In 2012 or so, when I started my company and thus began working totally remotely, I remember being told by an investor that I’d “still have to do meetings in person.” When I asked why, he said that most people required human contact to sign contracts, that they’d need to know you were a “real person” and that was, to him, “the most important thing.” Being able to physically see and I guess shake the hand of that person didn’t really seem to close more deals - I seemed to be able to get people to sign just fine via phone calls and emails, and contracts that had people steadfastly demanding to breathe the same air as me did not seem to be better, or closer, or what have you.
The fundamental conflict is something employers don't admit because it sounds really, really bad and employees don't articulate because it sounds really, really radical.
The primary purpose of Office Settings is to strip employees of their identities and force them to adopt new ones. That is not the primary purpose of the mechanic shop, restaurant, or health club; concern trolling for those workers is besides the point.
In the latter places, there is something being done in the environment. Of course, anywhere a group of people comes together, there must be some code of conduct to create harmony -- and yes, social hierarchy, which exists everywhere! However, in most non-office workplaces, non-"professional" workers either just work as themselves or explicitly perform.
In the formal professions, workers don't so much play a role as embody a societal archetype; physicians, for example, have roles beyond their personal selves, but employers don't assign those roles.
The reason to sit people in Office Settings is to isolate them all day from who they are.
One reason many people don't want to sit in Office Settings is that they'd rather be who they are as they work.
Some people do want to escape who they are, to live in this alternate world all day, where their role buoys their self-concept. It's not just managers, though seeking management roles makes sense for people for whom this is the case.
Most people would be fine or even prefer to go into the office once in awhile, as themselves, to get something done, were it not for the world-building exercise they must take part in.
I've been working freelance/permalance from home since 2000. And I have a lot of the same, but some different ideas.
There is still something about being with the people you work with, creating relationships, networking, friendships, and yes, bumping into people to talk projects or just remind them that you're available if they need help (freelancer mentality).
Man, working from home can be isolating and lonely (I've always been solo practitioner). I've had close relationships with mail carriers and UPS drivers. Not to mention the blurred line between home and work. It was also hard for me to have decent relationships and build businesses with clients I only saw 2x a year. As a freelancer, I was a choice if they wanted to work with me or not and having good relationships were key to having them choose me even though I'm good at taking a task via email and returing a great word doc.
So at one point I arranged to go work inside the clients' office for 4 days at a time every other month. It was great. (except they wouldn't give me a badge, even after 20 years, that would allow me to enter and leave the building by myself). I built relationshiups, grew my business, had an andventure in another country, had great dinners with clients who became friends.
After about 10 years working from our condo, I rented a small office 3 blocks from the house just to go somewhere, see other people and separate home from work.
When we moved to the new house, I had a good basement office, but after 7 years I got a WeWork cube to again, have a reason to go into Chicago, have lunches with friends, meet new people, have an adventure a few times a week.
I think that maybe, the "work from office" sucks not because you're working from an office but that you're FORCED to do it. That someone is looking over your shoulder. That you feel the need to to politic. That the environents often suck and communicate to employees "you're not worth a decent chair or a work space with a door). One new smart marketing manager client took over one of the dozen empty offices in their part of the building when he joined the company. When told he had to move because offices are for director level and up, it was the trigger for him to get a job elsewhere.
I think a great way to do it is with hybrid. We expect you to head to the office 2-3 days a week, but we aren't keeping track. Offices are not cube farms or massive picnic tables, but cool spaces to do some focus work, or interesting places to have discussions and meetings. Make me WANT to come in. Then I can have the flexibility to stay home and save commute time, take care of daytime stuff, or head in for my adventure and see folks I work with. Want to work in an AirBnB for a month? Go for it. This definitelt will take better managers than the over-the-shoulder task managers.
I also think these attitudes depnd on where you are at in life – As a young adult, I didn't mind heading downtown to work. WHne you have kids, you want much more flexibility. As your kids age, you may want to get out of the house more.
Anyways, I have a lot of ideas about this, as I did it for so many years and I'm fascinated by it. Love to talk more sometime with you about it
The fundamental conflict is something employers don't admit because it sounds really, really bad and employees don't articulate because it sounds really, really radical.
The primary purpose of Office Settings is to strip employees of their identities and force them to adopt new ones. That is not the primary purpose of the mechanic shop, restaurant, or health club; concern trolling for those workers is besides the point.
In the latter places, there is something being done in the environment. Of course, anywhere a group of people comes together, there must be some code of conduct to create harmony -- and yes, social hierarchy, which exists everywhere! However, in most non-office workplaces, non-"professional" workers either just work as themselves or explicitly perform.
In the formal professions, workers don't so much play a role as embody a societal archetype; physicians, for example, have roles beyond their personal selves, but employers don't assign those roles.
The reason to sit people in Office Settings is to isolate them all day from who they are.
One reason many people don't want to sit in Office Settings is that they'd rather be who they are as they work.
Some people do want to escape who they are, to live in this alternate world all day, where their role buoys their self-concept. It's not just managers, though seeking management roles makes sense for people for whom this is the case.
Most people would be fine or even prefer to go into the office once in awhile, as themselves, to get something done, were it not for the world-building exercise they must take part in.
I've been working freelance/permalance from home since 2000. And I have a lot of the same, but some different ideas.
There is still something about being with the people you work with, creating relationships, networking, friendships, and yes, bumping into people to talk projects or just remind them that you're available if they need help (freelancer mentality).
Man, working from home can be isolating and lonely (I've always been solo practitioner). I've had close relationships with mail carriers and UPS drivers. Not to mention the blurred line between home and work. It was also hard for me to have decent relationships and build businesses with clients I only saw 2x a year. As a freelancer, I was a choice if they wanted to work with me or not and having good relationships were key to having them choose me even though I'm good at taking a task via email and returing a great word doc.
So at one point I arranged to go work inside the clients' office for 4 days at a time every other month. It was great. (except they wouldn't give me a badge, even after 20 years, that would allow me to enter and leave the building by myself). I built relationshiups, grew my business, had an andventure in another country, had great dinners with clients who became friends.
After about 10 years working from our condo, I rented a small office 3 blocks from the house just to go somewhere, see other people and separate home from work.
When we moved to the new house, I had a good basement office, but after 7 years I got a WeWork cube to again, have a reason to go into Chicago, have lunches with friends, meet new people, have an adventure a few times a week.
I think that maybe, the "work from office" sucks not because you're working from an office but that you're FORCED to do it. That someone is looking over your shoulder. That you feel the need to to politic. That the environents often suck and communicate to employees "you're not worth a decent chair or a work space with a door). One new smart marketing manager client took over one of the dozen empty offices in their part of the building when he joined the company. When told he had to move because offices are for director level and up, it was the trigger for him to get a job elsewhere.
I think a great way to do it is with hybrid. We expect you to head to the office 2-3 days a week, but we aren't keeping track. Offices are not cube farms or massive picnic tables, but cool spaces to do some focus work, or interesting places to have discussions and meetings. Make me WANT to come in. Then I can have the flexibility to stay home and save commute time, take care of daytime stuff, or head in for my adventure and see folks I work with. Want to work in an AirBnB for a month? Go for it. This definitelt will take better managers than the over-the-shoulder task managers.
I also think these attitudes depnd on where you are at in life – As a young adult, I didn't mind heading downtown to work. WHne you have kids, you want much more flexibility. As your kids age, you may want to get out of the house more.
Anyways, I have a lot of ideas about this, as I did it for so many years and I'm fascinated by it. Love to talk more sometime with you about it