We live in a world that constantly changes, a world where yesterday’s answers cannot guarantee us to be the answers on tomorrow’s questions. Economic, social-cultural and technological developments provide a dynamic field for communication

professionals. A current development is the rise of the Digital Nomads.

Written by Kim de Waal, March 2016, Eindhoven

Digital Nomads?Is the world ready for

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e live in a world that constantly changes, a world where yesterday’s answers cannot guarantee us to be the answers on tomorrow’s questions. Economic, social-cultural and technological developments provide a dynamic field for communication professionals. A current development is the rise of the

Digital Nomads. They are individuals who use telecommunication technologies to work and live their life in a nomadic manner. They are mostly freelancers that can work from wherever they want to work. But with the current telecommuting development, will this trend also spread to other businesses? Will the Digital Nomads take over the world? And what happens when you are teamed up with a Digital Nomad? These are all questions that you, as a Change Agent, have to keep in mind when managing this possible change; you need to know how to implement it correctly in a multicultural team where only communi-cation via telecommuting tools is possible.

DigiTAl NomADiNg AkA TelecommuTing 2.0

Digital nomads were born from a combination of telecommuting and the need to travel. (lamarque, 2015) Telecommuting is working without being dependent on location and time. it is supported by modern (mobile) technology. The vision of telecom-muting has been trending since 2009. companies have started to implement and improve this vision ever since. While the majority is implementing the vision of working without having a fixed place, the entrepreneurs of this world are already implementing the next step: Digital nomading. nowadays people prefer experience to material things. The need to travel has advanced past the need for money and status. Status is made by the places you have visited, not

the deals you have made. The era of the Digital nomad is upon us and it is no longer about whom you know, but rath-er where you go. careers are not what they used to be and as a result we are making our own rules as we go along. let us start talking about telecom-muting, seeing that this is where it all began with. Telecommuting ensured that companies got rid of their cubicles and gave their employees the freedom to choose wherever they wanted to work. People did not have a fixed place to work anymore. Telecommuting helps people work more effectively and efficient-ly, but also more enjoyable for both the organization and the employee.

(encyclo) This vision will be realized by focusing on the employee and by giv-ing him, with certain limits, the space and freedom to decide how he wants to work, where he wants to work, when he wants to work and with whom he wants to work. Recent developments in iT cre-ate new ways and methods of working together via an online network. Telecommuting gives workers more opportunities to flexibly fulfill their job roles and adjust their work-ing hours and working place as they see fit. (echtelt, 2014) it also reflects on the confidence and trust the employer has in their employees. The sense of trust is a basic need that motivates and increases engagement. You can read more about trust further down.

W

will the digital nomads

take over the world?

and is the world ready

for digital nomads?

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he term ‘digital nomad’ came into this world in 2008-2009. (Small Business labs, 2015) The number of hits has increased drastically; the hits in January 2015 alone are more than in all of 2010. it makes

sense that this trend started to take off in that time, because decent internet access had spread globally, improvements in mobile and collaborative technologies made this type of work increasingly viable, cheap international airfares had become more common and the recession got more people thinking about alternatives to traditional jobs. like stated earlier, Digital nomads are individuals who use telecommunications technologies to do their work and conduct their life in a nomadic manner. (Potor, 2016) Such workers typically work remotely – from home, coffee

shops, public libraries, etc. – to accomplish tasks and goals that traditionally took place in a single stationary workplace. most Digital nomads work in the knowledge and creative sectors, for example copywriters, programmers, bloggers, writers and designers. (luit, 2015) At DnX global congress in Berlin last August were a lot of Digital nomads present. These people are mostly entrepreneurs who are in their twenties or thirties that are able to combine their work with travel. They are open-minded people who are prepared to search for adventure and who do not compromise their dreams for their job.

WhAT is A DigiTAl NomAD?

