ChiCuapCuap~

Mungkin ketika mesin pertama kali ditemukan, ada ketakutan yang muncul di benak para pekerja dewasa.

Bagaimana jika aku digantikan oleh mesin itu?

Saat itu, aku masih kecil dan tumbuh bersama perkembangan mesin. Sekarang, mesin bagaikan rekan kerja, sesuatu yang menurutku sudah menjadi hal yang wajar. Namun, ketika AI mulai menginvasi dunia kerja, para pekerja dewasa saat ini, termasuk aku, kembali merasakan ketakutan yang mungkin pernah dirasakan oleh para pekerja di masa lalu.

Bagaimana jika aku digantikan oleh AI?

Sementara itu, anakku yang masih kecil sedang tumbuh bersama perkembangan AI. Bisa jadi, ketika ia dewasa nanti, AI sudah menjadi rekan kerja yang normal dan menjadi bagian biasa dari kehidupan sehari-harinya.

Sore ini, meeting internal yang biasanya berfokus pada training diganti dengan sebuah announcement dari leader terkait perombakan yang mungkin akan cukup mengagetkan. Dan ya, menurutku, informasi ini benar-benar mengguncang mental kami.

AI sudah bisa melakukan banyak hal. Pekerjaan yang dapat dikerjakan oleh AI akan mengalami pengurangan manpower, atau bahkan divisinya bisa dihilangkan. Sedikit bisa bernapas lega karena perusahaan masih berusaha mencarikan job desk di divisi lain yang sekiranya membutuhkan manpower. Setidaknya, kami tidak langsung dipecat begitu saja. Aku bersyukur karena para C-level di perusahaan ini masih sangat humanis.

Aku juga sedikit bisa menarik napas lebih dalam karena divisi tempatku bekerja berhubungan langsung dengan klien meskipun ada sisi teknisnya juga. Sejauh ini, AI belum begitu fasih dalam membangun relasi dengan manusia. Namun, yang benar-benar ketar-ketir adalah tim teknis. Tim di balik layar ini mungkin bisa digantikan oleh AI kapan saja. AI dapat melakukan automation, mencari root cause dari issue yang dilaporkan oleh klien, bahkan mengendus adanya issue sebelum disadari oleh klien. Setelah menemukan root cause-nya, AI juga dapat melakukan fixing dengan mudah. Dari sederet runtutan pekerjaan tersebut saja, seharusnya sudah ada beberapa job desk yang sebelumnya dilakukan oleh manusia, tetapi kini bisa dikerjakan oleh satu AI saja. Mengerikan, bukan? Bagaimana bisa tidak ketar-ketir?

Memang, AI sangat membantu dalam berbagai lini pekerjaan. Seiring berkembangnya teknologi, AI menjadi semakin pintar, semakin humanis, dan semakin tidak kaku. Namun, di saat AI semakin humanis, manusia justru terasa semakin tidak humanis. Manusia menjadi semakin bodoh karena ketergantungan pada teknologi dan semakin kaku dalam menghadapi realitas kehidupan yang semakin keras.

Miris.

Apakah nantinya aku juga akan terkena PHK karena AI? Entahlah.

Untuk sekarang, aku mencoba berpikir positif dan mengerjakan apa yang ada di hadapanku terlebih dahulu. Sebab, jika terus memikirkan hal-hal yang masih jauh di depan, bisa jadi aku justru akan semakin terpuruk karena pikiranku hanya dipenuhi oleh berbagai kemungkinan negatif.

Hari ini seperti biasa, once a week bekerja dari kantor. Karena sedang masa liburan, jalanan cukup padat. Perjalanan dari rumah ke kantor yang biasanya hanya memakan waktu kurang lebih 30 menit, entah bagaimana bisa hampir satu jam lamanya. Aku merasa perjalanan ini seperti biasa saja, namun ternyata waktu berjalan lebih cepat daripada laju kendaraan yang aku tumpangi. Atau entah karena sepanjang perjalanan pikiranku banyak hinggap ke sana kemari, tanpa sadar seolah mengurangi laju kecepatan kendaraanku.

