What’s Missing In Remote Work
Let’s be honest…remote work IS awesome. The added leisure of not having to wake up earlier to throw on work clothes, last minute prep, packing a lunch then running out the door hoping you didn’t forget anything for the day. Followed by sitting in traffic on the way to the office. The quick breaks that allow you to do some at home tasks. The attention your dog receives. Yes it is nice. Many employees have co-opped efforts to standardize stay-at-home work by revolting back on the bosses who push them back into the office. Other employers are luring new workers to their camp with the promise of 100% remote work as a listed amenity.
But…are we missing something?
A comfortable atmosphere is great, but challenges are what makes us grow in life. One small example is the birth of TABASCO sauce. Its founder, Edmund McIlhenny was driven out of his property during the Civil War. His mansion and all of his crops destroyed and pillaged- except for one surviving crop of tabasco pepper that remained. Determined to reverse his misfortune, he crafted a pepper sauce to bring to market and the rest is history as TABASCO sauce is a ubiquitous part of American food culture. There is a value in commitment to something when our choice is limited. For example, if I workout at home, no question I’ll get a good workout in. However, when I go to the gym, it’s always better. Why? Because I am committed once I’m there. I took the time to drive there and I have eliminated the comforts of home with the only option of workout equipment. This hones my focus. To get the most amount done in the shortest amount of time distraction free. I feel the same about this in the office.
We know that in-person moments can create some of the best business magic. When looking at product innovation, some of the greatest products were conceived by employees that started with simple “water cooler” talk. Apple understands that its employees are the best source of innovation. Their state of the art and unique new Apple campus was designed for the purpose of maximizing collaboration amongst its large employee base. The campus was designed to inspire creativity and innovation among Apple employees. The futuristic design and state-of-the-art facilities were meant to provide an environment conducive to groundbreaking technological advancements. Unfortunately, timing was not in favor for Apple. The campus was completed in 2017, only to be upended by Covid three years later. Apple has been a huge proponent of a return to work environment (can you blame them? Apple Park came with hefty $5 billion price tag). This has proven to be a conundrum for Apple in sourcing the best talent. Many Apple employees have left to find haven and flexibility in remote work.
In the early 1980s, my dad co owned a small engineering firm based in Silicon Valley that built plastic parts. They were eager to grab Apple as a customer. Rather than make phone call after phone call only to get rejected, a few of them started going to lunch where all the Apple engineers went to lunch. Simple. They quickly moved their way in becoming friends with the other engineers. Soon enough, Apple started sending them small contracts. They held Apple as a client for years- building parts for Macs, Ibooks, and various other plastic components. There was a huge power from in-person connection simply from causal lunch hangouts.
Musicians will say the same thing. Some of the best songs on an album happen in the actual recording process of that album. One guy is riffing away on the guitar or pounding out a new drum beat, the magic of all of the band members together create a synergistic acceleration of creativity that pops out some great music that otherwise wouldn’t have been discovered.
Let’s look for a minute and dive into the human behavior around in-person connection. If we look to the past, this is exactly how cities were formed. It was cheaper to transact in a city, not to mention, a higher availability of goods to benefit both the buyer and the seller. Rome’s vision laid down a system of roads and this is where the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” from. In fact, Rome invested in roads to guide people into its city, creating competition, lowering prices, and bolstering its economy. But there’s another thing cities did: traded ideas. Ideas are creativity and creativity are ideas. Cities attracted schools. Schools are idea centers and have always acted as magnets for ambitious individuals. In the Middle Ages, master craftsman traveled all over Europe to build cathedrals and palaces, drawn in by the wealth of one city.
The location of one’s residence holds significant importance for a few primary reasons. First, accessibility to the specific domain of work is crucial; information tends to cluster rather than evenly distribute. In the past, when information diffusion was slower, aspiring physicists might flock to major cities for education, while others would seek different cities for university learning. New York stands as a premier destination for aspiring artists seeking to understand our contemporary world. Similarly, Silicon Valley offers opportunities in the tech industry, incubating environments with dense interaction, excitement, and substantial investment in ideas. Such environments encourage individuals predisposed to breaking conventions to explore and experiment more freely. Conversely, residing in an area which lacks connection or is repressive in a person’s work intent and learning sphere, might stifle this creative spirit.
Cities were built for interaction…and so are corporate headquarters.
In 1984, the book “Neuromancer” by William Gibson was released. In the book, he coined the term “cyberspace” and described it as a matrix that emerges when a billion computers are connected and people get enmeshed in “a consensual hallucination”. Art imitates life sometimes more than life imitates art; and in this case…predicting the future. We are all so plugged in digitally, we don’t allow ourselves the inspiration, learning, and acceleration of human connection we get at work.
Without realizing it, cities and companies in a way or another, produce art. Art is important to constantly chase because sometimes a single experience of “awe” provides the fuel for lifetime of creative work.
What worries me isn’t where we are now, however but where will we be 10,20, 50 years from now if remote work is a codified part of our work life. What innovations may not get invented?
