The of fice… Ah, the of fice!

Object and witness of our keenest

ef forts, occasional letdowns and

greatest triumphs, the of fice is where

we sweat, laugh, cry and succeed

together. From the latin of ficium,

meaning duty, it is the place where

we are called to serve and build

businesses. As Alphonse Allais once

wrote, ‘What is civilization, if not f ire

stations, of fices, factories, bank tellers

and the drinks we share?’ Of fices not

only create a sense of community,

they make communities.

Now, one coronavirus epidemic later,

the of fice is avoided, shunned, and

called into question — still desirable,

but expected to change. After several

months of unprecedented global

unrest, it takes a bit of getting used

to the idea for us to resume our

performance for the of fice production

of the social theatre as if nothing had

changed. The last few months of

uncertainty and soul-searching have

had a permanent emotional impact,

leading us to question our relationship

to our work, our companies, etc.

As I am no prophet or magician, I will

not attempt to guess what tomorrow’s

of fice might look like. I would much

rather like — as a small business

owner, as a woman who works as she

lives, and as a person who f ights for

what she believes in — to share a few

personal thoughts on what role it will

have to play in the future. These are

my 10 commandments to the of fice.

Emmanuelle Duez

Founder Boson Project