While the topic is on "restructuring the physical and virtual workspace", I would like to start off by reminding everyone that there  are three intertwined dimensions in any organization, the evolution of which is driven by many forces of change.

1. Work (The What)

2. Workforce (The Who)

3. Workspace (The Where)

To jog one's memory, in the pre-industrial era, work was synonymous with craftsmanship where the “worker” took end-to-end responsibility for delivering the product/outcome. A cobbler for instance would do everything from measuring the foot size of the customer to fine-tuning the final shoe product. The  industrial  revolution  brought in automation and changed  this  concept of  bespoke work. Products could  be  manufactured  faster  and  cheaper  if  the end- to-end  processes  were segmented into  repeatable tasks with standardized specification in which workers (and, later, machines) could specialize.  The  notion  of  a  “job”  became  that  of  a collection  of  tasks,  not  necessarily  related  to  each other, rather than an integrated set of actions that delivered a complete product or outcome.

Now, as we step rapidly into the era of AI revolution, we once again appear to be redefining work to  create  valuable  human-machine  collaborations, shifting our understanding of work from task completion to  problem-solving  and  managing  human relationships. Technology has taken us back to bespoke products . Example : one can take a photograph of oneself and send out along with some measurements and lo and behold a custom-fitted pair of jeans arrives in the mail (completely automated; but unique specification for the customer as opposed to one of six sizes).

This has been fueled by breakthroughs in life sciences, social sciences and tremendous progress in technology. Machines are taking over the repeatable and routine tasks (example: a lot of manufacturing and warehouses that would have required people to be onsite are now being done by robots and robotic processes. Human jobs are shifting towards ones that require problem-solving, communication, listening, interpretation and decision making. As this shift occurs, more and more of the human jobs no longer require continuous/extended onsite presence. This is resulting in not just expansion beyond the standard employer-employee full-time role to include gig workers, but also an evolution beyond the traditional workplace. The requirement that a significant fraction of employees have to be fully onsite to do their jobs is rapidly diminishing.

Here are some of the pros of this trend of transition to a virtual workspace setting which has rapidly accelerated over the last few months due to the pandemic:

a)      Workers are able to transcend limitations of distance/employers have additional flexibility as to who is assigned which task

b)     Employees are able to enjoy flexibility in their work schedule (no longer need to adhere to 8-5 rigid routine

c)      Employees are able to reduce the “commute-to-work” overhead

d)     There is less traffic on the roads during “office” hours

e)     Lesser business travel, and more cost savings for the company (includes maintenance, cleaning; building costs)

f)       Technology is rapidly enhancing to support “remote needs” allowing for “easier” global collaborations. Zoom, Teams, Google Meetups have been undergoing rapid “upgrades” è trending towards creating virtual spaces that can resemble office/more formal settings

g)      Companies are beginning to observe an up-tick in efficiency of employees who are able to put in more hours because of the flexibility

h)     Environmental improvement: more wildlife seen moving freely; less air pollution

i)       Employees getting more family time

j)       Deemed success less on perception and more on actuals

k)      Longer term re-balance in real-estate prices as concentration of work/workforce in geo-locations no longer required. Example: Bay Area

However, there are numerous challenges that this trend is posing, many of which are surfacing in strong light recently again because of the “pandemic” era. To cite a few:

a)      Human are social animals and thrive with human-human interactions. A key component that is diminishing with the trend. What long-term impact this will have on the human psyche, only time will tell

b)     A company’s culture is defined collectively by its people which is hard to build up without regular human-human interactions

c)      Team-building challenged; body language interpretations are not the same or do not exist.

d)     The workforce collectively misses out on hallway conversations

e)     Problem-solving/brainstorming with colleagues not the same as in in person. (Virtual whiteboards have not yet replaced physical whiteboards successfully).

f)       The boundaries between home life and work life are getting blurred. People working in a non-office setting tend to work longer hours many-a-time at the cost of “family” time. The work-life balance is in jeopardy of being tilted considerably

g)      In a time when organizations are collectively trying to increase diversity in their workforce, a full-shift in the “remote” direction is making this effort a harder challenge. Example, other responsibilities in a home setting may need to take precedence for the non-traditional worker.

h)     Challenging for entry level employees who need to essentially acclimatize in a “remote/virtual” manner

i)       Virtual model can be less effective when seeking to fill the hiring pipeline

j)       Seamless high speed connectivity challenges è seamless technology capabilities have not yet reached all geo-locations

……and more …some of which we will discover as we go along. The unprecedented times that we are in currently have shown that the existence of virtual work-spaces is not just a nice-to-have, but a necessity. When this period has passed, will we go back to where we were before the pandemic? The answer to that is “no”. We will, in all probability, settle in more of a hybrid model of switching between physical and virtual workspaces. Organizations will need to continue to imagine and create possibilities using rapidly advancing technologies to design work, workforce and the workplace in a way that increases value and meaning  in a safe and secure manner. An opportunity stands in front of us. It’s ours to shape. 

Bio: Dr. Mondira (Mandy) Pant - Biography: In her current role of Academic Research Director and Principal Engineer at Intel, Dr. Mondira (Mandy) Deb Pant leads Intel’s Corporate Research Council which is Intel's Strategic University Investment Body, filling the Intel technology pipeline with new promising ideas and future talent works. In her role, she works with leading academic researchers worldwide and technical experts at Intel to seed and drive research in areas of strategic importance to Intel in particular, and the computing industry in general. Prior to this, as one of Intel’s lead technologists in the area of power delivery and power management, she investigated and drove numerous challenges in the power space, particularly on-chip power delivery issues, power management and power reduction on the Intel next generation high volume server microprocessors. She has led Intel's on-die power delivery synergy efforts and spearheaded Intel's power delivery roadmap program for several years. Further, she has been instrumental in driving and deploying Intel companywide internal innovation programs.

She has published 20+ technical papers in prestigious VLSI conferences and journals, has 3 issued patents and 5 pending patents.

Mandy received her Bachelors (B.Tech) in Computer Science and Engineering from I.I.T Kharagpur, India, a Masters (MS) in Electrical Engineering and a Doctorate (PhD) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA. She joined Intel in 2001 as part of the Alpha team acquisition from Compaq Computer Corporation where she worked since graduating in 2000.

Mandy has given numerous invited talks at many technical 

conferences and universities, including several keynotes, panels and distinguished lectures and  has served on the Technical Committees of several premier technical conferences. She is an active proponent of STE(A)M for Women and young girls and participates in various efforts in promoting it across the nation in general and in the New England area in particular. In 2009, Mandy was recognized by Mass High Tech (A Massachusetts High Tech Journal) as one of the top ten upcoming Women to Watch in the New England area.  In 2013, she was recognized by the India New England journal as one of the top 20 South Asian Women of 2013 in the New England area. In 2019, she served as the Technical Chair for Intel’s biggest internal technical design conference which had over 2500 technical attendees. Mandy also serves on the Advisory Board of two startups.

She is a proud Mom to two high school girls ages 18 and 16 and is an avid reader, traveler, dancer, hiker and yoga enthusiast.

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