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The Future of Work Debate | Munk Debates

February 7, 2023

The Future of Work Debate

Be it resolved, hybrid work is here to stay

Guests
Raj Choudhury
Allison Schrager

About this episode

For the first time in almost three years, most white collar professionals are back in the office, at least some of the time. The pandemic unleashed sweeping, societal change virtually overnight, and among the largest of those changes, was the way that we work. But now, almost three years later, we have returned to some semblance of normalcy. But hybrid and flexible work schedules have persisted. And for many managers, consultants, and economists, the cat may be out of the bag for good. These folks argue that given their newfound flexibility and improved work/life balance, workers will never return to the office five days a week. And that’s probably not such a bad thing. There is no demonstrable drop in productivity working from home. The reduction in commuting time may even increase overall worker output. And given worker’s preference for greater flexibility, hybrid work is undoubtedly the future.

But detractors argue that standard metrics of productivity are missing the big picture. Perhaps what works in the short term may have serious consequences in the long term. How can companies maintain a corporate culture without a central space? How can managers develop and foster young talent without in person interaction? And how can society as a whole progress without the impromptu creative interactions that are a hallmark of functioning office spaces? In short, hybrid work may be the present, but it is not the future.

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Guests

Raj Choudhury

“The day of traveling to a downtown office five days a week is over. And there are different creative ways to arrange work, and why don't the teams decide what's best for them?”

Raj Choudhury

“The day of traveling to a downtown office five days a week is over. And there are different creative ways to arrange work, and why don't the teams decide what's best for them?”

Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury is the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School. He was an Assistant Professor at Wharton prior to joining Harvard. His research is focused on studying the Future of Work, especially the changing Geography of Work. In particular, he studies the productivity effects of geographic mobility of workers, causes of geographic immobility and productivity effects of remote work practices such as ‘Work from anywhere’ and ‘All-remote’. He is an Associate Editor at Management Science.

His research has been published in Management Science, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Law Economics and Organization, Harvard Business Review, and has been cited in Freakonomics, BBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, PBS, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR All Things Considered, Forbes, WIRED, Inc., Times of India, Globe and Mail, El Pais, and India Today Television among other outlets. He earned his Doctorate from Harvard and has Degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management. Prior to academia, he worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and IBM.
 

Allison Schrager

“Technology is changing and I have no doubt the nature of work is going to change, but it still doesn't change the way humans are.”

Allison Schrager

“Technology is changing and I have no doubt the nature of work is going to change, but it still doesn't change the way humans are.”

Allison Schrager is an economist, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, contributing editor at City Journal, a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion, and co-founder of LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC, a risk advisory firm.
 
Allison diversified her career by working in finance, policy, and media. She led retirement product innovation at Dimensional Fund Advisors and consulted to international organizations, including the OECD and IMF.
 
She has been a regular contributor to the Economist, Reuters, and Bloomberg Businessweek. Her writing has also appeared in Playboy, Wired, National Review and Foreign Affairs. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in economics from Columbia University. She lives in New York City.

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