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Are Tech Workers Essential?
Should tech workers be considered essential during coronavirus shutdowns?
The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly changed economies worldwide. Amid pandemic-related shutdowns, many countries and regions have divided workers into “essential” and “non-essential” categories.
It’s clear that some kinds of workers fall into the former category. Hardly anyone would argue that doctors and nurses are non-essential. Even formerly invisible categories of workers — like the Doordash and Postmates delivery drivers previously lumped into the nebulous category of “gig workers” — are often cited today as among front-line heroes keeping the essential machinery of society operating.
What about those who work in tech, though? Are tech workers essential?
At first, it seems like the answer should be a clear “no.” When thousands are falling sick from a global pandemic every day, it feels like snappy, optimized websites and nicely-designed Pinterest boards should fall by the wayside. But as with most things in tech, if you dig just a bit deeper, the picture gets murkier fast.
Tech underlies a variety of consumer products and services. But it also increasingly provides the backbone for scores of other industries — logistics, supply chain management, power generation and…