T

“surely everyone

realizes that no lifestyle

is hassle-free?”

mish and Rob are a couple who are both Digital nomads. in march 2012 they left their jobs in london with the aim of ‘making it anywhere’. (Slade, 2015) Their definition of ‘making it anywhere’? Running a business they love from wherever they want, and making more money than they were in their old jobs. in the last three years they have lived in 20 cities across three continents. They have had the time of their lives and felt amazingly free from all the stuff that used to bug them about having a job and living permanently in one place. mish Slade on the Digital nomad mindset: “Being a Digital nomad is to do whatever works for you without worry-ing about what others think, and let others do whatever they want without allowing it to affect your happiness.” in the past years Slade noticed that a lot of people

give up on becoming a Digital nomad whenever she talks about the struggles of this lifestyle. She gets it, but at the same time, she does not: “Surely everyone realizes that no lifestyle is hassle-free, especially the ones that are not considered ‘normal’? That does not mean it is not worth it, just that you cannot expect to quit your job, catch a plane to Thailand, and suddenly feel fulfilled for the rest of your life.” Being a Digital nomad is great, but it is nowhere near as effortless as some like to make out. This also counts for teamwork. Without hav-ing properly maintained the change of only working virtually with your team, instead of face-to-face, it is doomed to fail. This is where change Agents come in, to manage and imple-ment the change in a way that team members will be commit-ted to the cause and the company.

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a team is spread over a distance. employees have to meet certain requirements, like being able to work with limited supervision. They also have to be able to be accountable for their actions and they have to be able to effectively work with others without being in the same room. communication lies at the very heart of accountability. And it is important to reach an effi-cient and successful telecommuting arrangement. Telecommuting may not focus on face-to-face communication, but it still benefits from regular, effective meetings. Therefor there have to be regu-lar scheduled conference calls with the team. Technology increases the ease and effec-tiveness of communication. Technology also has dramatically increased the effectiveness of tele-commuting. Without technology telecommuting would not be able to exist. Still, technology does not solve all the issues of productive communica-tion within a team. Yet it does increase the ease and speed with which a team can operate.

if this sounds so easy on paper, why does it not work like this in reality? Because a lot of companies focus too much on technology and too little on process. The problem is that managers do not put new processes in place to ensure that virtual teams succeed. (Speagle, 2015) And instead of trying something new, many managers simply give up. While instead they should be clarifying the work-from-home policy, implementing new collabora-tion software, creating communication guidelines and trying virtual team building activities. change Agents should encourage implementing these processes. You can compare it with trying to improve the performance of a sports team by buying new and better equipment. (graber, 2015) This might result in minor improvements, but if the players do not improve, their performances will not either. managing a virtual team is different from manag-ing a team that sits in an office together, which means it requires a fitting strategy and execution as mentioned above. What is not different is what they can accomplish and achieve together. like i have said already; it takes a lot of hard work and a fully committed team to get the best out of a virtual team and its team members. And aside from accountability, communication and technol-ogy, trust is also very important to the success of a team.

efore we make assumptions about what is bad for teams, let us take a look at what you need in order to build a successful team. Below you can read what sci-ence has to say about what drives effective teamwork:

Psychologists have identified characteristics, like cooperation and coordination, as essential to teamwork. (Speagle, 2015) They also report that those high-performing teams typically demonstrate a shared trust, purpose and understanding of team norms and mental processes. This is especially important if you work in a multicultural team, but more about that later on. in a roundup of teamwork research published in inc., experts say that great team dynamics are built on a founda-tion of team building exercises, non-work communication, diversity and social sensitivity. According to studies published in The new York Times, the smartest teams exhibit two strong characteristics: their members all equally contribute and collectively score

high in reading emotions. They also note that virtual teams demonstrate the same level of collective intelligence as in-office teams.

none of the experts above mentioned anything about physi-cal ‘togetherness’ as vital for teamwork to be successful. This means that it does not matter if a team meets face-to-face or online, just as long as the key ingredients are present and everyone works hard.

in most cases teamwork and telecommuting are possible at the same time. (TeleworkTools) The success of the team relies on three factors: accountability, communication and technology. Telecommuting requires a certain amount of accountability of its own. employees who telecommute are expected to return e-mails and phone calls on a regular basis. They are also expected to finish their work on time and in a professional manner. Accountability is a crucial part when

TEAmWoRK AND TElECommUTiNgB

managing a virtual

team is different

from managing teams

that sit in an

office together

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ithout trust there is not a team. (mind Tools) Without trust there is only a group of individu-als that are working apart but ‘together’. They do not share information, they fight over rights

and responsibilities and they cannot cooperate with each other. People will not reach their full potential in a team where there is no trust. To make it clear, let me define teamwork for you; teamwork is the concept of people working together as a team. (Business Dictionary) it is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feed-

back, despite any personal conflict between individuals. like it or not, all teams are potentially dysfunctional. it does not matter if you work in a team that meets up every day or not. it is inevitable, because people are only imperfect human beings. Patrick lencioni describes the five dysfunctions

of a team in his book ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’. Here he uses a pyramid to show the different levels (lencioni, 2002).

