Why I hate my job (it's not what you think)

#work

There are some days, days like these, where I hate my job.

Not doing it, I love doing it, but the fact that it exists.

My job exists because of unnecessary things. Because we all just keep consuming. Because everyone's gotta have one.

Think about it. Remember the scenario for most of your gigs.

We want a website
Why?

And then the uncomfortable silence, or the vague marketing justification, or the childish 'because they've got one'. Ask most clients what people will want to do at their website and you'll get no valid responses. 'post a comment', 'contact us', 'join our network', 'subscribe'.

I make an exception. Art and communities. Art and community sites don't need a wider goal. They just are. And, to be honest, they don't need my help. Most art and community sites are either improved by the lack of usability (art) or will get along very well without it thank you (community).

People are paying larger and larger sums of cash into my bank account for me to tell them something obvious and then ignore me anyway. And to what end? A large number of digital interactions are unsatisfactory at best and impossible at worst. IT systems are the cause of customer service failures around the world. Online services are ineffective and insecure. People are becoming isolated and bloated sitting behind screens waiting for the world to arrive.

If you need me to tell you how to make it work, then it probably isn't necessary after all, and if it isn't necessary then it is wasteful consumerism and we are better off without it.

There are no usability consultants in the poorest industries. Farmers in rural Africa tend not to hire consultants to show them the most effective use of a hoe. Consult with your users, your customers, your staff. Build what you need, not what others have.