Future Work/Life is my newsletter in which I explore ideas focused on the future of work and how to design legendary careers. Every week, I share something I’ve written, a few things I’ve enjoyed reading, and something great to listen to. If you find it interesting, please share it!
The Writing:
Back to work after the summer break, but we're still having the same conversations:
- Should we be returning to the office?
- How will the remote work trend affect careers?
- What are we losing by living our work/lives through a screen?
I will no doubt continue to write about all three of these questions for a good while yet, but it's the last one I've been obsessed with recently. Particularly when it's framed in a negative light – "what are we losing?". And since they represent around 95% of my face-to-face time nowadays, I thought, why not remind myself (and you) what’s to love about online meetings?
So, here are three reasons why I'm grateful to spend so much time staring into a screen:
1. A better standard of meeting
I've recently passed a significant milestone on my podcast – more than 100 episodes published since launching it two years ago.
During that time, I've interviewed 100s of people, every single one of whom I've spoken to online. Not only has that made it easier to record video and audio of our conversation, but many of those meetings just wouldn't have happened if we'd had to do them in person. Meeting in-person forces everyone involved to consider the opportunity cost of taking several hours or a day out of the diary for travel. Not least, because most of my guests live outside of the southeast of England, making a trip to see them expensive and time-consuming.
Here’s Rory Sutherland making that very point on the podcast last year.
That natural filter isn’t always a bad thing, of course – it certainly makes you weigh up whether a meeting's actually worthwhile. But what’s also great about this shift in behaviour is that it’s normalised short, intro meetings that act as a triage for more time-consuming commitments. If those 15-minutes go well, next time, perhaps we schedule 45 minutes.
From my perspective, at least, the standard of meetings has, on average, improved.
2. The benefits of no eye contact
There are occasions when a blanket 'cameras-on' rule makes sense and I tend to keep mine on for most meetings, but there is another option.
And it doesn't necessarily imply rudeness or disinterest.
For a start, you can make a sensible argument for consistently having a day off the video element of online calls to help with Zoom fatigue as burnout expert and Future Work/Life podcast guest Jennifer Moss advocates. But wellbeing aside, there's something liberating and productive about switching your video off, allowing you to focus solely on what people are saying. Again, this can improve the quality of meetings.
For example, in their new book, Talent, Daniel Gross and Tyler Cowen explain why removing eye contact from the equation in virtual job interviews elicits more honest and revelatory answers.
"Eye contact can be a bond, but it can also be a threat or a source of undue or distracting focus, and it makes it harder for many people to relax or open up. In the therapeutic setting, opinions differ on the effectiveness of the couch, but it may aid free association and the pacing of the session and make the overall environment less threatening."
3. Broadening horizons
Before Covid, like many, I was constrained by the assumption that building strong relationships required meeting people in real life.
My mindset has now fundamentally changed as a more global outlook has created a diverse network and new, exciting opportunities. While I'd love to one day sit across a table from many of my new clients, colleagues, collaborators and friends, I'm happy to have the chance to do it through a screen.
Plus, it's also too easy to dismiss online meetings as an inferior alternative to their real-life equivalents, particularly when it comes to one-on-ones.
When he appeared on the podcast, Steven Kotler, author and founder of the Flow Research Collective, pointed out that despite our protestations, technology isn't at fault for poor quality meetings. The technology itself is neutral. Instead, it's what we bring to it that makes the difference. Yes, getting into group flow in a Zoom call may be more difficult – you have to work harder to achieve it – but the same principles apply in this context as in any other meeting:
Complete concentration
Shared goals
High stakes
The secret, as Steven explained, is to treat every interaction with the same respect you would if you were sat in the same room.
So, yes, there is something special about congregating with others and I look forward to the 5% of my meetings that happen in real-life, but are we losing something from living our work/lives through a screen?
I don’t think so.
What do you think?
Does this reflect your experience, or have I glossed over the downsides?
Since this is a subject people usually feel strongly about, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Have a lovely weekend,
Ollie
The Reading:
Architecture and design studio, Hassell, have just released their annual survey on what people want from their workplace. The headline? More time in the office means happier employees and fewer resignations, but only if people have the freedom to choose. Other key findings:
Hybrid is here to stay.
9-5 is dead. Figure out a new rhythm and use culture to bring people back.
Make the office more like home, and incorporate things from outside (fresh air, greenspaces).
Here’s a standout stat: A person's commute has 9x the influence over whether they'll return to the office as having enough space to focus in the office. I.e. You’re going to have to work bloody hard to coax people with tricky commutes back in.
One thing that might persuade people to get into the office more are rising energy bills. This article in People Management references a new study that’s found:
More than four in five (85 per cent) employees found the idea of working from the office more appealing amid the cost of living crisis. Nearly half (45 per cent) of respondents said they would be more likely to commute into the office to alleviate the impact of high energy bills, with 15 per cent claiming they would choose to work from the office for the whole of winter.
Here’s a nice thread from Ethan Mollick on why “being good at work means being good at meetings”, including some tips on the science of good meetings.
The Listening:
I mentioned Jennifer Moss above, and she appeared on Elevate this week, the show presented by another former podcast guest, Bob Glazer. They discussed the burnout epidemic, how to manage burnout, and what leaders can do about burnout on their teams.