Sometimes I think about all the things I do for work and how not very long ago, it would have taken months instead of days.
Imagine taking an average worker of today and their output back to 1998. They would definitely be under suspicion of cocaine use.
Taking the average worker from 1998 and comparing their output to today’s workers would be insane. And then compare the pay? I feel like I’d probably be mad as hell.
I work in mapping and in the 90s, everything was hand drawn. In the 00s, things switched to CAD, and then by 2010 or so our department went to GIS. We’re still using that same GIS program today but held to so much more insane standards. If I don’t have 98% first-pass accuracy on my mapping and data input, I get a talking to. If I’m not putting out 50 jobs a month minimum, I’m getting a talking to.
Comparing any of this to what some of our older staff members did in the 90s is just insanity.
CAD is obviously something that got much better with better computers, but apart from such heavily PC focussed jobs, I’m not sure this holds true.
Digital systems waste a ton of worker’s time as well, and we now have much, much more bureocracy than before.
In many cases, computers are great at helping you fix problems and accomplish tasks you didn’t have without computers.
I was talking to an old timer that went part time and asked him if he thinks it’s gotten harder to manage people and processes. He responded, “oh hell yes. I couldn’t do what you are expected to do.”