Over the past few years, the debate around work-from-home has swung like a pendulum.

One moment, remote work is hailed as the future. The next moment, companies are demanding that employees return to the office. Strong opinions exist on both sides, often presented as if there is a single correct answer.

After more than fifteen years of working across different environments – from client- site consulting to corporate leadership, hybrid work during COVID, and fully remote international teams – I have come to a much simpler conclusion: there is no perfect workplace.

Each model solves one problem and creates another. What matters is understanding what kind of work belongs where.

The Early Years: Learning Happens Face-to-Face

I started my career in audit at Deloitte in 2011. As article clerks, our partners were very clear about one thing: if we were sitting in the office, something was wrong. We were expected to be at a client. One partner used to say that audit work required seeing the client face-to-face. Emails were useful for sharing documents, but it was never a substitute for asking questions directly. Sitting across the table from someone allowed you to test assumptions, clarify explanations, and understand the story behind the numbers. More than this, it also built the client relationship in a way that virtual discussions never can.

Another partner had a similar philosophy, just expressed differently. If he saw trainees idle in the office, he would simply say: “If you don’t have work, come tell me. I’ll send you to a client.”

The message was clear: learning happened fastest when you were exposed to real situations, real clients, and real questions. Looking back, those lessons were invaluable.

Early in a career, proximity matters. You learn by observing how experienced professionals think, ask questions, and manage conversations in real time. That kind of learning is difficult to replicate remotely.

Discovering the Value of Deep Work

A few years later, while working at Lion of Africa, I experienced something different. There were moments when the most productive thing I could do was not be in the office at all. I remember one particular week when I needed to complete a complex piece of work that required deep concentration. My CFO was comfortable with me working from home for a few days to get it done.

The difference was remarkable. Without the usual interruptions of an office environment, I was able to focus completely and finish the work far more efficiently. That was my first real appreciation of what many people now call deep work – the ability to think carefully and uninterrupted for extended periods.

Some tasks require conversation and collaboration. Others require quiet and concentration.

The Hybrid Experiment

My tenure at FEM, where I served as Chief Financial Officer, added another dimension. Our office environment was open plan. I did not have a private office, which meant people often walked past my desk. Quite often someone would stop and ask, “Are you busy?”

My instinctive response was always: Why would I be sitting at my desk if I wasn’t busy? I never said this out loudly, but the voices in my head said this quite often.

The open environment had advantages. I could hear conversations within the finance team, quickly answer questions, and stay close to operational issues. But there was also a trade-off. For anyone trying to think deeply about financial strategy or complex analysis, constant interruptions made focused work difficult. I ended up finding an empty boardroom on the other side of the office, just to get some focused time.

Then COVID arrived and organisations around the world had to adapt almost overnight. Suddenly, we all had to learn how to run meetings on Zoom or Microsoft Teams – tools that, until then, few people had used seriously.

Six years later, it’s slightly amusing that many of us still occasionally start speaking only to realise we’re on mute.

Fully Remote Teams

More recently, I have worked in a fully remote international environment with colleagues across different countries and time zones. In many ways, this model works remarkably well. Different time zones create natural flexibility. Some colleagues begin their day earlier, while others work later. As long as everyone is clear about deliverables and accountability, work continues.

Remote work can be highly productive for analysis, writing, modelling, and other forms of focused output. But something changes in the way people interact. In remote environments, even small questions often require scheduling a meeting. Something that could have been resolved over a quick conversation by the coffee machine suddenly requires a calendar invitation.

Video calls are efficient. Meetings begin and end quickly. Agendas are covered. But what disappears are the informal interactions – the small conversations before a meeting starts, or the spontaneous ideas that emerge when people happen to be in the same place. Those moments are difficult to recreate online.

The Meetings That Cannot Be Virtual

Another perspective that has shaped my view comes from governance. Over the past few years, I have served both as an executive and as a non-executive director. Sitting on both sides of the table reinforces something important: some conversations simply work better in person.

Executive committee meetings, board meetings, and strategy discussions are rarely just about the agenda. They are about reading the room. You notice when someone pauses before responding. You see when a colleague leans forward because they disagree. You observe the subtle reactions around the table when a difficult issue is raised. Body language, eye contact, and tone all become part of the conversation. These signals are often lost on a screen.

Virtual meetings are incredibly useful and sometimes unavoidable, particularly for geographically dispersed teams. But when critical decisions are being made – about strategy, risk, or governance – the quality of discussion often improves when people are physically present around the same table.

Some conversations simply deserve to happen in the same room.

Finding the Balance

After fifteen years across client sites, corporate offices, hybrid environments and fully remote teams, one conclusion stands out. There is no perfect workplace.

Each model solves one problem and creates another. Offices create energy, learning and collaboration. Remote work creates focus and uninterrupted thinking.

The real question is not whether we should work from home or from the office. The real question is what kind of work belongs where. Deep work often happens alone. But trust, leadership and strategy are built together.

 

Yusuf Bodiat is a chartered accountant and finance executive, and author of The Bottom Line: A CFO’s Blueprint for South Africa’s Turnaround. He writes on economic credibility and long-term growth.