I’m Dr. Adrian Cable, VP R&D at Lifesize, and you’re watching Episode 4 of my series on “advanced collaboration." What is that? It's going beyond video and voice -- whiteboard, content, improving productivity wherever you choose to collaborate. This week, we’re continuing our arc of hybrid work, and today, we’re going to get creative! Well, actually we’re going to talk about how to get creative when getting creative … when you can’t get together, in person.

Before the pandemic hit, the typical workday superficially had lots of "downtime" -- watercooler chats, overhearing conversations, etc. But "downtime" is the wrong word since this is when creativity actually happens. People hear what others are working about or thinking during the idle chat, join the conversation, steer in new directions -- what we call “spontaneous creative combustion." And since the pandemic, this has changed in two important ways:

1. WFH means no serendipity, no overhearing, etc.
2. WFH also means no downtime.

As we’ve already explored, without much care, WFH is generally less efficient than face-to-face work. The workdays are longer yet you get the same amount done. Plus, there are fewer distractions at home (unless you have kids – and we’ll talk about that later in the series).

But longer days and fewer distractions translate to exactly the WRONG environment for creativity, which generally comes when people are relaxed. The average number of vacation days taken in Silicon Valley halved in 2020 vs. 2019. No wonder we have a problem! And the impact is subtle … lack of creativity doesn’t immediately impact business. Long-tail affecting growth, innovation, value in the long run. Haven’t really seen the effects yet.