The second aspect is that the โhomeโ part of WFH will become less relevant with the rise of โthird spacesโ that are neither home nor the office. This might include a hotel, a cafe, a co-working space or anywhere really. The ability for someone to be productive outweighs the location their laptop is plugged into.
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The hotel industry, in particular, is capitalising on this, reconfiguring spaces to allow for workers, casual drop-ins and conference calls. On a recent trip to Bangkok, the breakfast room at my hotel morphed into a co-working space as soon as the buffet dishes were cleared.
Hordes of remote workers colonised tables with computers and coffees, all taking advantage of the new ability to WFH (in this case, Work From Hotel).
The final way that working will change this year is that employees will find fresh ways to subtly assert their power. One trend to watch is โhushed hybridโ, which refers to what happens when individual managers allow their team to work from home for more than the official company policy.
Another, โcoffee badgingโ, describes a trend of workers come into the office only to swipe their โbadgesโ so the system knows they are present before going back out for coffee. A recent report by Owl Labs estimated around half of all respondents said they had done some version of this.
This year is the year that WFH will mature and morph. Yes, thereโs going to be a lot of noise around it, and occasionally, it might get messy as loud voices try to dominate the debate.
But the past five years have shown that WFH is more than just a passing fad that can be undone overnight. Instead, itโs the best leftover gift we could have possibly received from the COVID years.
Tim Duggan is the author of Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better. He writes a regular newsletter at timduggan.substack.com
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