I saw this the other day in a job description and it really depressed me. I won’t call out the company—I’m sure there’s some legalese that requires them to include this. Still, this is more aptly named “health risks” than “physical requirements.”
yep this pretty much sums the modern workplace pic.twitter.com/mrahpJ6et0
— Jimmy Daly (@jimmy_daly) December 14, 2016
Here’s how I might rewrite this if it were my job ad:
Physical requirements:
- Must be able to balance the health risks of computer work with regular exercise.
- Ability to work without a computer.
- Should be skeptical of technology’s impact on productivity and happiness.
- Can accomplish eight hours of work in four hours or less.
- Is motivated to be efficient because of other commitments (family, friends, hobbies, etc.)
I’m not sure if I’m an idealist or just cynical. Either way, I’m convinced that computers — and more specifically, software — cause as many problems as they solve at work. Nothing creates more stress for me than dinging notifications and fragmented communication.
Every knowledge industry job has physical requirements. And in almost every case, that requirement is to finish your work efficiently so you can minimize the damage of staring at a screen all day.