Editorial

I have always had my suspicions about the mantra of “work anywhere anytime”. The IT world had us believe that co-location was no longer necessary. With a box of tricks at either end it was possible to support any type of business transaction. In the world of business, however, it seems as though things are not that simple.

The office is not dead. People do need to come together, be it clients and customers or co-workers. Why? It seems that humans exchange more than “ones and noughts” when undertaking business - not all of this exchange can travel down the wire. I am of course talking about the “trust hormone”. Researchers at the University of Zurich have discovered that the hormone “oxytocin”which is produced naturally in the hypothalamus area of the brain significantly affects emotional and social behaviour.

In the Swiss study researchers decided to undertake a “trust test”. They invited 58 participants in the study to take on the roles of “investors”and “trustees”. They then played out a game of credit choosing a hand of zero, four, eight or 12 credits. If the investor showed trust, the total amount that could be distributed between the two increased. Of 29 investors who were given oxytocin, 13 (45 per cent) displayed “maximal trust” by choosing to invest highly, compared with six (21 per cent) of the 29 investors who were given the dummy spray.

The researchers claim that the drug promotes social interaction rather than encouraging people to take risks and is responsible for creating trust between individuals.

So what does this mean for facilities management? It tells us that “space”is not just a volume of air to work in. It is a vehicle for social interaction that involves more than just the passage of sound waves. If this finding is true it seems that the only way to win trust from your client is to see them face-to-face. It seems the life of the office is redeemed!

Edward Finch