It's hard to believe that we are fast approaching the three year mark since we were all sent home for a few days until a new illness blew over. Those few days became a few weeks, and before we knew it, many of us had pivoted to remote work in a variety of forms. It was an easier transition for some than others, depending on living environment, family circumstances, mental health, and a host of other considerations. Some folks celebrated the new flexibility in their schedule and found themselves better rested and more productive while being able to work in sweat pants. Others struggled to juggle young children learning at home, shuttered daycare providers, and sick family members. Still others never got the chance, as they were labeled "essential", although their payrate probably didn't reflect that label.
Sufficed to say, we entered into the unknown and embarked on a human experiment the likes of which we had never seen. Remote work has previously been an option for a small group of folks, but the traditional wisdom was that being in the office, face-to-face with our coworkers, was essential to a well-functioning team. As folks pivoted, adapted new programs and processes, adjusted to life on Zoom, and rewrote their definitions of work, we realized that maybe this could work after all. For many, there was no going back. They demanded a remote work option, even after businesses and schools reopened for in-person work. Our definitions of work had been fundamentally altered. Had our world views been fundamentally altered as well?
Social scientists have been studying the impact of social media and other online platforms on our beliefs and understanding of the world around us for almost as long as those online spaces have existed. We know that as we curate the information we access and the voices we engage with, our perspectives can narrow. We are all quite familiar with the notion of the "echo chamber" at this point, especially after the 2016 election and the ensuing four years of global politics that would have been comical if they weren't so scary.
The pandemic took that echo chamber and narrowed it further. When we went into a workplace, we were exposed to new and different ideas, values, and beliefs. We most likely had to work with and collaborate with individuals we didn't agree with on various topics. For the most part, those interactions remained civil and we were exposed to a broader array of information and ideas along the way. However, the shift to remote work meant an even tighter echo chamber. When we work from home, we are largely surrounded by ideas that we generate, based on the content we consume. The only identity we are regularly exposed to is our own (and our families, if they are with us). We are missing the social engagement and exposure to different and contradictory points-of-view.
I'm convinced that we aren't going back to the way things were at this point. Remote work is here to stay as an option for many. It will continue to be a request from employees and something employers will have to consider when designing workplaces, writing new and revising old job descriptions, and forming teams. However, I would hate to see us lose the casual interactions that come from in-person work, and lead us to ask different questions, consider different ideas, and all-around broaden our understanding of the world. We will need to design new cultural practices that allow for this type of engagement or run the risk of cultivating an entire organization of discreet echo chambers unable to effectively interact with one another.
We may have finally realized that we don't need to sit in a meeting room to read an agenda, but we can't forget about all of the other tangible benefits that come with occupying the same physical space as someone else.
