Oceanography | June 2021
QUARTERDECK
Changing Workplace Concepts
AS I’VE QUIPPED more than a few times
to colleagues over the past year-and-a-
half of COVID-19 restrictions, I’ve been
practicing for a pandemic for more than
20 years. I am all too familiar with the
pros and cons of working from home over
extended periods. I was a pioneer in that
arena, starting in the days (about 1999)
when using a modem and my home tele-
phone line to dial into the Internet was
a technology breakthrough. I couldn’t
have started my at-home business with-
out that outside link to the world and a
way to exchange digital files with my
designer, who had moved to the other
side of the continent. But, even with the
blistering speed that fiber-optic cabling
now provides for efficiently exchanging
ever larger files between us (we still work
together and we still live far away from
each other), I appreciate more than most
the value of working face-to-face daily
with colleagues.
Years ago when I was a program man-
ager for the Ocean Drilling Programs at
Joint Oceanographic Institutions, work-
ing from home was not part of the work-
place lexicon. I recall discussions among
the top managers about letting some staff
“telecommute,” but they decided that
being in the office was necessary for staff
interactions, many of them spontaneous,
that improve work outcomes, and there
was some concern that morale would suf-
fer if not all staff had the option of tele-
commuting at least some of the time. And
to be frank, there was concern about how
much work would really get done if peo-
ple stayed home. There were no data yet
on the productivity of telecommuters.
Fast forward to the COVID-19 pan-
demic of 2020–2021, when many non-
essential workers had to find ways to get
their work done from home. For some
jobs in the business world, and for some
age groups, it was a relatively easy adjust-
ment. For others, such as researchers
whose fieldwork or experiments were
canceled or postponed or those who had
children at home, not so much. Many
people whose office work relied on dig-
ital files that could be accessed over the
Internet found that they could be pro-
ductive workers from home and surely
did not miss the time consumed by com-
muting to work. Zoom and similar tech-
nologies allowed staff meetings to con-
tinue to take place, and we all got better
at it with more experience. Large con-
ferences experimented with novel ways
to run sessions, promote exchange of
knowledge, and foster networking, even
if remotely. The availability of online
webinars exploded, substantially increas-
ing access to a wide array of learning
opportunities— a trend I hope continues.
As businesses, institutions, and gov-
ernments look at new workplace models
for the future, my hope is that people
who work in those sectors will mostly
choose to go back to the office, at least
for the majority of the work week. For
young workers to grow in their careers,
they need to work side-by-side with
more experienced mentors, and mentors
need to be able to work one-on-one with
the next generation. Ensuring a knowl-
edgeable, vibrant, and savvy workforce
requires interacting with people on a reg-
ular basis—in person. While it is enticing
to make the choice to work from home if
that option is available—I can’t deny the
benefits of having the freedom to throw
in a load of laundry, run errands, or go to
the gym when I feel like it—all in all, the
office is the better place to be.
Ellen S. Kappel, Editor
UPCOMING
SPECIAL ISSUES
DECEMBER 2021
Oceans Across the Solar System
DECEMBER 2021 SUPPLEMENT
Ocean Observing
MARCH 2022
The Changing Arctic Ocean
MARCH 2022 SUPPLEMENT
New Frontiers in Ocean
Exploration
SEPTEMBER 2022
Building Diversity and Inclusion
in the Ocean Sciences
Oceanography
https://tos.org/oceanography
CALL FOR IDEAS!
Do you have an idea for a special issue
of Oceanography? Please send your
suggestions to Editor Ellen Kappel at
ekappel@geo-prose.com.