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If we were to do something kooky and nutty like abandon centralized large corporate offices as our primary places of work, and instead the majority of us worked

If we were to do something kooky and nutty like abandon centralized large corporate offices as our primary places of work, and instead the majority of us worked from home, that would result in many people spending several hour a day in their local neighborhood rather than sitting in their car. I expect local communities would be revitalized simply by default because people would finally be PRESENT instead of commuting and spending the majority of their waking hours far away from their local community. Just another way that the death of our antiquated 'way of work' that was optimal for manufacturing and assembly lines but downright ludicrous now will benefit everyone. Well, except for middle managers. They'll mostly be automated out of a job. Have to get their heart attacks the old fashioned way I guess.

soroso 10y ago
Not entirely true. Often people work in a different time zone than their neighborhood, thus rendering the proposed effect useless. That's my case.
Ensorceled 10y ago
This is interesting in that many people get their only social interaction from their co-workers. Work from home would just isolate them even more.
- otakucode 10y ago
  That would only be true if human beings were not fundamentally social creatures by nature. Working from home, it should be remembered, was the default state of mankind from the beginning of time up until the rise of factories a little over a century ago. It is tempting, but I think a mistake, to assume that people currently isolate themselves out of desire rather than out of consequence of long commutes, the psychological fatigue of the modern workplace, etc. Just look at different age groups. Children are isolated forcibly by their parents, so they're not informative. Adolescents, though, take great pains to avoid isolation even though their parents and society generally goes to great lengths to try to impose it upon them. Retired people do not generally isolate themselves (there are, of course, exceptions). It's only the working stiffs that tend to isolate themselves. And even that is mostly a modern phenomenon. It might be down to people being satisfied with social media as their means of socializing, but I doubt it.
eswat 10y ago
Your expectation assumes that workers with home offices would replace the times they’ve spent commuting or socializing outside of their community with traversing around and being present in their community. Personally I think it’s a crapshoot: your expectation might be true or these workers might become recluse and replace the time commuting with sitting at home (especially if they tend to be in a neighborhood that favours individualism over collectivism, isolation over community).

soroso 10y ago

Not entirely true. Often people work in a different time zone than their neighborhood, thus rendering the proposed effect useless. That's my case.

Ensorceled 10y ago

This is interesting in that many people get their only social interaction from their co-workers. Work from home would just isolate them even more.

otakucode 10y ago
That would only be true if human beings were not fundamentally social creatures by nature. Working from home, it should be remembered, was the default state of mankind from the beginning of time up until the rise of factories a little over a century ago. It is tempting, but I think a mistake, to assume that people currently isolate themselves out of desire rather than out of consequence of long commutes, the psychological fatigue of the modern workplace, etc. Just look at different age groups. Children are isolated forcibly by their parents, so they're not informative. Adolescents, though, take great pains to avoid isolation even though their parents and society generally goes to great lengths to try to impose it upon them. Retired people do not generally isolate themselves (there are, of course, exceptions). It's only the working stiffs that tend to isolate themselves. And even that is mostly a modern phenomenon. It might be down to people being satisfied with social media as their means of socializing, but I doubt it.

eswat 10y ago

Your expectation assumes that workers with home offices would replace the times they’ve spent commuting or socializing outside of their community with traversing around and being present in their community. Personally I think it’s a crapshoot: your expectation might be true or these workers might become recluse and replace the time commuting with sitting at home (especially if they tend to be in a neighborhood that favours individualism over collectivism, isolation over community).