It seems to me that there are so many inefficient things that had a positive side effect of creating little communities. I don't need to go to the bank to cash my check like my grandfather so I am not seeing the teller. Or fast-forwarding, I don't need to order my McDonald's from a person, I can just order on a screen and pick it up on a shelf. The office is just the biggest element of that - so it is not just the person you saw every week and said hello to and maybe knew their name, but it was a family. And a family in all the ways that can be good and bad - you are stuck with them to some degree. The times of boredom or stress could be bonding. I think the really difficult problem is how to be so efficient and not be alone all the time. Can't imagine someone who graduated from college and is starting a job this week, working from home. Their circle is just dramatically shrunk and that is a shame. But on the other hand, it is hard to justify having a bunch of huge buildings for people to do the same thing they can do at home.
Such an excellent point- been thinking and reading about how many of our social/societal bonds are weak. While so many layered trends feed into that, I love your point about the “inefficient” mundane interactions that subtly helped us feel like part of a community. I remember knowing the bank tellers in our community...it’s interesting to consider how all those tiny interactions used to add to the social fabric and now are replaced with far more impersonal processes . I’d like to argue that the increased efficiency frees us up to then invest more time in relationships we care about vs the “shallower” community connections but I doubt that’s true and I think we need both the deep and shallow connections to feel a part of a community.
I've worked from home more of my life than not, and officially since 2002. The key for me was building a real home office from which to work, not a guest bedroom, not the kitchen table. I've always been a writer and editor though, so the social parts of office life actually impeded my productivity, where working at home allows me to concentrate. I can't work in coffee shops because I have a little bit of sensory issues, so the white noise that other people find useful, I find utterly distracting.
I have worked from home for 11 years and feel like it better suits my personality at this stage of life. But, I am in a job that requires concentrated work, there is slow turnover in staff so I still know many people at work, my team is also all remote, and maybe most importantly I am an introvert and hated the DC commute and cost of living. I have many, many incentives to keep being remote until I can retire. I am glad I had the in person connections earlier in my career, though.
Hybrid is best. Once or twice in office per week helps with a change of pace and seeing your colleagues.
It seems to me that there are so many inefficient things that had a positive side effect of creating little communities. I don't need to go to the bank to cash my check like my grandfather so I am not seeing the teller. Or fast-forwarding, I don't need to order my McDonald's from a person, I can just order on a screen and pick it up on a shelf. The office is just the biggest element of that - so it is not just the person you saw every week and said hello to and maybe knew their name, but it was a family. And a family in all the ways that can be good and bad - you are stuck with them to some degree. The times of boredom or stress could be bonding. I think the really difficult problem is how to be so efficient and not be alone all the time. Can't imagine someone who graduated from college and is starting a job this week, working from home. Their circle is just dramatically shrunk and that is a shame. But on the other hand, it is hard to justify having a bunch of huge buildings for people to do the same thing they can do at home.
Such an excellent point- been thinking and reading about how many of our social/societal bonds are weak. While so many layered trends feed into that, I love your point about the “inefficient” mundane interactions that subtly helped us feel like part of a community. I remember knowing the bank tellers in our community...it’s interesting to consider how all those tiny interactions used to add to the social fabric and now are replaced with far more impersonal processes . I’d like to argue that the increased efficiency frees us up to then invest more time in relationships we care about vs the “shallower” community connections but I doubt that’s true and I think we need both the deep and shallow connections to feel a part of a community.
I've worked from home more of my life than not, and officially since 2002. The key for me was building a real home office from which to work, not a guest bedroom, not the kitchen table. I've always been a writer and editor though, so the social parts of office life actually impeded my productivity, where working at home allows me to concentrate. I can't work in coffee shops because I have a little bit of sensory issues, so the white noise that other people find useful, I find utterly distracting.
I have worked from home for 11 years and feel like it better suits my personality at this stage of life. But, I am in a job that requires concentrated work, there is slow turnover in staff so I still know many people at work, my team is also all remote, and maybe most importantly I am an introvert and hated the DC commute and cost of living. I have many, many incentives to keep being remote until I can retire. I am glad I had the in person connections earlier in my career, though.