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Who Pays for the Work We do in Autonomous Vehicles?

In its attempt to sell us on the concept of autonomous vehicles, Audi has asserted that its cars will add a 25th hour to our days. But who will control that 25th hour?

Volvo has recently taken a similar tack with a teaser campaign for its own autonomous vehicle, codename 360c, and asks us how your commute could “more efficiently affect work-life balance.”

The thing is, we don’t need to guess. A large swath of the population already commutes without the need to focus on driving. They, of course, use public transit and a recent study from the University of the West of England raises questions about impact ready access to work has had on their lives.

The study examined 5,000 train passengers who were commuting to London and found that 54% of them spent their time sending work emails in the morning and finishing off work in the evening, effectively extending the work day.

According to researcher Dr Juliet Jain, access to wifi on the train is causing a “blurring of boundaries.” The question of where we should get paid and for what.

“With the concept of clocking on and clocking off no longer straightforward, defining where leisure begins and work ends will be vital for both employers and individuals, as well as a complex task for regulators,” adds Jamie Kerr of the Institute of Directors, a UK-based business organization for company directors.

The question extends beyond compensation, too, because the blurring of lines has the potential to lead to increased stress and reduced productivity.

With commuters who drive to work being added to the equation, the question of how to reconcile what counts as work and what doesn’t will become even more important as millions more join the mobile workforce.

While it’s tempting to look at this time as unlocked, the reality is that the, like train passengers, the time might not become our own, as automakers promise.

It may not be Audi’s job to figure out what we do with that time, but it behooves us to decide what to do with that time before someone else decide for us.

[source: BBC News]

The post Who Pays for the Work We do in Autonomous Vehicles? appeared first on VWVortex.



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