During the COVID-19 pandemic, I hunkered down. My social lifeline became Zoom calls. They still are. I hardly meet colleagues or coworkers in person, as it’s just not necessary any more.
I do still enjoy the times I get out. Yet, I’m old school, and picking up the phone and placing calls is second nature. In all things, I do my part in living sustainably.
In the age of remote work, there are conventions, team meetings, busy work, solo work, and collaborative work, and going to a specific place of business isn’t necessary to get whatever kind of work done. I adore hearing the birds chirp, so when there are no traffic jams, there’s an immediacy to communing with nature.
New York City has been impacted the most by the absence of warm bodies who once worked in the various markets around the city, be it the Seventh Avenue, Madison Avenue and Wall Street. corridors, and other intersecting hubs. Other businesses have clambered to take over these spaces, and filling up an old stomping ground by lesser known entities is gratifying to contemplate.
The homeless challenges all big cities face may be an initial deterrent to more permanent change. However, we’re already seeing multi-family housing replace offices like Zoom has replaced commuting by car. Our economy’s industrial and transportation sectors burn the most fossil fuels, yet EVs and hydrogen power hold a lot of promise.
We can all agree that the effects of oil and gas-led economies of the 20th century, at least from a scientific perspective, have provoked a new paradigm. Reduced power consumption in the workplace has many benefits.
Dispensing with servers, computers, and computer printing stations cuts energy bills and gives us extra time with loved ones.
The digital age has reduced paper usage, even though many employers still require a paper trail. The paperless strategy has proven to reduce the need for paper mills. One remote worker can remove up to 14.7 pounds of CO2, accounting for better air quality.
The day-to-day grind of getting to the transportation hub while cramming a danish and coffee down our throats is a thing of the past, for many of us, and that’s a good thing. Should we want to get away, there will exist driverless EV taxis to speed us on our way sooner than later.
In the meantime, we can treat work for work’s sake only. To not be pigeonholed by what we do on this planet is liberating. I invite everyone to be defined instead by the many kindnesses we bestow on our fellow humans and on the planet itself.
Parklife has been proudly remote since its founding in 2009. While this wasn’t a huge deal when it was a solo venture of the founder, we now have fifteen people participating in the company on some level, from full-timers to contractors.
To a person, we’re all resolutely remote, and with the right people and the right tools, the culture doesn’t suffer. From my observation, it actually thrives because everyone’s so well-adjusted from the flexibility and peace that come from working from your natural habitat.
