# Understanding Which Position is Derivative By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-02-17 Workers may benefit from management, but they do not need it. Without management, workers can figure out what needs to be done and accomplish it. Management, however, cannot rationally exist without workers. In organizations, workers are essential, but managers are not. Given the differences in prestige, power, and compensation, it’s easy to overlook that management is a derivative position rather than one of primacy. This dynamic suggests something about the nature of management. Management does not exist to direct work; it primarily exists to implement and enforce the directives of executives. Management is not an ally to workers; it serves as the handmaiden to executives. Workers, as the actual source of value within any organization, wield more power than the prevailing ideology implies. The key to this power lies in the essential nature of work. The weakness of the working class stems from the deskilling of work, making it possible for nearly anyone to perform it. Workers must remain vigilant in observing their surroundings for attempts to deskill their labor. When skills have been fully commodified, the foundation of worker power is extinguished. Most technology is intended to deskill work. This doesn’t mean one should avoid technology, as ignoring the inevitable brings little benefit. Technology will arrive, and it will deskill work in the process. Being unaware of this in no way hinders its advancement. The crucial factor is for workers to comprehend it and stay ahead of its implementation. New technology offers a basis for expanding employment opportunities. Things will inevitably change; one must pivot and redefine their approach. In doing so, it’s vital to prioritize work. Once again, work holds a primary position, while everything else in an organization is derivative. Regarding technology, workers gain from determining a few key factors. First, understanding what the technology enables is essential for using it effectively. Second, workers benefit from recognizing which skills may diminish due to the technology. If fewer people can perform certain tasks due to dependence on technology, it’s advantageous to concentrate on those neglected areas. Lastly, workers should prepare for the inevitable erosion caused by technology. Evaluating these aspects allows one to become a strategic consumer of technology in their work. Management implements technology for the benefit of executives, always with the same focus: reducing costs and increasing profits. Unless workers safeguard the essential quality of their work, they can expect their employment to become more precarious while wages diminish. Just because management is derivative and workers are essential doesn’t mean the situation favors workers over management. Executives and management possess privilege, position, and power, while workers only have skill and potential solidarity. Much of executive focus is on ways to deskill work and prevent solidarity among those with shared economic interests. Unless workers grasp these dynamics and actively resist them, they risk finding themselves in a paradoxical position—being essential yet easily discarded. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Management]] [[Deskilling]] [[Technology]] [[Solidarity]]