I get paid to write online. The things I write are typically intended to be published somewhere online. I rarely read paper books or magazines, yet I consume information all day. When a system is infused with information, it often can accomplish the same thing -- or something better/more -- with less material matter.
I think no one is measuring any of that. The fact that I can do freelance work online means I can earn less (gross) and keep more of it (net) because I do not need a car to get to work or clothes to meet dress code, etc. So, I am seeing real gains in my quality of life -- paying down debt, eating better, better health etc -- than I could achieve when I had a corporate job. The "overhead" for having a corporate job meant that by the time I quit, I was far deeper in debt than when I got the job. It was a frustrating, frightening way to live. Now, the money I earn is net gain, not "Oh, my god, I can't eat without a job, but having a job has me barreling towards bankruptcy!"
This. The disconnect from "having a real job" and working is spreading. The corporate sector seems to be rapidly declining in exactly this way.
In my most recent gig, having to be onsite was a huge drain on productivity. It really needed to be roughly 10% of my time. I stayed way ahead of my job mainly by doing stuff at home - just the moronic network filters alone meant I had ... 10x the bandwidth available.
But onsite was still required.
I have two kids around 30 or so; neither has an onsite corporate fulltime job.
ROI is what matters. It is not just monetary either, people working long hours often make suboptimal eating and sleeping decisions which damage their health.
I think no one is measuring any of that. The fact that I can do freelance work online means I can earn less (gross) and keep more of it (net) because I do not need a car to get to work or clothes to meet dress code, etc. So, I am seeing real gains in my quality of life -- paying down debt, eating better, better health etc -- than I could achieve when I had a corporate job. The "overhead" for having a corporate job meant that by the time I quit, I was far deeper in debt than when I got the job. It was a frustrating, frightening way to live. Now, the money I earn is net gain, not "Oh, my god, I can't eat without a job, but having a job has me barreling towards bankruptcy!"