_BlnkTerminalGruntwork and drafting monkeys
As an educator, I am biased towards seeing the potential of all my students. I like to think that I normally see people not for what they are but for what they could be. Unfortunately, seeing only potential can make us underestimate the developmental value of ordinary work..
As a society, I have recently come to think that we have slightly missed the point of work as of late. It’s not only about self-realization but rather on the usefulness of the individual to the collective.
It reflects, normally, on the compensation we receive. And, speculatively, it can be the reason why many looking for a job don’t say “I’m not fulfilled” but “I feel without purpose”. Work serves higher social functions and ultimately allows full participation in the structure of society.
I understand that we normally speak about job displacement as part of the AI discussion, but I personally suspect the issue is much larger and may actually be a sign of an economy entering recession. I even wrote about it in What we have is a money problem – _BlnkTerminal.
I suspect that, for investors, it is easier to accept that people are being laid off because of automation than to acknowledge that the economy is steadily compressing.
That being said, this piece is not about that, but rather about the value of work. Specifically, gruntwork. The one that makes me efficient enough to challenge AI.
I want to be clear that I am not advocating against individuals seeking fulfillment in their work, but rather that it is wrong to discard perfectly useful tasks as dehumanizing simply because they are not the most creative, or because we, as experts, have lost sight of what it took us to build our credentials.
When leadership brings in new talent, there is indeed a risk of overlooking the value and capabilities these individuals can contribute to an organization.
But there is nothing riskier than solutions proposed without a clear understanding of the problems they are meant to solve. Unfortunately, that understanding is normally gained in production, not in the boardroom.
As a society, we might have to redefine—or at least remove some of the stigma surrounding—gruntwork. All types of work are useful, or they would not be paid for. And a true senior understands this, as in some instances these tasks provide a safety net for companies.
For example, as I was building my career, I spent countless hours checking mistakes in plans and applications. I also spent a great deal of time on projects with little glory attached to them (which it turns out is the vast majority). This type of work is so repetitive that the industry moniker for it is “drafting monkey.”
Had it not been for my “monkey work”, though, I would not have developed the capacity to spot on the fly mistakes that my students and senior quality assurance require. I got fed up, but became so good at it that it unknowingly established the foundation of my career.
As a now more senior architect, would I do grunt work, or even find it rewarding? Probably not. But the reason I can quote building regulations from the top of my head is the time I spent fixing the minor issues that my intellectual arrogance now dismisses.
It made me cautious, too, as my seniors were always kind enough to point out the many risks hidden behind my seemingly inconsequential choices. Maybe we should focus more on rewarding better the value people create today than on the unrealized potential we hope they may one day achieve.In the end, after a bit more reflection (and I know many will disagree with me here), we should remember the maxim: “work dignifies man”—not “creative work” or “extremely innovative work.” Simply work. Useful to someone else and contributing to the whole of society.
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Tim Green
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