Send message to Authors

Paper short abstract

Based on ethnographic research in European offices, this paper argues that the office remains a key social infrastructure. As flexible work expands, offices may become social destinations, while focused work shifts elsewhere – or potentially disappears.

Paper long abstract

Contemporary discussions on the transformation of work frequently characterize the decline of office-based employment as a technical or economic shift, primarily driven by digitalization and the rise of remote work. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in state-of-the-art office environments in Belgium and Slovenia, this paper conceptualizes the office as a central site of everyday life and examines the implications for social life as work becomes increasingly detached from shared physical spaces.

The research presents a perspective on how the office continues to be the one of the few remaining social infrastructures in which employees meet regularly for informal social interaction without scheduled appointments or explicit arrangements. Informal social interactions that occur during coffee and lunch breaks, as well as through casual conversations, are practices through which workers produce, develop, and experience togetherness, a sense of belonging, and a perception of the value they attribute to their daily life in the office. In this way, informal social interactions contribute to the formation of supportive networks among employees.

Based on these observations, we suggest that a future may emerge in which the office becomes a social destination rather than merely a place of task execution. As flexible working arrangements become increasingly widespread, employees may come to the “post-work office” primarily to socialize with colleagues, while performing focused work elsewhere. This points to a future in which socializing becomes a major reason to visit the office – unless offices disappear altogether in post-work futures.