Chapter 22: Logistics and Rhythms of Life

Under the current paradigm, every one of us must constantly come up with currency to ransom our existence lest we lose our right to eat, drink, or occupy space. For all but the ultra-wealthy modern feudal lords at the top of the socio-economic pyramid, our jobs are our only way to come up with the currency.

From an employer’s point of view, “business needs,” AKA “the Bottom Line,” are the ultimate determinant of decisions and policies. Profits come first. While there is variation among employers, the norm is to offer very little flexibility to an employee who needs time off due to an unforeseen life event, from a car that won’t start, to a broken tooth, or any of the infinite range of things in an employee’s life that can conflict with the business needs of the employer. Employees are allowed fixed numbers of days off and of sick days. Most employers won’t work with you if you find yourself needing more days off, and on shorter notice, than policy allows. Unless you have a very understanding boss, you’ll most likely have to choose between dealing with the issue, and keeping your job. Under this paradigm, you your boss doesn’t care about your flooded basement, court appearance, or your injured child. It’s up to you to contort things so that the business interests of the company aren’t compromised, even a little bit.

You or I may have an employer who’s understanding and accommodating. The problem is that, under the current paradigm, your employer is your feudal lord (like a duke, duchess, or count) who has the power to work with you, or not as they choose. You, the peasant, the serf, have no say in the matter. For that matter, many workplaces are legally allowed to terminate you for any reason, with or without cause, and even to search your person and belongings at will.

So-called “at-will” employment laws are touted by supporters as being fair to both employer and employee, since either can terminate the employment at any time. This is yet another distortion. To most employers, employees are interchangeable parts, almost as easily replaced as a toner cartridge or a battery. The company will always find someone to replace us. They’ll function just fine without you. We, on the other hand, are not, however anywhere near guaranteed to find another job in time. We need the job just to get through the month. If we lose our job and don’t find another one right away, we could be out on the street, making it even harder to find a job, kicking off a downward spiral of marginalization and disempowerment. There are far more laws, and far easier to enforce, protecting the interests of employers than there are protecting those of employees. What laws do protect employees are eroded relentlessly through the tight influence of the ultra-wealthy and their corporations on lawmakers.

Under the current paradigm, our lives are fragmented. Our jobs dominate our lives. We must contort ourselves to somehow fit in everything else that we have to do to live. We must somehow make things fit between job, doctor’s or dentist’s office, needs of family, courts, departments of motor vehicles, and much more, each of which holds power over our access to something we need, and how to make it work is our problem. The job, the doctor’s office, and the DMV all have their hours, their requirements, their procedures, and the one thing they share is that they each dictate their expectations which you are expected to meet, which is sometimes impossible. This generates chronic stress and alienation that erode health and well-being while making us less effective in every aspect of our lives.

In the coming new paradigm, this will change drastically at long last. All enterprises will be peer-based and egalitarian in character. There will be no “business needs,” only real, authentic needs, which will be a fraction of what is demanded by the current self-devouring cycle. Prime considerations will be human wellbeing. With no hierarchy, when you need an unexpected day or week off, you will simply inform your workmates. If there are extenuating circumstances or things to work out, it will be worked out among peers, with none holding power over the other.

There may still be situations where workplace needs take priority, due to actual, authentic needs such as harvest time, a natural disaster or building collapse or other overriding situation. Such situations will be understood by all peers in the enterprise, not imposed from above. There will be no rush to get a new model to market before the competitor does, when, besides appearance, the only thing distinguishing the new model from the old is that there are no interchangeable parts between them and the old model is no longer supported. The new paradigm will usher in an era of well-being and vibrancy the likes of which have rarely been seen in human history.