Katie Hunt
CNN
Katie Hunt wrote this article in CNN:
Collaboration has been behind some of humanity's greatest achievements -- the Beatles' biggest hits, putting a man on the moon, the smartphone.
Do Zoom and other forms of video interaction crush the creative process that led to such feats? Yes, according to new research published Wednesday that found it's easier to come up with creative ideas in person.
It's an answer many employers have been searching for over the past two years, as working from home has become the norm during Covid-19 pandemic. The National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States said last year that 20% of workdays will be from home when the pandemic ends, compared with just 5% before.
"We initially started the project (in 2016) because we heard from managers and executives that innovation was one of the biggest challenges with video interaction. And I'll admit, I was initially skeptical," said Melanie Brucks, an assistant professor of business marketing at Columbia Business School and author of the study that published in the scientific journal Nature.
Brucks said she previously believed virtual interaction mimics an in-person experience "pretty well" and assumed that videoconferencing naysayers were Luddites. She spent four years exploring whether it really had any impact on people's ability to generate innovative ideas.
Collaboration has been behind some of humanity's greatest achievements -- the Beatles' biggest hits, putting a man on the moon, the smartphone.
Do Zoom and other forms of video interaction crush the creative process that led to such feats? Yes, according to new research published Wednesday that found it's easier to come up with creative ideas in person.
It's an answer many employers have been searching for over the past two years, as working from home has become the norm during Covid-19 pandemic. The National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States said last year that 20% of workdays will be from home when the pandemic ends, compared with just 5% before.
"We initially started the project (in 2016) because we heard from managers and executives that innovation was one of the biggest challenges with video interaction. And I'll admit, I was initially skeptical," said Melanie Brucks, an assistant professor of business marketing at Columbia Business School and author of the study that published in the scientific journal Nature.
Brucks said she previously believed virtual interaction mimics an in-person experience "pretty well" and assumed that videoconferencing naysayers were Luddites. She spent four years exploring whether it really had any impact on people's ability to generate innovative ideas.
