On the wrong reason to go to a company picnic

In my defense, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Driving 40 minutes through traffic with my whole family in tow to a rain-soaked picnic and then deciding to leave my wife and infant son in the car while I ran over to the tents to say a quick hi-bye—and then … Continue reading On the wrong reason to go to a company picnic →

On “culture” as a reason to bring people back to the office

I'm not sold. During a recent discussion with colleagues about whether or not to push staff members to return to the office, the word came up a lot: Culture. But what did people mean by "culture"? They seemed unsure when pressed—there was an assumption of shared meaning that evaporated once we put the word under … Continue reading On “culture” as a reason to bring people back to the office →

On the FOMO of working two time zones ahead

For nearly two years, I worked on an international team—most of my colleagues were in the U.K. while I was in New York. I wouldn’t recommend this work structure. When I started my day, I would open Outlook to find nearly a full day’s worth of emails—my British colleagues had already been cracking away for … Continue reading On the FOMO of working two time zones ahead →

On returning to the office

I had a rather tense conversation with several colleagues today: To go back in or not to go back in? A very tricky question, as should surprise no one. But “tricky” isn’t right—it’s an emotional question. It’s emotional because it goes right to the heart of how we spend our days. (I hear Annie Dillard … Continue reading On returning to the office →

On the foolish hope that remote work alone would improve webinars

When COVID happened, webinars were suddenly everywhere—an unavoidable part of our changed work landscape. Almost three years later, with in-person meetings possible and a diminished hunger for any kind of human interaction, the deluge of webinars in my life has slowed to a trickle. So what surprised me the other day, when I hopped into … Continue reading On the foolish hope that remote work alone would improve webinars →

Thinking through the “paradigm shift” to a hybrid workplace

Nine months ago—when talking about a return to the office within the calendar year was not such a ridiculous idea to entertain—my firm went ahead and formed a committee to explore what that reality would look like. Casting about for a committee name, the first stab was the "New Normal" committee, which, I suppose, lacked … Continue reading Thinking through the “paradigm shift” to a hybrid workplace →

The pandemic era & seeing inside people’s homes

As the vaccine roll-out accelerates and a return to "normal life" in the coming months seems increasingly likely, there's a question I keep asking myself: What will I miss about this strange, strange pandemic era? One thing I know I will miss is the weird experience of getting to see inside so many people's homes. … Continue reading The pandemic era & seeing inside people’s homes →