Ode to
the office

September 2021 marks the start of a new chapter at SKINN and by extension many other companies. We all come back to work in the office, framed within the new hybrid work system. We are of course aware of the 'Work From Home' benefits by now, but as founder of SKINN I'd also like to talk about the benefits of working in the office:

An ode to 'Work From Office'.

The benefits of 'Work From Office' are of course a lot more subtle and more long-term than those of 'Work From Home', but certainly no less important. I would like to point out a few things.

You know them, those moments in the corridors from meeting to meeting, that minute at the coffee machine or that spontaneous lunch conversation. The power of chance, also known as serendipity, cannot be underestimated. This way you not only learn what a colleague is going through privately, but also which projects they are working hard on or where someone is stuck at. It is often the most unexpected allies that can bring you new insights or ideas. You would probably never have scheduled a digital meeting about that brain twist with that person about that topic, but that chance meeting can lead to a breakthrough in your thinking process.

Many people started in a new job last year and it was not always an easy task to get to know a company from a distance. The energy that hangs in a room or office and the way in which people interact with each other, are ways to get to know the company culture as a new colleague. It shows you how you can move and relate within an organisation. You also get to know your colleagues in a non-formal way during lunch or afterwork moments and you can ask both small and large questions that come to your mind, things that you would just figure out yourself from home. Physical presence creates social glue. The principle of mentorship also works best in an organic way. The presence of more experienced profiles gives you an insight into their process or gives you the opportunity to ask for help or an opinion if you need it. Together you simply learn more than alone. That's also the case for me, I learn from my people on a daily basis.

As a creative organisation you work together on the same process, project or customer at all kinds of levels. Everyone may have his or her task within a project, but the importance of mutual consultation and motivating each other throughout the process is supported by the type of energy that cannot be translated online. The power of teamwork, both at project level and across the wider organisation, simply cannot be digitised.

Alone at home at your desk, you sometimes forget that you are part of a larger plan. You are less confronted with why you chose that job or that company, you have more a feeling of operating on your own and you have less sense of purpose. You don't just work for the money in your account every month, but also because you believe in the company you work for and what they stand for. Because a job is consciously part of your path. In the office you get the chance every day to be reminded of this, you have the chance to interact with one of the partners at SKINN and your professional perspective becomes a lot sharper.

Whether you're an extrovert, an introvert, or you don't like to be pigeonholed, humans are social creatures. The pandemic has more than proven that isolation and lack of social contact have a detrimental effect on our mental health. This also applies to social contacts at the office. After all, you spend most of your time “at” work.

We can only applaud the fact that work, since the covid pandemic, has acquired a hybrid side to it. On a personal level this opens up a lot of possibilities. An update of the archaic work system was needed for a while. But the fact that we can finally go back to the office inevitably contributes to the well-being of the organisation you work for. A balanced relationship between the individual and the team will determine the success of many companies. At SKINN we like to build the future of the company together as one team.

See you in the hallways!