Dysfunction #1: Absence of trust. Team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with each other and are unwill-ing to admit their mistakes, weaknesses or needs for help. Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foun-dation of trust is impossible.

THe imPoRTAnce oFTRUsTW Dysfunction #2: Fear of conflict. Teams that are lack-

ing on trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered, passion-ate debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back chan-nel comments. Team mates who have a fear of conflict seek artificial harmony over constructive passionate debate. Dysfunction #3: lack of commitment. Without con-flict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions, creating an environment where ambiguity prevails. lack of direction and commitment can make employees disgruntled. Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of accountability. The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team mem-bers from holding one another accountable. When teams do not commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team. Dysfunction #5: inattention to results. Team mem-bers naturally tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, status, etc.) ahead of the col-

lective goals of the team when individuals are not held accountable. if a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the business ultimately suffers. Team members focus on their personal success before the team success. Facing dysfunctions and focusing on teamwork is particularly critical at the top of an organization, because the executive team sets the tone for how all employees work with one another. This is also another factor that has to be taken into account by change Agents. opposed to conventional wisdom, the causes of dysfunction are both identifiable and curable. However, they do not die easily. making a team func-tion and united requires courage and discipline that many groups cannot seem to muster. Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, practical theories, but rather about embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. By accepting the imperfections of humanity, members of functional teams overcome the natural habits that make teamwork so tricky.

without trust there

is only a group of

individuals that are

working apart but

‘together’

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ow does trust work when you cannot see your col-leagues every day? When you are working with your

colleagues from different locations, you cannot be physically together, which means that you have no human con-nection to them. (o’nolan, 2014) This may not seem as a big deal, but it is. We are humans and we humans need actual, real contact with each other. You know those ‘water-cooler conver-sations’? The reason those conversa-tions happen is because of contextual awareness. When you are sitting at the office with your co-workers and one of

them is singing and humming along every song that comes on the radio, it can mean that this person is cheerful. And when another colleague has his headphones on and looks at his laptop screen, and at you, like he wants to kill it, you know not to disturb him. We humans are social by nature. millions of years of evolution have caused us to develop aware-ness of each other using our senses. A recent study by scientist at ohio State university reports that we have 21 different facial expressions, each signifying a specific emotion. (Burnett, 2014) James Russell showed that facial

expressions are cross-cultural, which means that regardless of your back-ground or the environment you grew up on; you use the same facial expres-sions as everyone else. multiple stud-ies have also shown that emotions are contagious, spreading throughout groups of people and influencing oth-ers. (Barsade, 2002) The transfer of moods among people in a group and its influence on work group dynamics were examined in a laboratory study of managerial decision making. As the sci-entists predicted, the positive emotions made sure cooperation improved, con-flicts decreased and task performance

FACE-To-FACE CoNTACT AnD non-VeRBAl communicATion

H

the’water-cooler conversations’

are important to a virtual team

increased. But when you are working with Digital nomads contextual aware-ness vanishes. There are tools that try to simulate contextual awareness, which you can read more about later on.with Digital nomads contextual aware-ness vanishes. There are tools that try to simulate contextual awareness, which you can read more about later on.

communication exists in two forms: ver-bal and non-verbal. Verbal communica-tions are the actual words, and non-ver-bal communications ranges from facial expression to body language.There is a study conducted by Albert mehrabian, uclA professor, which shows that com-munication is divided as followed*:- 55% body language- 38% intonation - 7% words* This equation is only applicable if the person is talking

about their feelings or attitudes – mehrabian says so on

his website.

