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Frederik Wilmslow Taylor, the so-called father of management consulting, may also be worthy of a less illustrious epithet – father of the modern office. In the same way his principles of scientific management came to define how business is conducted, they have also shaped the places where it was conducted. As anyone who’s ever toiled day in, day out in a soulless cube farm will tell you, this is not a good thing. In this article, I would like to question the perceived value of the office and articulate the benefits - and challenges - of alternative ways of working.
As Marshall McLuhan wrote, first we shape our tools and then our tools shape us. As I see it, we are now shaped by our offices. And not for the better. Thankfully, our concept of the workplace is being transformed, especially by technology. Digital tools are empowering ordinary workers to rethink their approach to work and, specifically, where it takes place.