Why face time in the office is irreplaceable

A recent worldwide memo sent to all staff at Yahoo announced a company-wide ban on "remote" working. "To become the absolute best place to work," it read, "communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side."

In our technology-rich wired world, why does "being there" still matter? While electronic communication offers many benefits - especially in terms of low financial cost - it also has drawbacks. Opportunities for distraction are great, meaning participants are often not as engaged as their colleagues might think (or their supervisors might hope).

More significantly, physical co-location has several positive features. Firstly, face-to-face interaction allows participants to observe both verbal and non-verbal behaviour, which are all important in building understanding and collaboration.

Electronic communications can be a minefield of potential misinterpretation. A short comment written in jest or simply for the sake of brevity can easily be misinterpreted.

Being physically in the same place also serves a primitive human need. As social creatures, we require contact with others, and isolation is harmful.

An often cited advantage of electronic communication is that it allows participants to respond at a time of their choosing and prioritise accordingly. However, this can also be detrimental to the speed and quality of decision-making.