Work has changed over the years. The contract between us used to be, turn up, do as you were told, work hard, get through it until you’re 65 and retire for a handful of years, until you die.
In the main you worked so that you and your dependents, of which there could be many, could exist on what you bring home. That was what we called life for 90% of the people.
But is it any different today? Have the tables turned? Do workers have more say in the contract? Is it really work anymore or is it various blends to create a lifestyle?
We still have a few people ‘working’ to survive. But we are now in a post-industrialisation, mid-information age where manual jobs are taken by robotics and process controlled machinery.
The vast majority of work now sits somewhere between a time where yesteryear’s clerical functionality is being replaced by AI in a world that is being designed and built to replace people.
I had a discussion with a retired brain surgeon the other day. He assured me that his work could never be done by AI and robots. I suggested that it already is. I also told him that they were better at it. Performed each intervention at a lower cost. Had a higher success rate. And worked 24/7. He refused to accept it. I would too if I were him.
So what is work in 2025? And more importantly, what will be work in 2030? Do we need to think again about the definition of civilised society? Could we survive the guilt of not working?