Everyone is asking for the workplace of the future, but a better starting point would be to imagine the work of the future.
Offices originally supported the repetitive job of clerks, as astutely described by Nikil Saval in his book, Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace. Even the lovely Johnson Wax HQ or the Larkin building only lessened the uncomfortable and dehumanizing boredom of menial tasks. Sorting, filing and documentation have dominated office work since offices proliferated during the industrial era.
Rapid technological advances cause trepidation. Technology changes where people work, how they work and even what it means to work. Many uninspiring tasks that were the cornerstone of previous generations’ work have been taken over by technology. Managing tedious tasks without significant human involvement could allow the concept of work to evolve. People fear change and becoming irrelevant. Perhaps the most effective and courageous way to counter the fear of AI is to embrace and accentuate distinctly human characteristics.
Discussing the workplace of the future, people often trap themselves within the offices they have experienced. Henry Ford said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” People don’t need a faster horse; they need a whole new model.
The office of the future may not be an office at all. Clerical tasks no longer dominate the world of white collar work. I conducted interviews with Seattleites in multiple sectors on the evolving nature of work. 4 themes emerged: interpersonal connection, connection with the environment and nature, desire to express and create and a longing to engage the senses. The overall unifying concept is simply connection.