We live in a world in which people are increasingly knowledge workers. Many of us now use our minds rather than our hands to provide a service. Knowledge workers don’t always provide a tangible good, they provide information and advice. This gives people the impression that it’s not a big deal to ask for free advice.

Living in a society where information is readily available to us through the internet, suddenly everybody is an expert. As a result, professional advice has been devalued. Why seek a doctors advice if I can diagnose myself online, right? This is an extreme example, but you get the point.

This is especially true of health and fitness, probably because every human has to deal with these things to some extent, therefore many people hold opinions on these matters. Classically, people went to the doctor because they are the expert and had the information you needed which couldn’t be found anywhere else. If all that information is now online, does that mean we don’t need doctors? Of course not.

There is nothing wrong with somebody arming themselves with knowledge, but it must be realised there is an immense amount of false information online. Without sufficient knowledge in the domain, sorting the facts from fiction is not always clear. Assimilation of that knowledge within the larger whole and applying it to the situation at hand comes only with years of study and experience.

Therefore, it is important we value the advice of our professional knowledge workers and do not take their advice for granted. Knowledge workers spend years honing their craft to give you tailored advice and education so you don’t have to spend years learning it yourself. Pay them appropriately and don’t expect free advice.