X : Do you miss meeting people in our new virtual world?
Me : I meet more people than ever before.
X : No, I mean one to one.
Me : Hmmm ... car rides, crap class travel, jetlag, filling out expense forms, second rate hotels, waits in lounges and not seeing family?

... I've not had to fill out a single request for travel or expense form in ages. I have zero intention of ever doing that again. Despite the horror of the pandemic, the lockdown has shown me a better way of life. The chances of me travelling or going to an office are zero.

Today, I have been to India, Japan, US, Australia, Canada, Russia, UK and France without removing the slippers, without a single form filled in and had time to chop some logs, bake some bread and play chess with the wee lad. The past world was mad.

I do hear of some poor folk where the business is hell bent on getting back into the office despite them working effectively remotely ... we all know why, it's all about status symbols (the corner office) and dubious concepts of power ... waste of shareholder value.

I do have to ask whether the cost of the office, the discomfort of people and the impact on quality of life (family etc) can be truly justified by the massaging of some exec's ego. From cost efficiency it might be more effective to replace the exec with someone able to adapt.

X : What if the exec insists?
Me : If the job can be done remotely, then as the economy recovers then we should see rapid mobility of people in the virtual world. I've already seen examples. Some companies are going to be asset stripped of talent.

This will happen fast. One day you'll be there with your workforce of 1,200 demanding everyone back in the office and they're lucky to have jobs, the next week you'll have 30 people left and yor business will be going to the wall. Things should get very interesting, very quickly.

People stil haven't grokked that masks4all or wallstreetbets or any other of those other changes are not just about masks or hedge funds.

X : Don't you agree with the importance of face to face meetings?
Me : My zoom meetings are all face to face but more democratised, less influence of power symbols, no advantages of physical prescence etc. You can try to invade someone's space in zoom, it just looks silly.

X : What about fatigue?
Me : Well, it's true that because we can that we can end up with more meetings than ever before. I survive despite a heavy load of research meetings, it is intense. If this was done in the real world, I'd have collapsed from exhaustion long ago ...

... and that would just be from the meetings, forget about the travel and eveything else. I would not physically be able to do it.

So, yes ... I'm trying to find that right balance as with many others. But, I could not even consider the work that I do today in the physical world. It would be impossible.

X : Not all work can be done remotely.
Me : See "despite them working effectively remotely" above. I am also becoming pleasantly surprised at how much can be done remotely when thought is applied.

X : Any tips?
Me : For what?
X : Remote office?
Me : Beyond the usual? SAD lighting is a must (in my view) 6000K bulbs, also buy a CO2 monitor / keep an eye on ventillation i.e. keep CO2 below 800 ppm. Open a window.

X : Ventillation?
Me : Yes. I used to go to offices and pretty much fall asleep during meetings. I had to pinch myself etc, never could focus for long. Never realised how poor most office ventillation is. Working at home, I started to feel the same. Then I bought a C02 monitor.

The difference is dramatic, enough that if I ever go to a physical meeting again then I'll be taking a monitor and walking out if the CO2 raises about 800 ppm because it's pointless.

X : What's the CO2 in your room?
Me : Right now? 630 ppm.

X : What about water cooler moments?
Me : I've had better ideas with zoom meetings with diverse groups in the past week than I've had with an entire career of water cooler / coffee moments. As far as I can tell, the water cooler myth is peddled by companies selling water coolers.

... oh, and on that note ... I used to have to drink gallons of coffee just to keep me awake in offices. In a well ventilated home space with decent lighting and stimulating discussions on zoom, my coffee consumption has reduced to ... zero. I feel more awake than ever.

X : What CO2 monitor do you use?
Me : I spashed out on this one - https://www.amazon.co.uk/KKmoon-Dioxide-Detector-Rechargeable-Portable/dp/B07ZVRYPCZ - it's a bit pricey and I'm sure there are more cost effective ones out there. But I liked some of their other kit and this suited me fine.

X : Are all your zoom meetings all work?
Me : Absolutely not. I have three "drop in" zoom catchup groups, two "interest" groups, one "family" group and one "mentoring" call per week ... then add in community work etc. You want to know the real joke ...

... I used to meet up with people for work coffees / lunches etc and ... well, I couldn't tell you anything about them. I've learnt more about people that I like in zoom meetings than I ever did in "real" life.

IMHO, this "you need to meet people in real life" is just bs ..

... and I suspect it's bs spread by people who have some natural advantage in reading signals or prescence in "real" life and just can't stand their inability to adapt to the virtual.

X : Tall extroverts with good hair and ineffable leadership qualities?
Me : Have you tried towering over people in a zoom meeting or the old "hand on shoulder" moment? It's a laugh when people push their faces forward trying to "bully" others, they just look like dicks.