The period of changed working habits or working life that we are in now is not unlike that transition in the late 18th Century when (in Europe) workers moved from country to town. Many left bucolic environments where their work (often on farms and farming-related industries) had a fundamental connection with the passing of days and the seasons. The jobs they went to in the early Industrial Revolution were often dangerous, dispiriting and disconnected in every way from their existence, save as a means of staying alive. Even that was precarious.

The division of labour and specification of industrial tasks, as envisaged by Adam Smith, was the basis for Marx's observation that workers were alienated from what they produced. We may not agree with Marx's ultimate solution, but he was an astute commentator on capitalism in his time. For many people today, alienation remains a very real aspect of their relationship to work, only now the matter is further complicated by the effects of globalization, capitalism's most recent project. Many jobs in the developed world have disappeared or become part-time whilst others have been replaced by technology. It is hard to see how this trend won't continue or even accelerate. Hence the interest in a universal basic income, a wage paid to all citizens by the government. Not being an economist, I don't really understand how it works, for who produces the wealth if everyone is on the public retainer? But I am sure that someone, somewhere, is doing the figures.

When I entered the workforce in the early 1980's, working at one job for life was still a part of the working paradigm. There were plenty of careers in banking, insurance, the public sector, manufacturing and so forth for there to be much choice. Many of these jobs did not even require an HSC. The anxiety that afflicts many late teens these days is not only over the question of what to do, but what am I doing and why am I doing it? These are perfectly reasonable questions - young people are not stupid and are quite aware that the field of play is not the same one that their parents ran onto. Anxiety will always increase when uncertainty rises. The equation of getting good grades in education with a satisfying job and high income is unhelpful too. Rather, students should be equipped to deal with the complexity and inconstancy of the modern world so that they might make choices that increase their chances of happiness.

I hope that Tom can follow this path.

Meanwhile, a comedy duo to end all duos.