This means that this equation cannot be used on every single scenario life has to offer us. (niek, 2012) Still, there has not been a concrete study that shows us what the real ratio is between verbal and non-verbal communication, because it is almost impossible to look at verbal and non-verbal communica-tion apart from each other.

even though face-to-face contact is important –as you can see in the equa-tion above– you see that in today’s digital age face-to-face communica-tion is fading as one can go almost an entire day without actually interacting with people. (Ashton college, 2015) People rely heavily on the convenience of e-mails, text messages and social media. one of the issues with virtual communication is that they tend to be impersonal. You cannot always antici-pate the other person’s tone of voice or intonation and you cannot pick up on facial expressions. (Farell, 2011) Trying

to make your digital communication seem more friendly or personalized by using emoticons creates the risk of being mis-interpreted or viewed as unprofessional. When it comes to more personal or meaningful topics that need to be com-municated about, the receiver cannot fully interpret or convey compassion about the issue, because in face-to-face meetings our brains process a lot of non-verbal cues that we use as the basis for building trust and professional intimacy. (Smith, 2013) Face-to-face interaction is informa-tion rich. We interpret what people say to us only partially with words they use. We also use the entire emotional nuance behind the words to understand the message, from vocal tone, facial expres-sions and body language. So when, for example, someone wants to apologize for something big, or when someone wants to express their feelings about a par-ticular colleague or project, it is hard for the receiver to fully grasp the emotions behind the issue. This creates miscommu-nication, which is one of the major causes of inefficiency and work-place conflicts.

experience has shown that it is harder to effectively communicate with your team when you cannot see each other face-to-face. So i spoke with Ton de Waal, Service Delivery manager at Atos, who works in a multicultural delivery team and only speaks with his team face-to-face once or twice a year. He stated that the relation-ship between colleagues is getting imper-sonal because of virtual communication; there is less profundity in the relationship, because there is a huge distance between them. (Waal, 2015) For example, when someone leaves the company or falls ill, you do not organize a going away party or visit him in hospital. You will send an impersonal card or e-mail. The pro to this is that you will have a business-like relationship, which means you will not mix private matters with work matters. The absolute con is that you will probably not gain ‘friends’ in your team. You can read more about the pros and cons of working in a virtual team on the next page.

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mUlTiCUlTURAlhere are a couple of pros and cons of working in a virtual team, seeing that a virtual team does not meet up face-to-face the distance between teammates does not matter anymore. This can result in a multicultural team and means

that there has to be communicated differently. multiculturalism describes the existence, acceptance, or promotion of multiple cultural traditions within a company, or team. (kokemuller) The definition of multiculturalism in the workplace is that the workforce is one in which a wide range of cultural differences exist among the employees in the organization. There are a lot of traits used to identify the level of multiculturalism, but according to the encyclopedia of Business, it often comes down to ‘age, sex, ethnicity, physical ability, race and sexual orientation’ in a workforce. Diversity and multicultural train-ings alone are not enough to create a management plan for your multicultural workforce. A strategy must be created and implemented to make sure that multicultural teams succeed and that maximizes the effects of diversity in the workplace. (greenberg) Diversity in a workplace not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. (greenberg) Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as: communica-tion, adaptability and change. However, there can also be differences in attitude towards conflict, approaches of task completion and deci-sion making styles.

Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. (greenberg) like said above, it is important to focus on communication, adaptability and change. Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for multicultural teams to succeed. ineffective communication results in confusion, lack of teamwork and low morale. in that case, there always will be employees who refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural existence of their workplace is changing.

T

The ‘we have always done it this way’ mentality destroys new ideas and pre-vents progress. Diversity and multicultural trainings alone are not enough to cre-ate a management plan for your multi-cultural workforce. A strategy must be created and implemented to make sure that multicultural teams succeed and that maximizes the effects of diversity in the workplace.

