Focus on Offices: Diversity and Self-determination in the New Open Space
One of the truisms of the digital era appears to be that office staff, thanks to telecommunication and the internet, no longer need to work at a specific location. Correspondingly, people working on their smartphones, laptops or tablets have become ubiquitous. It no longer matters whether news, information or documents are transmitted across large distances and different time zones or simply to someone sitting next to you. It almost seems as if offices have become obsolete. Or, as if the only thing that could limit this new freedom was the absence of electrical sockets and mobile internet access. In truth however, the reverse trend is taking place all over the world — a return back to the office. Two years ago Marissa Mayer, chief executive of Yahoo, stated that working in her company wasn't a "day-to-day job". Instead, the goal was cooperation, something that only tried-and-trusted offices can provide. She revealed that remote employees should return to the company headquarters: "To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side.
