Apple wants you back in the office. JPMorganChase wants you back in the office. Amazon wants you back in the office.
The key reasons companies like these are calling you back to the office: Innovation. Collaboration. Creativity. Innovation happens best in the interstitial moments during our day when we are physically bumping into each other. Chance meetings in the hallways lead to stunning breakthroughs. Collaborating happens when we are touching elbows. Creativity? No place–no place–is more creativity-inspiring than the office…
I tried to say all that with a straight face.
Did you see the New York Times article from a few days ago? From that story: “people who study the issue say there is no evidence that working in person is essential for creativity and collaboration. It may even hurt innovation…”
The article goes on: “…the outcomes we see in the modern office environment — long hours, burnout, the lack of representation — because that office culture is set up for the advantage of the few, not the many.”
Yep. But we are totally missing the point.
The point? Too many companies right now are focused on “where” we work. This isn’t the problem. Conversely, too many companies are not focused enough on “how” we work. This is the problem. We need some of that innovation, collaboration, and creativity placed on how we work.
For many companies, though, how we work has corroded over the years. Innovation gets tempered when a leader steps on an alternative solution too early in the first meeting. Collaboration stalls when the culture demands a rigorous deference to the hierarchy. Creativity can’t sprout when we are in back-to-back meetings most days of each week.
Here’s why we are focused on the wrong thing: How we work is a constellation of micro-behaviors in the micro-cultures that inform the overall firm culture. Fixing that is hard. But, solving the where problem by decreeing that everybody will be back at least three days a week. That’s easy!
Bottom line –
The “where” debate will dissolve when we choose to focus our attention on the “how.” The how problem is what people are really asking us, as leaders, to solve.