There are benefits in having a multi-cultural workforce in an organization, such as a broader service range, variety of viewpoints and more effective exe-cution. (greenberg) Firstly, companies can hire from a wider (and potentially cheaper) talent pool, because they are not restricted by location. A diverse collection of skills and experiences (lan-guage, cultural understanding, etc.) can allow a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. Secondly, a diverse workforce that feels comfort-able communicating their own point of views, provide a larger pool of ideas and experiences. Thirdly, companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Plus, there is no longer any need for useless irritations amongst colleagues, for example an argument about who put a crumb-covered knife back in the butter. (Slade, 2015)

De Waal works at Atos and the com-pany has multinational clients where they delivery iT-services to, based on a 24/7 contract. (Waal, 2015) Atos itself is also all over the world: The netherlands, india, china, Tenerife, indonesia, etc. This means that De Waal works in a team with people who have different cultures. it has its pros and cos, he admits.

like mentioned above the company can hire people from a much larger pool that are possibly cheap-er than your next-door neighbor. For example, in india live a lot of highly educated people that you can hire for little money. ‘Following-the-sun’ also comes in handy. it is a type of workflow in which you make use of the different time zones in a workforce. This way nobody has to work night shifts and the team is 24/7 available for the client. The cons are that the com-pany has to take into account are that every culture has positive and negative skills, a different frame of reference and different ways of communicating with people. in india people are very procedural; they follow the rules and orders from a superior. This means that they are less creative and initiative. “our incident manager comes from england, because indian people cannot handle a position like that,” De Waal explains. “i have to keep in mind that they have a different frame of reference than i have. This can be hard sometimes, because it creates miscommunication by interpret-ing my message differently.” in indian culture ranks are important. it is hard for someone who is in a lower rank to lead people who are in a higher rank. This is not natural for them and they will not obey orders. Because of these ranks it is almost impossible for an indian to talk to a client. The client is of a higher rank and they cannot give feedback or disagree with someone from a higher rank. De Waal illustrates that this is also the case in meetings: “When a european comes in a meeting where there are also indian people, the indian will immediately withdraw from the conversation. During some meetings no european employees are allowed, so the indian people get the opportunity to explain their point of view.

taking full advantage

of the benefits of

diversity in the work-

place is not with-

out its challenges

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sECURiTY AND TEChNologY

CoNClUsioNo… how can you, as a change Agent, help a team with Digital nomads along? How can you implement the possible coming change correctly in a multicultural team where only communication via telecommuting

tools is possible? First of all, teamwork and telecommuting are possible at the same time, and working in a multicultural team is not always a bad thing, but without an effective strategy that focusses on certain factors it is hard for these virtual teams to succeed. i am convinced that with the right people, who are more than 100% committed and prepared to work hard, with the right strategy and implementation the team will suc-ceed. Aside from that the success also relies on three factors: accountability, communication and technology.

of course, everyone is expected to return e-mails and phone calls

and finish their work on time and in a professional manner, but

with digital nomads accountability is more important than with a

team that meets face-to-face every day. they have to be able to be

accountable for their actions and they have to be able to effectively

work with others without being in the same room. facing dysfunc-

tions and focusing on teamwork is particularly critical and should

be taken into account while implementing the new strategy. you

can try to measure each team member’s productivity, track how

many hours each person works and compare this with the quality

of their work. and lastly, organize a quarterly review to see how

everyone is coping.

communication lies at the very heart of accountability. as men-

tioned before, in face-to-face meetings our brains process a lot

of non-verbal cues that we use as the basis for building trust and

professional intimacy. face-to-face interaction is information rich.

virtual teams miss out on part of the emotional nuance, from vocal

tone, facial expressions and body language behind the words in

order to understand the message. you have to compensate for the

fact that the team members are not bumping into each other. you

need to create opportunities for virtual team members to just talk

about whatever they want to talk about. you could create online

chat rooms or plan informal video conference calls.

it is also important that you encourage managers to

clarify the work-from-home (read work-from-anywhere in this case)

policy, implement new collaboration software, create communica-

tion guidelines and try to organize virtual team building activities.

at this moment most managers give up too soon. they also tend to

forget that managing a virtual team is different from managing a

team that meets face-to-face every day.

technology increases the ease and effectiveness of communica-

tion. technology also has dramatically increased the effectiveness

of telecommuting. without technology telecommuting would

not be able to exist. it is important to implement technological

solutions that will promote collaboration and regular review over

the internet, like video conferencing or screen-sharing programs.

this way you can still hear intonation and see each other’s body

language. but even with all the fancy technology, it is definitely

advised to meet up a few times a year, because tools cannot replace

the face-to-face contact completely. these tools may do their best

job to recreate the face-to-face effect, but it is still not the same as

the real thing. no amount of video conference calls can replace the

effect of bonding by standing next to that water-cooler and just

talking about nothing in particular.

