Remote Work in 2025 and Beyond

[maki2]

I know that perhaps 20 years ago and earlier there was a fair amount of “piece work” opportunities going on. Actual physical product work that persons were doing in their homes. They would be sent boxes of parts that needed assembling or even packaging. I think there is still some of that going on. But it would not be all that easy to get such jobs if you frequently travel to new shipping addresses.

But the label “remote work” no longer seems to include such jobs. Although I do know that remote sewing assembly work still does exist in the USA for some small sized sporting goods products. If a nomad had the right equipment and the shipping of materials and completed products could be worked out that could actually work as a remote job. I have friends who owned such a mom and pop company and used remote sewers for the cutting and assembly, but they recently retired to Florida.

 

[eDJ_]

The "Putting Out Industry" is the term that was coined for it in the 1750's English Industrial Revolution. There were no factories like we have today so people's homes had raw materials delivered to them to be convert into finished goods which the merchant would later pick up and pay for. Then supply a next allocation of materials. As this practice grew it influenced the modification of a work-family's home. A shed-like lean to was added to the house later to serve as a shop and even at times a barn in bad weather if necessary. Soon after, "Cottage Industry" became the more common term. In this phase the work-family's home became the first factory facility.

When I was living in North Carolina the next door neighbor to my parents worked this putting out industry system. She was a seamstress who sewed women's stockings. Once a week a Van would pull up and they would exchange boxes. Mom had come to know her and she told her she sewed "custom" lingerie. The area was big into textile and carpet tufting.



Today, some Nomads tow a trailer behind their rig that serves as a work shop while others may work out of a school bus doing similar.