Smartworking: reality or myth?

It was celebrated during the pandemic period, the panacea of staying at home and being connected.

Dozens of articles, conferences, experts praised its effects and the inexorable end of going to the office.

Where are we today?

All it took was a couple of U.S. multinationals that effectively ceased smartworking to decree its end.

And then articles, conferences and experts praising the effects of being in the office and how well it does.

But then is smartworking needed or not?

In the age of AI approaching smartworking in a deterministic, yes/no way, is for me a very dangerous conceptual error.

Let's start with the basics: what does my company produce, where is it located, how many cultures does it have, what kind of people are there?

These are the first questions that come to mind because I have the fundamental axiom in my head: total flexibility.

And I come back to the deterministic concept: in the midst of the quantum and AI era, the existing models are obsolete, so whoever can best absorb these changes quickly and use them to increase their business will win, as usual.

But who are the key players today: the technologies? NO are the people, the skills and the training of those people.

Those who do not understand this concept now are bound to struggle in the future.

So is smartworking needed or not? That is not the right question; it is another one that is more important.

How can I motivate people to give their best? With flexibility, and if smartworking is needed for that company at that particular time, then so be it.

I would go further and say that smartworking DOES NOT EXIST, and I would leave it completely up to people to decide whether to go, when to go, how to go in their company.