Akhir-akhir ini memang pikiranku banyak dihantui oleh kebijakan perusahaan yang nanti akan menerapkan layanan 24 jam, 7 days a week. Aku hanya khawatir, bagaimana jika nantinya aku ditugaskan bekerja tengah malam? Bagaimana aku menghadapi hectic-nya pagi hari ketika harus menyiapkan ini itu untuk anakku sebelum berangkat sekolah? Kebijakan ini memang belum sepenuhnya diterapkan, namun aku sudah gundah duluan. Lucunya, mengkhawatirkan sesuatu yang belum terjadi. Sudahlah, membuang tenaga saja, ya. Benar, lebih baik fokus pada apa yang ada sekarang saja dulu.

Bekerja di kantor dan bertemu rekan kerja bagiku bisa menjadi dua mata pedang. Bisa mengobrol melepas stres bersama, atau justru ada informasi yang membuat semakin kepikiran, haha. Nah, kali ini ada hal yang sebetulnya bukan ditujukan padaku, namun aku merasa bahwa itu adalah aku. Ada rekan kerja yang bercerita tentang partner-nya, yang sejatinya sudah lama bekerja dengannya, namun dalam assessment skornya kalah dengan rekan kerja yang baru saja masuk. Apakah ekspektasinya terhadap rekan lamanya ini ketinggian? Menurutku tidak. Standar saja, karena memang rekan yang sudah lama bekerja seharusnya lebih ahli daripada rekan yang baru saja masuk. Sama dengan ceritaku sebelumnya, kan?

Dari sini aku menyadari bahwa tidak semua orang memiliki ambisi dan kesempatan yang sama. Rekan kerja yang baru masih muda, single dan agile. Mereka bisa bekerja dan belajar tak kenal waktu, tak ada batasan, tak ada gangguan. Sedangkan rekan yang lama tersebut, sudah menikah dan baru punya anak. Aku mengerti bagaimana repotnya menjadi ibu baru, terlebih tanpa ART ataupun babysitter. Aku sudah mengalami hal itu sehingga tahu betul bagaimana tantangannya. Setelah cuti melahirkan 3 bulan, harus langsung berpacu mengejar ketertinggalan product knowledge, baru sebentar buka pekerjaan anak sudah rewel, entah menangis, minta diajak main, lapar, mandi, dan segala aktifitas manusia lainnya yang belum bisa ia lakukan sendiri. I know it, tapi bukan berarti hal itu menjadi hal yang perlu dimaklumi. Ada yang namanya profesionalisme. Jika merasa tak mampu, maka cari solusinya. Kalau aku, anak dititipkan di daycare. Namun aku tidak mengutarakan apa yang ada dipikiranku ini kepada rekanku yang sedang curhat ini. Khawatir dia jadi antipati, well karena dia sendiri berprinsip child-free.

Singkat cerita, rekan yang bercerita denganku pun sepakat, bahwa tidak semua orang bisa dia berikan ekspektasi yang sama ataupun diberikan workload dengan pace solving yang sama karena berbagai tantangan yang kita sendiri pun mungkin tidak begitu paham. Akhirnya dia sedikit mengurangi ekspektasi, tidak generalisir kemampuan dan ambisi, dan memang jika rekannya itu tidak mampu, langsung lempar aja ke tim teknis, karena notabennya pekerjaan mereka adalah menerima keluhan, jika mereka bisa langsung jawab, ya silahkan diselesaikan. Jika terlalu teknis, maka lempar saja ke tim teknikal. Jadinya bagaimana? Yah, jadinya ya pekerjaanku nambah lagi, hahaha. It's okay, honestly it's better that way karena memang sejak awal kontraknya memang begitu.

June was filled with simple moments that somehow became some of the most memorable ones. There were no big trips or extraordinary achievements, but watching my son perform on stage, attending a wedding as a family, enjoying a staycation, and reflecting on parenthood made this month feel incredibly meaningful.

