Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Alas, we worked from home during the PAN(dem)IC. Now we are encouraged to live in the office with everyone else.

In the title of this post, “home” is a verb and “work” is a noun. Make the office your home. Live at work with your colleagues.

During the great PAN(dem)IC (we are learning that much of what we did was a bad idea, especially with schools) we worked from home. Many lessons came from the experience. Many of those lessons are already forgotten.

Now we have AI. Now we are productive. And now we want to home from work instead of work from home. Huh? Wait, this is all backwards — right? Wrong? Are we overcompensating the other way? When will we dampen the oscillations and find some happy median? (When will I stop writing questions and start writing answers?)

I am fortunate in that being in the same room with some of my colleagues is pleasant and productive. Not everyone is that fortunate. The good fortune of some should not prescribe the situation for all. Living in the office is bad for many (I believe most). I recommend a home away from the office. Sprinting at work for a short term for one occasion may work well. Repeating such is folly.

This is not an original thought. Many prior studies conclude the same. Have a full life. Bring all those life experiences to bear on the current work. Live at home. Work at the work place a third of the time — maximum. We can do better.