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O P I N I O N
Growing apart, together
The future AEC workspace will be flexible but more connected than ever, so invest in data bandwidth and mobility.
T hose of us who started our careers in the late 1980s and early 1990s didn’t realize it, but we represented the end of an era. Until that time, the place where you worked was a defined space – be it an office, shop, project site, or factory. And if you weren’t in that physical space with your colleagues, you probably couldn’t get much done. So, we invested heavily in that physical space. It defined both our workforce, our ability to work together, and the products we created.
David Coyne
greater degree in physical work flexibility, and are not only productive but perfectly comfortable in a range of environments, be it a co-working space, in transit, at a remote office, or at home. Consider this: A worker under the age of 30 today has been internet-connected for their entire “The smart bet for AEC firms looking to attract young talent and transition to new leaders is to grow around this paradigm of connected freedom.”
But while we were busy over the past 30 years, the entire concept of the professional working environment changed utterly, thanks to technology. Working together still means what it always has, of course, but the concept of physical space within this definition has dropped out completely. Time zones notwithstanding, we can now work with colleagues in New York, London, or Tokyo with such ease and clarity that we may as well be in the same room. We in our 40s or 50s may not have changed much, but our younger colleagues have embraced the technological reality that allows for a much
See DAVID COYNE, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER June 17, 2019, ISSUE 1301
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