The Great Escape (Story)
Back in 2018 I wrote these four speculative narratives that described future scenarios for the state of remote work in 2045.
This is the story of scenario 4 of 4
The daily experience
“Swipe this one right, ok, now expand this one ten times, add those insights compiled yesterday at this spot. Alright, thanks, and now move that to the done folder now please!” Lux is gesturing as he speaks to his workplace assistant Beemo, which reacts with digital actions accordingly. He is working from a private workpod located inside an old parking garage. It is one of many, with different sizes available for individual or group work. The pods are part of the WorkKEEN service. It is the most popular rentable workplace pod service, with numerous pods scattered across the world, all readily available to be rented using the app’s own cryptocurrency points.
Points are received when tasks that are set by your client or employer are achieved. The Pods are only rentable using points, which themselves can only be received as testament to your work ethic. In this way the Pods you are able to unlock are truly testaments of your work ethic, and anyone can get to the top tier of Pods if they’re just willing to work a little harder.
The client or employer are essentially the ones paying for the employees WorkKEEN pod by paying a fee to join the network. It is in their interest to do so because this gives them access to the largest database of remote and contract workers ready to work on your project. Additionally, employers know that tasks get done on average 38 percent faster when using the WorkKEEN service.
The Pods are sentient and responsive. They recognize your user profile and automatically load your apps to the its interactive walls, sets the lighting temperature to just your liking, and adjusts the height of the desk to your optimal height. Some of the pods are decorated digitally, providing the user the option to swipe through different themes (i.e. from feeling like you’re in the middle of a forest, to feeling like you’re floating in space), other pods use more traditional interior decorating tactics - with different styles of smart furniture and finishes available.
As Lux continues to work, his pod suddenly glows a warm yellow and a soft triumphant tone resounds. Writing on the wall indicate that he’s finally unlocked the next level of Pods. “Finally!” he thinks, “Gotta tell my friends about this, they’re gonna be so jealous. Greenhouse pods, here I come…! Beemo, post this to my profile please - thanks!”
Lux decides to call it a day. His workpod shuts down. The interactive digital walls go dark. No need to grab anything to transport your digital files, everything’s been saved in the cloud. Just your personal belonging like your water bottle and your snacks need to be taken back with you.
As he heads towards home he impulsively checks the location of his coworkers and friends, seeing what type of pods they’ve got rented for the day. He also checks for new work contracts that fit his skillset. He doesn’t have to do too much on that front as his personal digital assistant automatically accepts work for him as it knows Lux’s capabilities and schedule much better than he knows them himself. The personal assistant’s job search setting can be set to find you challenging jobs that are just a touch outside your abilities but push you to become a better time manager, can be set to comfortable, where it will only pick tasks that it knows you can comfortably complete, it can also be set to relaxed, where it will only accept tasks that require less mental effort - perfect after a long night out.
As he reaches home, he’s already got 12 small tasks lined up for tomorrow, and a workpod already reserved, all of this done without much of his input. Lux just has to go with the flow and completely trusts his assistant in helping him reach his yearly work ethic goal. In fact, Lux is feeling so accomplished right now that he requests his Lifer (a drone like personal camera with AI that captures and edits beautiful life vignettes) to capture an inspirational photo to post to his media accounts. No sooner asked and the deed is already done. “Hashtag AI BFF,” he tells Lifer to add to his post as he jumps onto his bed.