OpinionWorking from home in pandemic denies us the benefits of sharing office space

Name: In Japan, workers swap their offices for snowboarding
Uploaded: 2021-03-16T19:30:14.000Z
Duration: 2 min 35 s
Description: In Japan, workers swap their offices for snowboarding

A healthy working environment becomes a communal space for sharing ideas and creating synergy, which in turn produces higher-quality services and deliverables

Instead of advocating working from home, we should reimagine an office as a home away from home that can inspire employees and maximise their productivity

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Working in an office and collaborating face-to-face offers experiences that working from home cannot replace. Photo: Getty Images

Dennis Lee

Published: 3:30am, 17 Mar 2021Updated: 4:12am, 17 Mar 2021

A visiting architect once asked my high school senior class, “What is architecture about?” “Ask Dennis, he wants to be an architect!” my enthusiastic classmate said. I was caught off guard, straightened up and said, “um, construction of buildings?” “Not exactly …”

As a top student in my class, I was dumbfounded and embarrassed. Thirty years later, I still remember the lesson from that day. I occasionally remind myself: it’s not about construction or the building. Architecture is about space.

Certain life experiences cannot be substituted or simulated, such as riding a thrill-inducing roller coaster, skiing down a black diamond slope, skydiving from 4,000 metres up or visiting a foreign country.

Unless we can defy the laws of physics, we can only be present in one place at a time, soaking up the experience of the moment. Our in-person spatial presence is one of experiences that cannot be replaced by Google Meet, FaceTime, Zoom or virtual reality goggles.

If a company is only about providing services and producing deliverables, perhaps working from home is sufficient. Often, companies mean more to both employers and employees.

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In Japan, workers swap their offices for snowboarding

We call deliverables our life’s work, our blood and soul, or our children, for a reason. Offices are more than just machines to generate revenue; they are home bases where we grind, produce and bring out the best in ourselves.