We often hear that communication is critical. The trend of returning to the office is resurging. But as an engineer, I find myself wondering, "Is this really okay?"
Our true calling is engineering. Engineering is creative, and creativity requires solitude and silence. Yet, what is our reality? We are compelled to commute to the office, expected to participate in meetings, and still rely heavily on chat—that 30-year-old technology—for most of our text communications.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for brilliant jerks, but I'm also fed up with emotional labor. I am an engineer and want to fully commit to engineering. I'm not here to provide customer service to colleagues or clients, nor do I wish to build relationships. Okay, maybe this sounds a bit selfish. Let me rephrase that. It's not about what I "want" to do; it's about what I "should" do.
Listen, customer service and relationship building are merely tools. I'll engage in them if necessary, but they should never be the main focus. Engineering should be the main focus because it's something only we engineers can do. Engineering, by nature, is a creative endeavor—it's not easy. It's not something that can be accomplished by those who are distracted by superficial relationship-building.
Recently, I've felt that generative AI is a positive trend. It seems like the wave of asynchronous text communication is making a small comeback. I hope we can eventually manage asynchronous text communication with humans as well. There's no need for us to return to the office or hold meetings, right? While it might be necessary for some amateurs in engineering, we have the capability to handle things through asynchronous text communication.
What do you all think? Personally, I'm completely done with emotional labor!
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