Give Workers the Power to Choose: Cave or Commons; Harvard Business Review, 3/27/13

Leigh Thompson, Harvard Business Review; Give Workers the Power to Choose: Cave or Commons: "Ideally, every organization should allow some flexibility on the where-and-when-to-work question — if not for any other reason than to optimize performance across the diverse set of challenges that teams face. If organizations don't take proactive steps, people manufacture their own caves — whether by working from home, putting on earphones to tune out the drivel, or simply slipping out to the local WiFi café. The same is true for commons — there is a human need for people to gather around the water cooler and so, making the workplace inviting in different ways can build community. The challenge for leaders is in achieving the right balance through informal influence and modeling, and formal policy moves."