A Home Away from Home (office)..
I feel a little inadequate that I'm not great at working from home. I see all the home pictures of beautiful office setups, read all the posts about how much more productive people are, but I suck at working from home.
I walk the dog and next thing I know I'm at the other end of Prospect Park talking to another dog owner and our dogs are playing for an hour. Cuomo would start yet another press conference (never liked the guy frankly) but he is charismatic so I'd listen for too long. Like many entrepreneurs, I'm easily distracted, my mind wonders, and I have a tough time staying still. I do my best when around high energy competitive and creative people.
None of this can be found at home, regardless of how great your home office is.
Some workaholics work long hours, not because they need the money or love their job, but because a lot of them just need to get out of the house. Frankly, they cannot spend too much time with the wife (or husband) and kids before they go bonkers. It's why I feel that most people clamor for a home away from the home office.
A typical away from the home office day would start like this:
6am- Coffee, watch 30 minutes of the news, and jump in the shower
7:30am - Send the kids to school (hopefully)
8:30am - Respond to emails, host a zoom call with team members, host a zoom sales pitch for a client, and so on
10:30am- Drive or hop on a train to the office in time for a 12 noon lunch with team members at an ultra chic office cafeteria
1pm- Go to your assigned locker, park your backpack, grab your work stuff, and settle at an open desk in your team neighborhood. Being close to your boss and team members rather than in an unfamiliar part of the office is empowering
3:30pm - Afternoon coffee and 30 minute cycle class at the office gym for a quick perk up because you still have a lot of work to do in the office
I could go on but you catch my drift.
Doesn't this office sound like a much better destination than the office of 2019? It's a place that you want to go, not one that you have to go to. Of course, someone still has to pick up the kids and walk the dog. However, your work life is now more flexible in an office with accommodating office hours in space that is designed to promote them.
Imagine offices with overnight accommodations where you have your meeting and then work well into the night for two days straight (because you need to maximize your face time and your commute is a long one). People work better without strictly enforced in-office hours and are willing to work longer when they feel more appreciated. Employees will stay at companies longer because freedom is a perk with no price tag.