On Friday, Yahoo
made the headlines with its decision to force employees to work in Yahoo offices, rather than from the comfort of their beds (or couches). One of the enticements of the tech industry has been its flexibility with work arrangements, so naturally, Yahoo employees weren't happy about the news.
I, on the other hand, think it's great. Disclaimer: I'm aware that I'm not personally affected by this, so I obviously have a very different perspective. I also understand that this is pretty devastating for working parents, but I'd like to talk about it from a societal interaction perspective, not a family perspective. I understand the serious cons of this decision but here's one of the (few) positives.
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In recent years, it's plain to see that we've eroded our humanness significantly. You only have to venture out onto any street of any city in the first world, and you'll be greeted by plenty of people walking with their heads down, tapping away on some device, or people disconnected from the world by way of their headphones.
Case in point.
Where's the interaction? Where are the serendipitous conversations we ought to have with passerby? Where is the joy of chatting with some quirky person on the street? More importantly, how about talking with your friends, family, or coworkers, face-to-face?
No, face-to-face does not mean Skype.
I think this general decline in in-person human interaction has left us (especially my generation) a little befuddled. We're not sure how to use body language. We know how to "talk" via little pop-up boxes and acronyms on small screens. When we're behind those screens, we become the people we want to be. In person, you're much more real and genuine (granted, not 100% of the time, but it's significantly more difficult to hide your emotions and real feelings in person).
And that's why I love what Yahoo has chosen to do, at least from a societal standpoint. I know remote working is convenient and helpful, especially for parents, but we also should consider what it's done to the way we communicate and behave.
In my last post, I posted a video about the origin of good ideas. Steven Johnson, who narrates the video, explains that good ideas stem from collaboration, from conversing and discussing. We need more of that. We need more of the "impromptu team meetings" and "hallway and cafeteria discussions" that spark great ideas, more of the watercooler conversations that allow us to communicate face-to-face.*
Great inventions don't often come from just one person. Our most innovative companies are typically founded by more than one person (Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Twitter, even Yahoo itself). And if we want to move forward, to develop tools and inventions that will improve people's lives and change the world, we need to start by bringing back face-to-face teamwork and conversations, and removing the superficiality that disconnection adds to our world.
I believe in progress, especially technologically. But this isn't progress--it's regress.
*I know you can communicate and collaborate online. But there's just not the same potential for building on each other's ideas when you're not there in person.
