This doesn’t have to be interpreted as anti-WFH. It’s not as if the disengaged office drone archetype hasn’t been around for as long as Dilbert or Office Space.
I’m pro-WFH (if we’re to put it so politically…), but this is a unique sort of burnout I can personally experience and attest to. I read this very neutrally considering this.
> That doesn’t mean Edward is failing at his job or ignoring work; he does whatever his manager needs and, because he always replies to emails and attends scheduled calls, he’s never seen to be late. Rather, he’s decided simply to coast along, on a comfortable salary and in a remote set-up that suits his work-life balance.
If we ended overtime and moved to a mandatory 4 day week maximum then more of the under employed would benefit. There's an army of people holding down bad jobs part time who can fill the space.
Robotics was a trigger for some of this. Mechanisation since the 1950s has altered the dynamic of work outside of knowledge workers, and knowledge workers are now probably both a majority in the west, and feel underpaid for the expectations.
Cultures with higher taxes and less disparity between rich and poor usually mean less ultra rich and more universal care of all kinds: on that front, stste funded childcare for everyone would help too.
I bet Edward is also breathing and blinking on company time - how dare he.