In the old days, we used to say getting “out of the office” to work somewhere else was taking a break. Now, for me, it’s getting out of the house.
You have to realize that I’ve been working from home since the dawn of time. Back in the ’70s, it was calling in scores late at night for the Philadelphia Wings. And then, of course, during my time with the Philadelphia Flyers’ Hockey Central, I was responsible for calling in all the high school game results—scores and game highlights — to over 30 media outlets every night for 13 years. Back then, my bedroom was my office, or a desk phone at some ice rink
As time went on, I began working remotely for FCB’s Impact Division. Getting out of the house then meant either jumping on an airplane to fly from Philadelphia to LA, hopping a train to see clients in New York, or wandering the world with the Celebrity All-Star Hockey team on weekends, where hotel suites became my office. Yes, I was Working Anywhere from day one.
Fast forward into the ’90s—cafes and coffee shops added Wi-Fi. Starbucks became my third place to work. Home first, the occasional visit to an office somewhere or a client’s location second, but Starbucks and other cafes became my new “get out of the house” place to get things done. Back then, I said, “Have laptop, will travel.”.
Fast forward now to the 2020s, and I’m finding I’m back to being super energized when I’m in a WeWork somewhere. You know, it’s not so much the fact that I’m not working in bed or sitting at my kitchen table or even upstairs behind the standing desk with a giant widescreen in front of me. It’s just the fact that you’re around people.
I think there are two competing truths here that deserve unpacking:
- Remote work offers the undeniable flexibility and convenience that many workers have come to value
- Human connection remains an irreplaceable element of productive and fulfilling work
What I don’t believe is that this is simply a matter of extroverts wanting offices and introverts preferring to work from home. My experience suggests something more nuanced. that even long-term remote workers benefit from strategic doses of human interaction.
The timing of this reflection is particularly relevant as companies continue wrestling with return-to-office mandates. Rather than viewing this as a binary choice between home or office, perhaps the most sustainable approach is the freedom to work anywhere, with intentional opportunities for connection.
This “best of both worlds” approach seems increasingly like the future of work – not because it satisfies corporate real estate interests or checks a collaboration box, but because it acknowledges a fundamental human need for both autonomy and connection. The pandemic didn’t create remote work, but it certainly accelerated our collective experiment with it.
And that experiment is teaching us that the question isn’t whether remote work “works” – it’s about how we design work environments that support both productivity and wellbeing across diverse preferences and needs.
For many of us, the answer lies not in returning to pre-pandemic norms, but in finding those third places where work and human connection can coexist. It’s also worth noting that this evolution mirrors broader societal shifts in how we think about work-life integration versus the strict work-life separation of previous generations.
Sure, working from home (WFH) has its advantages, but getting out and working and talking to people sure beats that. Working Anywhere is not anything new for me. But working where you can get work done while being around people. That’s the difference.