a propos | The Employee by Joshua Schwebel

Josh Schwebel <privatejosh@gmail.com> To: Mitchel Cumming <█████████████████████ >

Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 5:02 AM

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-poem-about-your-universitys-new-and-totally-not-time-wasting-review-process-for-tenure-and-promotion?fbclid=IwAR3ZEkWLJusPKJHBtC1tjwiIcg7hhJqSQYG_LlojwHIpA0pYw-pNoaweMpE

Mitchel Cumming <█████████████████████ >

Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 12:33 AM

Indeed.

This morning, still blue about the world of academia and after a pleasant chat with our mailman, I began applying for a job as a postal delivery officer. It turns out even this line of work has been totally subsumed by algorithmic analysis. I'm to undergo a virtual, automated interview and perform quick response simulation tasks online. My performance will then be ranked accordingly, and IF my "predictive performance score" is high enough I will proceed to the next stage of the process. Apparently these new forms of "streamlined" hiring are being set up (in part) because employers are being swamped by disingenuous applications - to qualify for any form of welfare in Australia you must prove on a weekly basis that you are actively seeking work by applying for an arbitrarily set quota of jobs, however unattainable they may be. Even (especially) in unemployment, there must be PROOF OF WORK!

Love and cheers,

M

Josh Schwebel <privatejosh@gmail.com>

Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 9:07 AM

Bah.

I have also imagined myself as a postal carrier. Something about the work appeals to me, but I don’t think I would be eligible given that I can’t drive or stomach close contact with Germans.

The distopian neoliberal surveillance state you describe is everywhere here too. The system is the same here: people need to prove that they are looking for work if they are receiving state welfare, but I don’t know if it translates into an automated test of humanness administered by a machine.

Yours in misery,

Josh