Liquid Labour COVID-19 Version (wk4 BCM206)

This week we look at something particularly relevant in our modern day society. If anyone has been living away from all media and locked away, we have a pandemic going on. COVID-19 is something that has forced governments, employers and individuals to adapt to dramatic changes in unprecedented ways.

We looked at something called liquid labour, this refers to the shift from one traditional workplace to one undefined by time and space. When we look at COVID-19 in the perspective of the workplace, hundreds of thousands of employees have been required to work from home, therefore there is this abrupt transition from the traditional workplace to another that is new and unknown. Technology has allowed individuals to work from home, leaving employees more accessible 24/7, but is this necessarily a good thing?

Employees are left open to be contacted 24/7 and working from home may actually add more pressure to complete more work. From my own experience, the pressure added on some of my family members to work more from home was immense. Constantly on call, expected to complete work with no issues and even to complete more than expected.

Is in the end however, is it really a bad thing? COVID-19 has created its own part of liquid labour, that can have a number of benefits its path. Families may have the ability to juggle multiple commitments better, and individuals may even be more dedicated to do their work when they are in an environment that they are more comfortable in.

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