Introduction
The term daftar — commonly translated as “raya play” — evokes a physical place where professional activity, social interaction, and organizational identity converge. In an era shaped by digital connectivity and remote work, questions about the office’s relevance are common. My position is clear and pragmatic: the office remains a vital institution for many organizations, not merely as a location for tasks, but as a crucible for culture, collaboration, learning, and accountability. However, its form must adapt. Below I explain why the office matters, the challenges it faces, and practical steps organizations should take to preserve its strengths while embracing necessary change.
Historical and social function
Historically, the office centralized resources, information, and decision-making. It created a shared space where employees learned social norms, absorbed company values, and engaged in mentorship. Beyond productivity, the office served civic functions: providing structure to daily life, enabling career mobility through face-to-face networks, and concentrating skills that supported local economies.
Why the office still matters — three core reasons
- Collaboration and serendipity
Complex problem-solving and innovation frequently occur through spontaneous interactions — informal conversations near a coffee machine, hallway brainstorming, or impromptu whiteboard sessions. These moments are difficult to replicate fully through scheduled virtual meetings. - Cultural transmission and onboarding
Organizational culture is not only declared; it is caught. New employees learn behaviors, tone, and expectations faster when immersed in a living environment of colleagues, rituals, and visible practices. - Social capital and professional growth
Face-to-face presence enhances trust, mentorship, and sponsorship. Junior staff, in particular, benefit from proximity to experienced colleagues, accelerating skill transfer and career advancement.
Challenges and legitimate critiques
- Cost and inefficiency: Maintaining large physical spaces is expensive and can be wasteful if utilization is low.
- Inflexibility: A one-size-fits-all requirement to be onsite erodes work-life balance and can reduce access to talent.
- Environmental footprint: Commuting and large offices contribute to carbon emissions.
These critiques are valid. The future of the office must respond to them rather than deny them.
The future: purposeful and hybrid offices
A modern daftar should be designed deliberately — not as a default place to sit at a desk eight hours a day, but as a destination for activities that gain the most from co-location: strategic planning, high-bandwidth collaboration, mentorship, culture-building events, and relationship management. The hybrid model — blending remote work for focused tasks and office time for collaborative or developmental activities — is, in my view, the most defensible path forward.
Practical recommendations (step-by-step) for leaders and organizations
- Define the office’s purpose
- Step 1: Convene leadership to list three primary objectives the office must serve (e.g., innovation, onboarding, client engagement).
- Step 2: Communicate these objectives clearly to all staff.
- Redesign space to match purpose
- Step 1: Convert fixed desks into flexible hubs: collaborative rooms, quiet focus zones, and learning spaces.
- Step 2: Ensure technology supports hybrid participation (quality video, shared digital whiteboards).
- Adopt flexible policies
- Step 1: Create role-based expectations for in-office presence (e.g., onboarding weeks, weekly collaboration days).
- Step 2: Allow individual flexibility where feasible; measure output and outcomes rather than hours.
- Prioritize culture and onboarding rituals
- Step 1: Build structured mentorship programs that leverage office time (shadowing, paired work).
- Step 2: Host regular in-person events focused on values, recognition, and cross-team exchange.
- Measure and iterate
- Step 1: Define KPIs tied to the office’s stated purposes (innovation metrics, onboarding time-to-productivity, employee engagement).
- Step 2: Review quarterly and adjust space or policies based on evidence.
Conclusion
The daftar is not obsolete; it is evolving. When treated as a strategic asset — deliberately designed to amplify collaboration, learning, and cultural cohesion — the office offers advantages that remote work alone cannot replace. The pragmatic course is hybrid: retain and reimagine the office for activities that require human proximity, while giving individuals and teams the flexibility to work remotely for deep, focused tasks. Organizations that follow this balanced, purpose-driven approach will preserve the best of the daftar while avoiding its historic inefficiencie
