Greensboring.com | Greensboro, NC

I have to say that after finally returning to work a few weeks ago, I'm rather starting to feel like John from "Brave New World." Getting into this place, where I thought I was fairly comfortable, the more I think on it, the more I feel like an alien.

I'm doing the same sort of job that I was doing last year: software QA. Yeah... it's a filthy job but someone's gotta do it. What's getting to me is the fact that I'm a member of the strangest team I've ever encountered.

My supervisor (originally from India) lives in Minnesota.
Her boss (initially from Russia, I believe) is in California
SHE reports to a manager (home boy... and a Neo-con) here in NC.
One team member (American, but he only stays in the office half-days) is in the cube next to me. Another is in ... well I'm not quite sure WHAT state he lives in. I just know he's a voice I hear on weekly conference calls. So far, all of the people mentioned are FTE's.

I'm a contractor, working for low wages (compared to what I used to make when I cad a "career").
And to round out the team, there are two other contractors. Both living in India.

Welcome to the 21st Century "virtual" office. All of us professionals are working as a team via virtual presence. Generally, we communicate through IM texts. VERY rarely via email. Once a week via teleconference.

We had a conference call this week, and I tried to participate, but it was tough. How do you develop a personal knowledge of someone by voice only? And THEN with the problems of using English on a team primarily made up of Hindi speakers? I answered a few questions, but my responses seemed to result in alarm, when I thought I was communicating clearly and affirming that I was doing what I'd been told to do. It took several minutes to get the point across successfully.

I do the best I can, but it ain't easy. If I need to ask questions, I often have no one to talk with. There are NO friendships to be made in this gig. How can you make friends, find out what comments you can make with irony or sarcasm and be sure they'll be understood? Any communication with emotional content is inherently dangerous on this account. The whole setup basically requires us all to be computer-like, all business and no humanity involved.

I guess it sounds like a dream come true for managers, who never seem to be able to deal with the vicissitudes of human interaction. But it's draining to me. I know the lady in the lunch room far better than anyone on my team. Over the coming 5 months left to my contract, I can't see that changing significantly.

It's definitely a "Brave New World." One that holds terrifying realities for a fellow like me, brought up in a more primitive, emotional, non-robotic life back in the last century. Not really very sure I can see how it'll last. But if that's the way people will keep employed in the coming days, I guess it'll have to be dealt with. Somehow.

To me that sounds very much like an American induced work environment.

I've worked many jobs over the years here in the States, and there is generally (with an occasional exception) an atmosphere of isolation, and cut-throat dissent among co-workers. It's a competitive environment where even your "best-friend" (at-work) would beat you senseless with a keyboard to get a promotion over you, while smiling and lying to your face.

Here in the south, a lot of us, may have been lucky to have a job which I can only describe as "old-school", where the work load was more appropriate and friendships could be formed. I've had a few, but then the company would get bought out, or the CEO replaced, and suddenly its do-or-die.

I doubt I'll ever see the days of a positive work environment anymore. Even university jobs are getting stupid from what I've observed from my profs.

In my opinion that's the result of American capitalism, where when inefficiencies are maxed, profitability can only come from mitigating worker freedoms such as relationship building, and any activity the deters from the goal of productivity banned.