I’ve been lucky to have been able to make my own choice to go back to the office one day a week since early this year. In doing so, I’ve thought much about what exactly it is that makes face to face contact so very different to online….?
As an introvert I’ve enjoyed and thrived by working at home but nonetheless, even I accept that virtual can never quite replace In Real Life.
But why?
As I rode the tube home this evening, it struck me, that maybe the big missing factor is spontaneity!
For every virtual contact there has to be an action, like a meeting organised, an email written or a message sent.
For every In Real Life contact, there’s the potential to go for a spontaneous cup of coffee as a group, an accidental meeting with a new colleague on the walk to the tap or an unplanned trip to the same cafe at lunch. These are the things you just can’t conjure over zoom!
I’ve blogged before about the need for flexibility and I hope that employers, globe-wide, consider both the benefits of working from home and the need for spontenaity and offer their people the flexibility to determine the balance that they need, alongside doing the job that needs to be done.