commuting continues?
In this column, timed to accompany the next Presidential Debate, on 29 September (
https://bit.ly/38IPpn1), I am asking three highly qualified practition- ers to respond to a different, but linked question. Luis Suarez, who lives and works in Gran Canaria, is a prominent commentator on different ways of working – he has been at the forefront of the adoption of distributed working for the last two decades. Neil Usher, author of the acclaimed The Elemental Workplace, previously transformed the physical working environment at Sky. Rob Cottrill, Chief Executive Office of award-winning Eastbourne Borough Council, is overseeing the transforma- tion of an urban centre.
Luis Suarez – Is the genie out of the bottle? Have we come too far in the last 18 months to go back to the old model of working? What will work look like in 18 months’ time?
In 2020 we, finally, learned the main reason why the vast majority of organ- isations didn’t adapt to digital tech- nologies at the workplace was mainly motivation. It wasn’t a lack of funding, resources, time, manpower, adaptabil- ity, purpose, etc., etc. It was purely a lack of true leadership to anticipate what is now the “new-normal”. One where we are finally coming to terms with the fact that work has stopped being a physical space and, instead, it’s a state of mind. Work happens any- where where you may well be with the digital tools as your disposal. If there is anything the Covid-19 pan- demic has shown us, it is that working from anywhere (usually, in a distributed manner) is no longer a dirty word. It’s OK. It’s just one other option we are growing fonder of, as it keeps reminding us that we still have a life, after all. It has shown us our incredi- ble adaptation skills as human beings – literally switching from working in an office to working from home in a matter of days without our productivity suffer- ing much as a result. The genie is, definitely, out of the bottle. Eighteen months on and we are all now coming to terms with the fact that we need to decide for ourselves if we want to jump into the 21st century with all of these emergent business practices of working distributedly that the isolation economy has brought us. Or still linger around in the early 20th cen- tury, romanticising about the dreaded commute, corporate politics, bullying, bureaucracy, never-ending meetings and the almost unbearable posturing of face to face conversations, of keeping up appearances with a fancy status quo, influence, power and what not.
September 2021
Luis Suarez.
Throughout all of these past few months we have learned that the vast majority of knowledge work we do can be performed away from the traditional office. We have different social, digital tools that allow us to connect, learn, share and collaborate – perhaps even more effectively, to the point where we can, finally, spare ourselves of the many burdens of the physical work- place. Opening up instead, a whole new world of diversity and inclusiveness (for introverts or people with disabilities) from the comfort from our home offices. Our new limit? The whole business world, literally, not just our next door colleague(s). The reality is the Covid-19 pandemic has provoked a unique opportunity for us all to accelerate the adaptation to digital technologies that have been with us for the last 25 years and that we’ve decided to ignore and neglect. It sparked the development of new business models, as
Rob Cottrill.
organisations adapted in order to keep afloat. And through the implementation of these new ways of working, we have finally understood the importance of localism with a global reach. We are no longer taking for granted what we always had, but that we pretty much decided to obviate because we needed to go to work (i.e. the office): our spouses, our offspring, our pets, our neighbours, our favourite coffee shop, restaurant, our long walks in the neigh- bourhood, casually meeting and convers- ing with other people; in short, our local communities that give us all a sense of belonging, fulfilment, a true purpose. As we approach the end of this tragic and rather dramatic pandemic, we should not forget that it’s not going to be the last one, nor is it going to be the last time we will have to face a global catastrophe (i.e. climate change extreme events). Through- out all of this time, we have learned how we need to be better prepared for next time around. The traditional concept of work happening in a physical space away from our local communities may well have its days numbered. Work has shifted into becoming a state of mind and, we now have the power to decide when, how, with whom, with what, and why we would want to work either from anywhere – including the office itself. The difference now? It will be more deliberate and purposeful. We will be going back to the office, but only because we want to, not because it’s the norm. Working distributedly from any- where has already become the new-norm and it’s here to stay, so we better adapt accordingly. And pronto!
Neil Usher.
Neil Usher – Minimum viable work- place: our future office For office dwellers, it hasn’t been a home working experiment. There’s been
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