Page 178 - WHERE WE WORK - Schlegelmilch

General discussion
changing the place of work from a default to a choice, one also needs to continuously make the choice of where to work. In order for the routine to fulfill its purpose, it should be independent of one specific location but rather serve as a pattern of actions that can be executed in any location. For example, the routine might include actions around the type of hardware, how it is positioned, as well as which digital connections to start up.
Second, it is important to build awareness of which types of places are suitable for different goals. Despite what the slogan ‘anywhere, anytime’ suggests, my research indicates that workers can leverage locations more if they take into account a goal-environment fit (see Table 5.3). For example, if the goal is to work in a focused manner, a place where one can retract oneself tends to work best, such as accommodations or at home. However, if the goal is to connect with others face-to-face, a coworking space offer professional communities and, sometimes, an office-like feel yet more flexibility. Once a worker has created an awareness of one’s goal- environment fit, there are several tools that are helpful in finding the specific locations in a city that fulfill the requirements. For example, the app Work Hard Anywhere allows workers to search locations based on personalized filters and reviews from other workers (Figure 5.1).
And lastly, the suggestions above build to a certain extent on being digitally savvy, which is crucial to ensure connection with colleagues, clients and digital objects. For further reading material, there are two prominent For a where workers share their questions and experiences around the ‘working anywhere, anytime’ (see Table. 5.3).
5.4.1 Chance encounters to foster weak ties
This last section focuses on interactions in and across workspaces. As today’s workplaces become more interdependent (Barley & Kunda, 2001; Grant & Parker, 2009), interactions are even more crucial than before. It is important that we distinguish between planned interactions (e.g., meetings, or phone calls) and unplanned interactions (e.g., chance encounters).
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