Hybrid workplace: We're still missing the big point

By: Eli Amdur
Vantage Point
NorthJersey.com

..... The raging debate about where we work - remote or on site - has subsided substantially of late for several reasons, not the least of which is that all anyone wants to talk about now is ChatGPT and whatever else will place artificial intelligence firmly in the hands of more and more people who will find more and more ways to misuse, overuse and abuse it.
..... But isn't that just like us? We get all worked up about a shiny object until the next one shows up. Jack Russel puppies have longer attention spends than that, for God sake.
..... In any event, that first shiny object isn't going away, so sooner or later we have to pick it back up. As we do, her;s my take on it - along with a plea.
..... Almost everything you read or hear about the pros and cons of where we work amounts to a two-dimensional argument, with issues like work-life balance, personal health, and productivity taking front-and-center positions. Although I can't document what I'm about to say, it seems plain to me that everyone's argument is nothing more than a staunch defense of their own preferences.
..... That's natural, I suppose, and the arguments line up gene rationally, demographically and so on: replacing commuting time with work time equals higher productivity; less commuting equals better health and more family time; working on site is more family than Zoom; nothing beats face-to-face collaboration; we don't need to rent all that real estate; we need common experiences. Blah blah, blah.
..... But there's a much bigger picture, and it has nothing to do with which side of the argument you find yourself. In fact, it's also the only selfless way to think about this.
..... It has two facets and is an issue that dates back to the earliest of our hominid ancestors: socialization and culture.
..... It's all about how we, as humans, have - and will continue to have - evolved.
..... See? We're not talking about something fleeting here, a two- or three-decade phenomenon. We're talking about a million years, give or take. Here are the two facets.

Social structure

..... Aside from basic physiological needs (food, water, clothing, sleep, shelter, procreation) and security needs (longterm survival, stability), the most fundamental of all human needs is belongingness.
..... It's why we cerate families (clans for our ancestors), communities, teams, religions, networks, etc.
..... You don't need to take my word for this. Abraham Maslow, who did more to change how we think about human motivation than anyone else, taught us this in his humanistic Hierarchy of Needs, unassailable, in my view. Further, this leads to the development of organizational culture, which in turn influences how individuals develop. the symbiosis of the individual and the organization is what's been missing in this abate.

Effective decision making

..... Kurt Lewin - considered the "father of social psychology" - taught us that there are two processes of decision making: the rational and the interpersonal. We can do the rational one along - sometimes. We can do the interpersonal in groups - only. and that certainly does not mean virtually. Lewin spent his life teaching us why groups (teams) tend to outperform individual and why some teams outperform others.
..... These two facets are not only modern issues for organizational design professionals to reckon with; anthropologists are finding evidence that supports both Maslow's and Lewin's thinking.
..... So the issue, we see, is much larger than wanting to work at home in your slippers or luring workers back to the workplace with free snacks. And it's not a recent pandemic-generated issue, either. It's as old as the hills - literally.
..... Having advised executives in 25 industries over my 26 years of coaching, having led teams in five industries for 20 years before that, and shivving worked with critical thought leaders in the field, I urge you - whichever side of this issue you favor - to think openly and holistically. The solution is not one way (thesis) or the other way (antithesis).
..... It's an as-yet unreached synthesis.
..... What's more, it's more complex than where we work. it also has to do with stagged four-day weeks, diversity (not DEI, but diversity of thinking), and there role of AI.
..... All that said, here's my plea.
..... Don't think about defending your preferences or attacking those of others. The answer, in all its variations, has yet to be cerated.
..... An old adage says, "the future didn't just happen: it was cerated." That;s what's going on here.
..... That's the big point.

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