Office is an environment where the most common interest and social contacts are founded on one's employer's bottomline and selected by HR's hiring policy rather than selected by the employees, which is very sad.
By Chris Herd via (Twitter - @chris_herd )
I just don't think the office as a focal point is net positive. If anything I believe, it has deepened societal issues.
Office work = sacrifice life for work; while Remote = organize work around life.
I think there are other better avenues to develop deep meaningful relationships that we crave so much for in the office setting.In fact, I just don't think office leads to the type of relationships many think that it does. I have known too many people who leave a role never to connect with those colleagues again.
I can't think of one situation where the office as the main focal point of any social circle – and the place for main social contact to happen – would ever be a good thing human interaction as an argument to return to the office. Spend more time with family and friends while working remotely.
The worst cognitive dissonance I have ever experienced is from people who believe that we need and can only work from the office. But if remote is destroying your way of life, you will still be able to work for the tier two companies that insist on going back to office full-time.
However, the reality is that many companies will be spearheading on the idea of remote work because they will be economically uncompetitive if they don't.
Office work implies that we have not evolved past the industrial revolution factory working hours which has translated into a productivity disaster, even when technology has advanced rapidly.
The office was designed for deep focussed work. It persists as an open plan distraction factory nightmare.
Pushing for office work is akin to arguing for a feudal system as cities were emerging. There will be disruption as we transition but evolution is necessary to improve.
Unlike what many might want to believe, depression and mental health issues are deepened by the office. But remote allows you to spend more time with family and friends. You develop hobbies because you have things in common with people around you rather than the artificial bond created by your employer at the office.
Offshoring would have already happened if jobs are as fragile as most assume. Living in large cities leads to individuals stuck in studio apartments they can barely afford. But remote gives you the freedom to focus and give the best work you've ever produced. Even more, crucially you'll have a far higher quality of life. As such, we don't need to improve on current working practices.
What we need is a radical re-think of our approach to work and life. But this is not going to be easy for those whose careers have been shaped by office working culture.
The arguments for the office are about what people 'think' or 'feel' when objectively the massive benefits are in the intangibles that can never be achieved while working there. Question the motivations of anyone supporting a return to office especially government officials.
As COVID-19 pandemic persists and employees working remotely, they remain even more productive and companies are thriving. Therefore, the office is not needed with remote having so many benefits, economically, regionally, environmentally, it is just insane not to support it.
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But even more surprisingly, is that most workers have been operating remotely for a decade or more from the office, either on different floors of same office, or in different continents, in both cases using say Slack, email or phone. But it is a kind of remote without benefits.
But I understand the: -pain and guilt, shock and denial, anger and bargaining, sadness, reflection, loneliness of office proponents. The remote working by the pandemic was a massive shift that many people were unprepared for. It happened rapidly rather in a phased way that let people grow accustomed to it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Herd is a 'Remote work activist', Founder & CEO FirstbaseHQ ( @FirstbaseHQ)
E-mail: chris@firstbaseHQ.com.
Edited & Compiled by 254NewsDay.