Like many of you, I’ve been working from home for two and a half months now. I don’t have a clear sense when I will be able to access my office, which is part of the Impact Hub Ottawa coworking environment. Without having set foot in an office building since mid-March, I don’t know how I might feel when I set foot in one again — especially in spaces like kitchens and elevators. I think I’ll be fine, but I suppose it all depends on the trajectory of the virus. 

But still, does the office have a future?

In the past few weeks, a number of large technology companies have made announcements of becoming “remote-first.” Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lutke tweeted that his company is “digital by default,” and declared that “office centricity is over.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that he expects that by 2030, half his employees will be working from home, or WFH. The search term WFH began trending on Google — a company that announced that employees can WFH until the end of the year. 

On the whole, it looks like a number of technology CEOs have been raving about how good productivity has been from working at home. This seems to flip the collective sense that work is better if we gather to do it. Is in-person human interaction overrated?

Many of these technology companies made working from home possible (for those privileged enough to do it): Microsoft put email into mass consumption back in 1988, Google Drive made storing files in cloud widespread, Slack brought instant messaging to the enterprise, Asana changed project management, and Zoom video conferencing. 

But do these tools bring out the most creative ideas in us?

To reflect on this, last week, I re-read Steven Johnson’s 2010 book ‘Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.’ In it, he dives into the question, how do we generate the groundbreaking ideas that push forward our careers, our lives, our society, and our culture? He draws from neurobiology, internet culture, urban studies, and the arts to identify seven key patterns, which he argues, are behind genuine innovation, regardless of time or discipline. 

The common thread: On the most elemental level, “a good idea is a network, a specific constellation of neurons firing in sync with each other for the first time.” And physical proximity between human beings sets this off — a lot. Johnson presents evidence of a strong causal correlation between dense physical settlements and high rates of societal innovation. That is why dense environments, from coral reefs to coworking spaces are proven to push the collective forward. 

But if Silicon Valley, arguably one of the world’s densest innovation environments, is driving workplace trends to change again, I asked Future of Good members what they believe communities had to gain or lose if the permanent WFH movement grew. Fewer cars on the road, better work/life balance, and more investment in local neighbourhood businesses are all gains they said, especially in a post-pandemic world. More people spending more time in their communities is surely a good thing. But as Johnson reminds us, the wonders of modern life mostly emerged from physical environments that gave good ideas new ways to connect and remix — from coffeehouses and university labs to artist studios and playgrounds. As much as the last couple of months have pushed our limits on what’s possible WFH, taking the long view, it is the in-person exchanges and collaborations that will determine how well our communities build back better. 

As for the Future of Good team, though, we can’t wait to get back into our office. 

Vinod Rajasekaran

Publisher & CEO

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error