I wrote about a huge new study on remote work—60,000 employees at Microsoft—and what it tells us about the future of knowledge work, productivity, and a trillion-dollar question: What are offices good for, exactly?
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
The study—from Berkeley and Microsoft—found that in the pandemic employees talked less to ppl outside their formal teams, while ties within teams ("clustering coefficient") deepened.
nature.com/articles/s4156…
The silos got deeper; the walls got higher.
nature.com/articles/s4156…
The silos got deeper; the walls got higher.
Cross-group communication at Microsoft seems to have plunged. But it's harder to say that overall productivity at Microsoft has puked.
In its latest earnings report, net income increased by 47%. Since March 2020, the firm has added almost $1 trillion in market cap.
In its latest earnings report, net income increased by 47%. Since March 2020, the firm has added almost $1 trillion in market cap.
A theory.
We can divide white-collar work into two broad categories.
There is Hard Work: The knowledge work—writing, researching, emailing, calling, Excel-ing—that most ppl are paid to do.
And Soft Work: the casual relationship-building that isn't a *formal* part of the job.
We can divide white-collar work into two broad categories.
There is Hard Work: The knowledge work—writing, researching, emailing, calling, Excel-ing—that most ppl are paid to do.
And Soft Work: the casual relationship-building that isn't a *formal* part of the job.
Soft work is getting coffee with a co-worker. It’s catching up about the NFL on Monday morning.
If networking, schmoozing, gossiping, and mildly annoying people on your floor with “Hey, does this idea suck?” are species of behavior, Soft Work is the genus that contains them.
If networking, schmoozing, gossiping, and mildly annoying people on your floor with “Hey, does this idea suck?” are species of behavior, Soft Work is the genus that contains them.
Offices’ biggest advantage isn’t hard work. It’s soft work.
That’s my theory. But it's also the unmistakable conclusion of the new Microsoft paper.
Remote work has a siloing effect at firms that sustains individual productivity at the cost of casual between-group relations.
That’s my theory. But it's also the unmistakable conclusion of the new Microsoft paper.
Remote work has a siloing effect at firms that sustains individual productivity at the cost of casual between-group relations.
So, the trillion-dollar question "what are offices good for?" can be re-phrased as another trillion-dollar question: "What's the real value of office-based soft work?"
My summary of the last few decades of research on this point is: I have no idea.
My summary of the last few decades of research on this point is: I have no idea.
So that's my General Theory of Offices and WFH.
What does white-collar remote work substitute well for? Hard work.
What are offices good for? Soft work.
How much do successful firms need office-based soft work to thrive? We're all about to find out.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
What does white-collar remote work substitute well for? Hard work.
What are offices good for? Soft work.
How much do successful firms need office-based soft work to thrive? We're all about to find out.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
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