Office-based meeting spaces or platforms also come with other constraints. “Agendas are not required to meet someone for coffee, but are inherent in a scheduled meeting, virtual or otherwise, which can kill creativity,” says architect Kelly Hayes McAlonie, director of campus planning at the University of Buffalo and one of Smith’s co-authors. She says that university campuses, like open-air offices, have blended elements of coffee shops into their design to prompt people to gather and collaborate, as part of a trend that’s been happening for more than a decade.
One caveat, though: not all public spaces are equally work friendly. “One difference between the café and bar is the level of ambient noise, where many bars have background music and athletics that don’t always promote small-group conversation to the extent that you more commonly find in cafés,” says McAlonie.
…and about that coffee
With Covid-19 still raging in many countries, many still several months away from being able to work from a coffee shop.
And over the last year, we’ve all – of necessity – found ways to be productive at home. When social-network management company Buffer surveyed 3,500 remote workers around the world for its 2020 State of Remote Work report, it showed that 80% of them prefer to work at home, instead of places like coworking spaces and cafés. That sounds like a lot, but it’s actually a similar figure to 2019 and 2018, meaning lockdowns don’t appear to have made more workers bond with their home offices. That indicates that for some, the thirst for public settings is still there, even after a year of social distancing.
Lee believes that people have those “past experiences of the positive aspects of coffee shops”, and that the “coffee-shop effect” will likely lure us out of our home offices. “No doubt about it, [we’re] going to go back,” he says.
Even if working from home remains an option long-term, the benefits of temporarily relocating to a coffee shop may be too good to pass up. “And maybe the coffee is better, too,” adds Smith.
