San Francisco Chronicle (March 24)
“Remote work is here to stay. Post-pandemic, many companies will let employees work remotely some or all of the time.” To support them, “a new executive position is emerging: The head of remote. That person spearheads keeping remote workers engaged, encouraging them to collaborate, while designing perks and flexibility tailored to their needs. Another goal: replicate the spontaneous connections that happen at in-person offices—in other words, create a virtual water cooler.”
Tags: Collaborate, Employees, Encouraging, Engaged, Flexibility, Head of remote, In-person, Perks, Post-pandemic, Remote work, Spearheads, Spontaneous connections, Support, Virtual water cooler
Chicago Tribune (July 19)
“A cubicle-free workplace without private offices is supposed to force employees to collaborate. To have them talk more face-to-face. To get them off instant messenger and spontaneously brainstroming about new ideas.” It’s not happening. A recent study found that after a move “to open-plan offices, workers spent 73 percent less time in face-to-face interactions. Meanwhile, email rose 67 percent and IM use went up 75 percent.”
Tags: Brainstroming, Collaborate, Cubicle, Email, Employees, Face-to-face, Ideas, IM, Open-plan offices, Workplace
Bloomberg (December 22)
Rather than a battle to the death between “lumbering” automakers and disruptive Silicon Valley, the deal between Google and Ford proves “that Detroit and Silicon Valley are increasingly likely to collaborate rather than compete” to realize autonomous vehicles. Ford’s decision to collaborate “may accelerate the decline of the traditional industry, but by taking an early seat at the table right next to Google, the firm has secured a position of relevance in the new mobility paradigm.”
Tags: Automakers, Autonomous vehicles, Collaborate, Compete, Detroit, Disruptive, Ford, Google, Lumbering, New mobility paradigm, Relevance, Silicon Valley