If remote working places and loose ties become a company’s way of life, this can weaken the culture. Research shows that employees value freedom in how they manage their working time. This includes where they work from and how they schedule their hours. Achieving both freedom and engagement, that is based on a desire to also have face to face interaction with colleagues, require a new and clearly defined purpose for the company’s office space. (Regional) headquarters need to be multipurpose spaces and management should define in clear terms what the office has to offer. Choices must be made to provide clarity – not a bit of everything to match what competitors are doing – and an environment that can strengthen the desired culture and relationships with all stakeholders. Suitable agile working spaces, meeting the needs of an open work force and accommodating increased diversity (e.g. neurodiversity) should be the key priorities. Author: Janet Poot. Contents derived from A Different Kind of Leader. http://bit.ly/ADKOL-UK
Recommended reading for different perspectives:
https://hbr.org/2017/12/coworking-is-not-about-workspace-its-about-feeling-less-lonely
