ABOUT THIS EPISODE
For years, the debate has been framed as a simple choice:
Work from home—or return to the office.
But what if we've been asking the wrong question?
In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., Jeremy Goldman sits down with Harvard-trained economists Emma Harrington and Natalia Emanuel, authors of IN PERSON: How Working Together Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Growth. Drawing on years of research across Fortune 500 companies, startups, and millions of hours of workplace data, they argue that the real value of being together isn't checking boxes or attending meetings—it's something much harder to measure: creativity, mentorship, trust, and innovation.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn as AI enters the picture. If artificial intelligence is increasingly handling individual work, does that make the uniquely human parts of work—collaboration, judgment, and spontaneous idea generation—even more valuable?
Jeremy, Emma, and Natalia explore:
- Why productivity isn't the same as quality.
- What organizations misunderstand about return-to-office policies.
- Why mentorship is becoming more—not less—important in the AI era.
- The surprising science behind "brain-to-brain synchrony."
- Why many hybrid strategies fail despite good intentions.
- How leaders can balance flexibility with the benefits of proximity.
- What the future workplace could look like as AI transforms knowledge work.
The future of work may not be about choosing between home and the office.
It may be about understanding which kinds of work are fundamentally better when humans are together.
