There was a trend awhile back, and for once, it has nothing to do with consumables or beliefs. It's a trend that shakes up the very foundation of how we conduct our business, how we perceive business, and how we perceive ourselves in this entire economy of human resources.
It's a little banal, frankly, and it can seem rather immaterial when we're talking serious s***, but when you sit and think about it, it can be more than simply a difference of desk, or place.
I like the concept of hotdesking. It gives a sense of being everywhere and anywhere and getting inspired by your surroundings, and since I'm familiar with workstations, such a desk is pretty cool to try.
Which I am, for the day.
I'm on the 19th floor of Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway, perched on a stool at the bar counter (with power sockets underneath!) looking out over one of the most unrivalled views along the Orchard belt. It's a panoramic view- two sides all around. From here I see Marina Bay Sands, her deck jutting out from the triple towers beneath, like Noah's Ark atop Mt. Ararat. From there I see Bideford Road and the road next to Paragon that leads to the entrance of the CTE Tunnel, and right next to the entrance, separated by a narrow strip of landscaped greenery is the exit of the same Tunnel, and which both kind of look pretty gaping even from here.
I look down. The cars are really tiny from all the way up here, like little toys. I can't see the pedestrians. They're so little, like.. ants.
I look back up. In the near distance I see Mandarin Orchard with its distinctive roof and the pagoda-shaped Marriott Singapore further back. There's the blue glassed building of Wisma, and the twin towers of Ngee Ann City. Out far towards the horizon there stand more tall buildings, condominiums, offices, skyscrapers, housing board flats and there's some sort of construction going on the north side.
So I'm sitting here, drinking in all this, and I realize that perspectives really do change when the element of space and surroundings is adjusted. Knowing that the world has suddenly expanded, that it has suddenly, in the span of a couple of minutes, expanded from an enclosed 360 degree space to all this, it changes you. It's as if the world on the ground and the world up here don't exist within the same stratosphere. It's as if the world, as i see it, has suddenly developed layers- one layer on the ground, one layer up here.
Yet, do my views change? How am I inspired gazing at all this as I type? Do I alter my perspectives, my vision, my influence on what I do simply because I'm not seated at a desk with a telephone in front of me and a bulletin board surrounded by drawers and cabinets for all the paperwork? What is it in it for me, I wonder? Will I make decisions that are more macro rather than myopic now that I'm high up here?
And here's another thought, albeit a funny odd one. You know how workstations define our work personalities? So, now that we're roaming everywhere, and we're expected to maintain consistency everywhere, do we lose our individual work personalities that we've crafted over the years, since technically hotdesking gives us influences and inspirations from so many different facets of life? And, does that mean that the DESK itself no longer represents the element of hierarchy? Does it mean that rosewood desks and walnut desks and typical office furniture are a thing of the past and hold no more representation?
One more thing: Who gets saddled with the paperwork then?
It's more of an open-ended question with an open-ended answer, I suppose,,, given the fact that we all need paperwork of some sort...
But for now, it's more of the culture.
The culture that defines you who are professionally (at least)
The culture that makes you wanna join the rest of the gang...
Even if it be for a short, short while. :)
It's a little banal, frankly, and it can seem rather immaterial when we're talking serious s***, but when you sit and think about it, it can be more than simply a difference of desk, or place.
I like the concept of hotdesking. It gives a sense of being everywhere and anywhere and getting inspired by your surroundings, and since I'm familiar with workstations, such a desk is pretty cool to try.
Which I am, for the day.
I'm on the 19th floor of Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway, perched on a stool at the bar counter (with power sockets underneath!) looking out over one of the most unrivalled views along the Orchard belt. It's a panoramic view- two sides all around. From here I see Marina Bay Sands, her deck jutting out from the triple towers beneath, like Noah's Ark atop Mt. Ararat. From there I see Bideford Road and the road next to Paragon that leads to the entrance of the CTE Tunnel, and right next to the entrance, separated by a narrow strip of landscaped greenery is the exit of the same Tunnel, and which both kind of look pretty gaping even from here.
I look down. The cars are really tiny from all the way up here, like little toys. I can't see the pedestrians. They're so little, like.. ants.
I look back up. In the near distance I see Mandarin Orchard with its distinctive roof and the pagoda-shaped Marriott Singapore further back. There's the blue glassed building of Wisma, and the twin towers of Ngee Ann City. Out far towards the horizon there stand more tall buildings, condominiums, offices, skyscrapers, housing board flats and there's some sort of construction going on the north side.
So I'm sitting here, drinking in all this, and I realize that perspectives really do change when the element of space and surroundings is adjusted. Knowing that the world has suddenly expanded, that it has suddenly, in the span of a couple of minutes, expanded from an enclosed 360 degree space to all this, it changes you. It's as if the world on the ground and the world up here don't exist within the same stratosphere. It's as if the world, as i see it, has suddenly developed layers- one layer on the ground, one layer up here.
Yet, do my views change? How am I inspired gazing at all this as I type? Do I alter my perspectives, my vision, my influence on what I do simply because I'm not seated at a desk with a telephone in front of me and a bulletin board surrounded by drawers and cabinets for all the paperwork? What is it in it for me, I wonder? Will I make decisions that are more macro rather than myopic now that I'm high up here?
And here's another thought, albeit a funny odd one. You know how workstations define our work personalities? So, now that we're roaming everywhere, and we're expected to maintain consistency everywhere, do we lose our individual work personalities that we've crafted over the years, since technically hotdesking gives us influences and inspirations from so many different facets of life? And, does that mean that the DESK itself no longer represents the element of hierarchy? Does it mean that rosewood desks and walnut desks and typical office furniture are a thing of the past and hold no more representation?
One more thing: Who gets saddled with the paperwork then?
It's more of an open-ended question with an open-ended answer, I suppose,,, given the fact that we all need paperwork of some sort...
But for now, it's more of the culture.
The culture that defines you who are professionally (at least)
The culture that makes you wanna join the rest of the gang...
Even if it be for a short, short while. :)