The Office Worker is Dead

And why skilled labor matters more than ever

Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
4 min readDec 8, 2023

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Photo courtesy of author

“Oh, Bert. He only writes things.”

This was the response I got to my question regarding the positioning of the new gate and fencing I’m having fitted. There was some confusion about where it should be, and I was discussing it with the construction crew — the guys that do the work.

So, I tried again.

“I discussed this with Bert yesterday, and he assured me he understood everything.”

“We understand that, but Bert … well, Bert doesn’t always grasp the practical aspects of construction. He’s just … he’s just an office worker. Therefore, whenever we arrive, we usually need to make some adjustments to whatever he agreed.”

“Just an office worker.”

Ouch.

I got the impression this had happened before — many times before. Bert agrees to a plan with the customer — in this case, me — but the plan isn’t the best or most efficient way of doing things and requires adjustment.

I quite enjoyed the conversation — the renegotiations — and it was evident that I was dealing with skilled professionals who could build and create things. The kind of people you don’t interact with frequently in an office environment.

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Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Written by Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD

Where Gen X memories meet today’s struggles.

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