Dubai Eye 103.8 radio interview - Work from home V Office - June 2020

"We’re reigniting the “office vs work from home” argument: we speak to a Dubai business owner who says physical offices encourage bad behaviour - from both workers and bosses – and is far happier Zooming. Matt Jennison is the founder and CEO of One Zebra."

Listen to the recording of this interview with Richard Dean from the Business Breakfast and One Zebra CEO, Matt Jennison.

Talking points below:

"Physical offices, as we know them, encourage bad management behavior and counter-productive employee behavior"

In a recent survey of Fortune 500 CEOs, 91% agreed that Business travel will become less frequent, replaced by video conferencing. 51% said business travel would never return to the levels it was before the pandemic.

- Rows of desks, usually in full view of Managers offices, who rely on being able to see people are busy, rather than extending trust, setting measurable objectives and holding people accountable for results.

- Employees often stay late to be seen working late, because that behavior is rewarded by managers.

- Physical offices are designed for people to be in them 8+ hours a day, Offices should be collaborative spaces, that bring people together when they need to.

"Physical offices, as we know them, are negatively impacting the quality of modern family life"

- It has kept Mums and Dads from being home in time for dinner.

- It has kept Mums and Dads from being home to read bedtime stories.

- In the UAE, families often spend 2 months in the summer apart, with the working parent stuck here. Imagine being able to get away from the summer heat, working from your home in the UK, or New Zealand

- How many parents struggle with the school run because they have to drop off or pick up kids from school within their standard 8 to 5 working hours?

"A virtual office will increase productivity, save company’s millions of dollars and save jobs"

- eXp – a billion dollar real estate giant with 30,000 employees across five countries, saves 30 million dollars per year on rent. Started in 2009, and run entirely within a virtual office campus, you can drop into their tech support, HR or Marketing departments for a chat.

- They were also named one of the “Best Places To Work” by Glassdoor in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

- Imagine what you could do with the thousands of hours of commuting time each year… learn something new, get fitter, get healthier.

- The old adage that I must be SEEN to be in the office to show that I’m working hard is rubbish, that was a vicious cycle that COVID broke.

- I don’t believe old school video calling is enough… Zoom, Webex, or whatever your weapon of choice, won’t cut it on its own. Flat screens with grids of faces reduce creative thinking, reduce innovation.

- We need technology to go beyond this, to allow the serendipitous meetings and conversations you would usually get in an office, to give a sense of being present

Get your own 3D Virtual Workplace here - www.onezebra.com/govirtual