An odd feeling: this period seems to be evidence for most people that remote work's The Future, but it's pushing me the other way! In its absence I find myself forcefully drawn to face-to-face collaboration, shared physical studio spaces, long lunchtime walking discussions, etc.
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What I've been wondering is whether we need to be in shared spaces with our coworkers, specifically?
Perhaps what's important is simply being around other people doing focused work on something meaningful.
In that sense, a coworking space may replace the office for remote work.
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Another alternative:
Corporate offices are no longer places requiring employees' physical presence on a daily basis. Rather, they become a sort of "internal coworking" space for in-person meetings and those who want to be there for their daily work.
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Maybe! The struggle I have here is that in my experience spontaneous, unplanned creative collaboration is very important. In a studio, I’m immersed in my colleagues’ work, and a glancing encounter can fluidly transform into meaningful collaboration.
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Agreed. The serendipity of overhearing or seeing something is basically impossible to replicate outside a traditional work environment.
I had some success with this in a tech incubator a while back. Everyone has their own thing but we problem solve/ideate together.