I was asked the question “Is it healthy to not meet in person? Does that affect our ability to make good relationships? ” when speaking on The Procurement Show recently. Here were my conclusions to the question:-

1. I’ve witnessed staff  becoming socially isolated as a consequence of working from home the majority of the time. By definition we are pack animals, we are social beings and need a certain amount of social interaction during which we pick up consciously and subconsciously on subtle cues from the people we connect with, verbally and non verbally. 
2. Equally all of us need down time to decompress from intense commute routines and have quiet down time to focus on screen tasks, especially those of us who are more introvert in communication styles.
3. Screen interaction has its place in working life and serves many scenarios quite well, but there are some interactions that are stunted through screen time such as bonding and generating empathy and trust. Sensitive conversations can be difficult to manage via screen too.
4. Research has shown that remote workers can experience the following :-
   1. Feeling lonely , socially isolated and unmotivated;
   2. Experience overcompensation such as overworking  and the inability to set boundaries of when to stop and start their day;
   3. Inability to shut off and sleep thus causing anxiety and depression; 
   4. Underperformance due to distraction and demotivation;
   5. Becoming disconnected from their purpose in the role.
5. The multi billion dollar USA based company Verkada has recently launched an initiative called 3,3,3. It incentivises 3 colleagues to meet at 3pm and spend 3 hours collaborating. In turn they will be able to claim $30 expenses for the interaction.
6. Face to face working certainly has a secret sauce. It would be unproductive and unhealthy to undertake 100% remote working for extended periods of time.

For more on this multifaceted debate on ways of working, post pandemic, and the impact of AI and automation on our daily lives, with Jonathan O’Brien and Paul Philpott, go to the podcast  https://positivepurchasing.com/podcast-the-procurement-show/