Feature


spend it on.” Naturally, managers with a traditional background have reservations when interactions between team members migrate to the virtual domain. When working virtually try keeping a Skype or Google chat open constantly during the day. This helps you to stay in com- munication with the team and replace the “water cooler effect” of being in an office and bumping into each other What about productivity? It’s not nec- essarily true that an office will make a business more productive or presti- gious Many start-ups hire a serviced office in the best location in your city for a fraction of the cost of a “real” office. This should be prestigious enough for most businesses. So what do individuals want and need from their place of work? And as em- ployers, how much value does our business derive from ‘social capital’, face-to-face contact and the physical provision of a workplace for our peo- ple? Vocal proponents of home work- ing now declare that there is no need to return to the environmental and per-


sonal rigours and expense of commut- ing. They say that the benefits gained from our rejuvenated view means that our homes - or our local café - have permanently replaced the need for a shared office.


But supporters of the office argue that this neglects critical lessons from gen- erations who believe in the workplace as our second home. It is the place in which we feel safe for a large propor- tion of our lives. The place where we solve problems, create solutions with like minds and form bonds that last a lifetime.


If a business has a choice and the home working experiment has exposed a potential alternative, they must de- cide whether the inevitable cost sav- ings outweigh the benefits of bringing their people together under one roof. If they decide to maintain the role of the office, they must ensure they can per- suade their people to leave their home desks and return to the fold. Companies heavily invest in ‘social capital’ which is held within their net- works, their teams’ knowledge, their


ideas and group resilience. Without the office this value is rapidly eroded. The office grants us the ability to in- teract - face-to-face - whether formally behind closed doors or in accidental meetings in break-out areas. Our body language, vocal interjections and ca- maraderie contribute to a gold stan- dard of collaboration. Could a tool like Microsoft Mesh replicate this? It wasn’t so long ago that we were cast- ing doubts on whether anything oth- er than face-to-face meetings would support essential functions like sales. How wrong were we?


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