This was my son's second time performing on stage. This time, he danced to Baby Shark at one of the biggest shopping malls in my city. It seems to be an annual event organized by his daycare. While it's probably a great marketing opportunity for the school, for us parents it's much more than that it's a chance for our children to build confidence and experience performing in front of an audience. Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly. My little shark danced, although quite shyly.

I don't know why such a seemingly ordinary moment made me so emotional. It feels like only yesterday he was still a baby, and now he's standing on a stage in front of so many people. This was already his second performance, and what made us even prouder was that he didn't cry, unlike some of his classmates.

My son is naturally quiet, observant, and rather shy. So seeing him stand on stage without his mom and dad, without bursting into tears, was already more than enough to make us happy. The fact that he followed his teachers' instructions and joined the dance, even if a little timidly, made us incredibly proud.

Thank you, my dear. Mom and Dad couldn't be prouder.

This month we also attended a friend's wedding, who also happens to be one of my husband's close friends. It had been a long time since we last attended a wedding. Most of our friends are already married, and since I'm not originally from this city, many of my closest friends still live back in my hometown.

The wedding venue was outdoors. It was quite hot during the day, but thankfully there were plenty of trees and a gentle breeze that made it much more comfortable.

One reason we rarely attend weddings with our son is the loud music. We've always worried about how it might affect his hearing and overall comfort. To be honest, I've often wondered why some parents bring babies to events where the speakers are blasting music at full volume. It just doesn't seem worth the risk. This time, though, we felt he was old enough, so we decided to bring him along.

The second challenge was the smoking. Since the event was outdoors, several guests were smoking, which has always been something that frustrates me. Clean air should be everyone's right, especially when children are around. Usually, I quietly fan the smoke away or deliberately walk past the smokers while holding my son, hoping they'll notice there's a child nearby. I'm still not brave enough to ask them directly to stop.

Fortunately, our little one was incredibly cooperative throughout the event. I had worried because it overlapped with his usual nap time and lunchtime. He did get a little fussy from being sleepy, but after eating, he happily entertained himself with a small toy car I had brought from home. While he played, my husband and I took turns enjoying our lunch. It made me realize that bringing a toddler to events like this isn't as overwhelming as I had imagined. Somehow, I felt proud that we're slowly becoming more confident taking him to different places.

We also planned another little staycation this month. This time, we stayed at a hotel using a complimentary voucher we had received. Ironically, it wasn't as enjoyable as we expected. Maybe because it was free? Haha.

Our room had three single beds. At home, my son and I comfortably share a queen-size bed. He's still very much an active sleeper, rolling around like the blades of a spinning fan all night long. Sleeping together on a single bed suddenly felt incredibly cramped. Why didn't he sleep on his own? Because I was afraid he'd roll right off the bed. Hotels rarely provide bolsters, so my husband even gave up his pillow so we could use it as a barrier to keep our little one safe.

The funny part was that, despite all our efforts, he still managed to roll around in his sleep and bump into the wall a few times. We felt sorry for him, but at the same time, we couldn't help laughing.

That's just life with a toddler who never stays still, even while sleeping.

Thankfully, the hotel did have one thing that made the trip worthwhile: a swimming pool. After daycare, our son got to spend a little time splashing around in the water, and as always, that was enough to make him incredibly happy.

Toward the end of the month, it was time to receive his semester report from daycare. This time, the report card meeting was accompanied by a sharing session led by a professional in food science. Listening to the discussion brought back memories of the countless hours I spent researching complementary feeding (MPASI) when my son was younger. At the same time, it reopened an old wound that has never fully healed, the ongoing struggle of helping him gain weight. The session reminded me that parenthood is filled with endless questions. Are we doing enough? Are we making the right choices? Could we be doing something better? Since I found the discussion incredibly valuable, I decided to write a separate blog post sharing what I learned about the challenges of helping children gain weight.

Looking back, June wasn't a month filled with major milestones or exciting adventures. Instead, it was a collection of small moments that quietly reminded me how quickly my son is growing. Watching him become a little braver, taking him to places we once avoided, laughing through an imperfect staycation, and continuing to learn as a parent, all of these little experiences became the memories that defined our June.

Sometimes, the smallest moments are the ones that stay with us the longest.