S

s mentioned before, there are tools that try to fabricate the effect of face-to-face contact as best as possible. There are

a lot of different tools that can help working together from different places all over the world. Tools that focus on task management, communicating with each other by video conference calling or instant messaging are most definitely important. let team members use e-mail for quick interactions and chat programs for quick instant mes-sages and for creating an informal chat environment. (Biz3.0, 2012) Sometimes communication should only be handled over the phone and individually; for example when someone wants to share their feelings or thoughts about a seri-

ous issue. You can also encourage team members to create short videos to explain certain things to each other; this way they can always watch it when they need the instructions and there is no need to contact your colleague end-lessly about the same thing. of course, it depends on personal preferences which one the team likes most and as a change Agent you can only use your knowledge and experience to advise them, and to le the team fall and get back up again. i also talked about contextual awareness and that technology and cer-tain tools can help simulate the same effect. (o’nolan, 2014) While all tools do their best job to recreate the same effect, it is still not the same as meeting

each other face-to-face. no amount of video conference calls can replace the effect of standing next to that water-cooler and just talking about nothing in particular.

The fact that Digital nomading is becoming more common every day reflects on the modern technology of our time. (crosby) The internet allows us to connect to anywhere in the world. Without technology, especially internet-based technology, becoming a Digital nomad would be quite impossible. A computer by itself is of little use to a Digital nomad if it cannot communicate with other computers. That is where technology and certain tools come in handy.

A

a team with digital nomads

will succeed with:

the right people, hard work,

100% commitment

and the right strategy

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hat will the future have in store for us? The millennials will become digital nomads, mobile families will rise and a part of the world is going back to work in cubicles.

it has been predicted that mostly millennials –of course, this does not apply to all millennials– will change their job every two or three years, meaning that the very idea of a career is being re-crafted. (lamarque, 2015) The millennials do not have the same insurance as their parents did when they left school; there are no jobs waiting for them, which means that they have to create work themselves. it also seems that the Digital nomad was born out of necessity, out of the need for travel. millennials must go where the work is and therefore, the world has become their office space. i, as a millennial myself, definitely feel compelled to go through life as a Digital nomad, especially seeing that the working market is not the same as it used to be. Plus, who does not want to travel the world while getting money instead of only spending it? mobile families will rise in the future. (Rob, 2015) People may expect Digital nomads to quit nomading when they have kids, but in the future this will not stop them from travelling the world and working at the same time. The entre-preneurs of this world will find alternatives to the traditional school and support system, for example homeschooling is a solution. The famous quote from Roman philosopher Pliny the

elder is going to be even more popular in the future: “Home is where the heart is.” (marrouat, 2015) People do not need a house to have a home. They need each other. And you can be with your family wherever you want, as long as you are together. Yahoo-ceo marissa mayer has banned telecommut-ing a few years ago, because she did not know what people did at home. (novak, 2014) employees lied about the hours they worked on a project and could not handle the freedom and responsibility anymore. like already mentioned above, telecommuting and Digital nomading are not suitable for everyone. A study done by Tno and Profile Dynamics shows that people who are in need of freedom, innovation and insight prefer telecommuting. (Tno & Profile Dynamics, 2013) The same applies to employees who want to be distinctive and have a strong need for autonomy and results. on the other side there are people with a strong desire for security, reliability and structure and employees in need of security and safety, they react negatively on telecommuting. The people who need structure and assurance – the people who are slightly autistic, if i may say so – should be able to work in an actual office. They should be able to come to work at 8 Am and go home at 5 Pm, they should be able to drink horrible coffee and have useless chitchat with their colleagues at the watercooler. it is 2016 and we should be able to choose where we want to work.

A glimPsE iN ThE FUTUREW

This article has been written in assignment of Sjoerd Snijer, teacher at Fontys University of Applied Science.

Written by Kim de Waal, March 2016, Eindhoven