an office. I like Slack as I have just as much verbal communication and its async/doesn't require immediate response. When I get stuck with a problem, I can take a break and shoot some hoops, lift weights, go for a run, or vape some pot and sometimes I work for 12 hours straight without speaking to a soul....and I don't have to worry how my behavior is being judged.
It vastly cuts down on meetings. In my experience, people tend to prolong meetings often times just so they have said something to look like they are contributing and haven't remained silent. My pet peeve were impromptu brainstorming meetings. Brainstorming without any preparation is such a waste of time.
The Industrial Revolution's effect on the working class is somewhat similar to what Chinese peasants who are forced to move out of their ancestral villages experience. Sure, the economist will tell you that real wages increased and the working classes began to have a more varied diet, as if that in total defines the overall happiness of a person. But despite the rise in income, many feel worse off..going from working outside and in a small, yet tight-knit community to being forced to live in polluted cities in cramped apartments where even though there are more people, there is more loneliness and alienation.
I'm fortunate and I work remotely. Due to not having to deal with all the distractions and wastes of time that are part of the modern office, I'm able to be roughly 1.8x more productive (stats from github & RescueTime). I do the same amount of work in 20-25 hours/wk that I did in 40+hrs/wk (not even including commute times). My morale, motivation, and creativity has increased greatly. I don't have to take a vacation day to deal with doctor's appointments, picking up clothes from the cleaners, going to the DMV, or whatever else you can only do from 8-5 M-F. In short, the company I work for is getting the same, if not more productivity out of me (my code is definitely of a higher quality and I'm never burned out enough to take shortcuts.) without any cost. I don't have to commute, pay, spend less on gas, eat healthier and cheaper because I have access to my kitchen, etc. It's a win for both sides without costing either party anything beyond the risk it took on allowing a remote culture.
So much of work in the modern office is pure optics. So many times after lunch I would be well served by taking a nap for an hour or two instead of wasting 2-3 hours staring blankly at a screen while I'm doing the microsleep, head bob dance.