of·fice

I'm tired of the headlines about how the office is dead, or why hybrid is best or really anything related to "return to office". Yet here I am writing on the subject.

According to one definition, the office is "a room, set of rooms, or building used as a place for commercial, professional, or bureaucratic work." Deeply inspiring.

Let's face it, we evolved over the two years of a pandemic induced WFH environment. We found joys in working from home, from a favorite vacation spot, or a local coffee shop. We made gains from this experiment such as more time with family and savings on gas and parking fees - to name a few. We woke up from our comas and realized that we hated the long commute and that being in the office, alone, wasn't bringing us joy. And yet, I would also argue that as the novelty wears off, we are missing something (more on that later).

Now Airbnb (as one example) says employees can work remote forever. CEO Brian Chesky asks, “If the office didn’t exist, would we invent it? And if we invented it, what would it be invented for?” I like this question. It made me think about how profoundly cool and inspiring it would be if I could meet up with colleagues at a local Airbnb for the week. We eat and work together in a home-like environment during the day but can enjoy dinner with our families, coaching our kids' sports teams, date night, or whatever brings us rest and joy in the evenings. Airbnb + Meetup for colleagues...awesome. So, I guess my answer to the question is yes. Yes, I would invent it. And I would invent it for community and connection.

I think we should kill the word office, frankly. Language creates culture and the word office has baggage. Furthermore, we should separate it from the word, work. They are not synonymous.

We know that flexibility is a driving factor in retaining top talent. Fundamental to feeling trusted by your employer is the freedom to choose where to get your work done while also being responsible to your team and clients. As an organization, a community, an ecosystem...we accomplish little alone. Therefore, when it comes to our purpose/our work, we must consider "we" in balance to "me". What's best for me AND the team.

On a personal note, there are many benefits of working from home that I have enjoyed like more dinners at home with my kids, productivity gains because of fewer interruptions and 3+ hours back that I used to spend commuting. I also know that I have fallen into new comfort zones that have not led to healthy behaviors or outcomes for me. For example, way more sitting than I ever use to do in a day. Or, feeling isolated and disconnected from my teams, our clients and the tangible work that we do.

There are well researched and documented downsides of disconnection. It is unhealthy to be deprived of social connections. Fulfillment and happiness are significantly affected by the extent to which?we establish strong bonds?with others. According to this MIT study, we crave interactions in the same region of our brains where we crave food. This related study showed we experience social exclusion in the same region of our brain where we experience physical pain.?Isolation hurts. Literally, it hurts.

What if office was no longer part of our vocabulary? What if instead of focusing on the word "office" or "hybrid" or "return to work", we focused on what is the fabric of our being...connection and how placemaking and the thoughtful design of space (indoor, outdoor, digital, physical) can facilitate connection and well-being. What if instead of holding on so tightly to the past, we embraced the now (and the future). There are countless existing buildings and open spaces that are now our blank canvas, waiting to be repurposed, redesigned, reused, or repositioned to meet our needs. Our basic human need...connection.

I'm excited to reimagine what space means for people who are working together to achieve shared goals for a company. The future is now.