The Great Escape (Macro)
Back in 2018 I wrote these four speculative narratives that described future scenarios for the state of remote work in 2045.
This is the macro-scenario 4 of 4
The macro-environment
In this world your career is viewed as an opportunity to explore and develop your inner desires. Work is seen as a chance for adventure, and the workplace is less about the location or social network it can provide and more about the experience it can offer.
Heightened cognitive abilities and exoskeleton enhanced physical abilities. The individuals of this future world do not shy away from upgrading themselves through whatever means necessary. Transhumanism movements have created cyborgs and augmented humans able to redefine the limits of human productivity, efficiency, and creativity. Cyborgs are becoming more mainstreamed and some individuals have so many upgraded artificial intelligence that whether they are considered human anymore is an area of much recent debate. The debate culminated in a particularly sad legal case where an enhanced human claimed her upgrades were faulty and it was to blame for her violent assault on a child, not her mind.
KEY TRENDS INFORMING THIS SCENARIO
service economy
transhumanism
reputation economy
rapid architecture
This tension between artificial and natural is especially present in the job market. The workplace is a highly competitive environment, with individuals resorting to nootropics and black market cognitive overrides to propel their productivity to the next level. Humans work side by side with artificial intelligence in order to complete tasks more efficiently. Companies recruit talent from all over the globe, no longer requiring individuals to relocate to a specific city to work on projects. Most of the managerial tasks have been transferred to a smart algorithm or are completely team managed. For example an employee’s work assistant can recognize the amount of time spent on a given task and can draft an invoice with various hourly rates based on cognitive effort and focus.
As an extension of the competitive nature of work, social competitions and social image have become valorized. Lifestyles are continuously promoted, and drones and photography assistant bots can provide the optimum videography of your day, even if you just spent it working from your home office, the AI smart bot knows just how to shoot and edit it to make it extra compelling to others. This type of behaviour has promoted braggy and disingenuine lifestyles focused on the perception of self.
Because of the increased competitiveness in the workplace, many workers are seeking to reintroduce meaning into their working lives and the freelancing dream, and by association remote working tendencies, are once again becoming more popular among full-time employees. For the first few decades of the 21st century remote working was gaining ground, but by 2025, a backlash occurred when research showed that an entirely remote working force was less efficient than a fully centralized working force. For this reason many companies had started requiring employees to work from their headquarters. This did not last long as employees soon left companies in droves, seeking the flexibility and fulfillment they felt when working remotely.
As such, services looking to satisfy human’s sense of curiosity and discovery are appearing in major cities. Another driving force of this society is that of escapism, particularly as it applies to the workplace experience. People want to feel inspired and rewarded by their workplaces.
The urban space is dotted with rentable workpods. Some act as infill architecture, helping densify the urban core. Some high-demand ones are placed in inspiring or novel environments such as in a tree-top, floating on a lake, yet the majority of them are placed in ‘forgotten’ urban areas such as gaps next to the railway corridor, in back alleys, and in backyards. A popular gamified workday app allows employees to unlock certain perks such as time in the “sky pod”, a coveted private penthouse workpod. Points are earned by successfully completing work challenges on time (set by your employer or client).
It is also typical to see renovated homes with home office attachments budding off the backs or tops of them. Several companies compete in this space, offering prefabricated home offices that can be quickly and inexpensively attached to homes, placed in yards, or placed on driveways. These prefabricated offices are placed inside vacant infrastructure to quickly transform them into on-demand office buildings.
Coworking spaces have certainly evolved to offer highly sought after experiences. Since about 2030 space hotels sponsored by large coworking companies are offering their members the opportunity to work from 410 kms up in the sky.
As an attempt to retain a loyal workforce, companies offer a remote working travel plan with most of their job offerings. This allows individuals to benefit from full time employment yet enjoy all of the benefits of remote work and travel. Some of the better companies have office spaces for you to work at from all over the world. Individuals are no longer required to live in the same city as the company’s headquarter. Teams are hyper distributed.
Finally, some intrepid individuals make their income through a private fleet of automaton they license out to companies. In essence, the robots are the ones bringing in the money, with the automaton master reaping the rewards, building ever larger fleets.
