Thought Picnic: Welcomed into a changing world of work

Reading much about it all

The welcoming party had neither sound nor sight, but in the confines of my email inbox with the burgeoning volumes of documentation that were the materials of any intensive induction.

All half a century of documents in all, I was about to be inculcated and indoctrinated, by the time I had finished poring over them and signed the requisite documents, I should have been acculturated into the organisation, not noticeably dissimilar from others.

In the majority of the day past and today, finding and linking references, my beady eye sometimes finding agreement and contradiction, obsolescence, acquiescence, and supersedence whilst resisting the pedantry of identifying and notifying of my observations.

An altered life at work

Yet, in these times, we are not in the normal circumstances that allow for face-to-face meetings, we are remote, away, at home, interacting through media to set up new relationships. Agents distant but involved, managers commanding and effective, specialists implementing solutions from afar impacting the run of the organisation, changing it from within.

The new world of work would no more be at desks but through screens, comportment, decency, and presentation making up for communication where the subtleties of traditional interaction with the reading of body language along with reactions is lost. To demonstrate import, intention, and passion, nuance would demand a better use of words and mannerisms. We are feeling our way into this new experience and I think it would be interesting.