The continuing debate canvassing the pros and cons of 'going back to the office' has been remarkable, if only because of the stark differences between employer and employee viewpoints.

Unfortunately, a lot of the discussion misses the larger perspective: many organisations - given the opportunity to redefine the "physics" of their workplace - are reluctant to do so, despite the obvious benefits available to them.

The parallels with the electrification of industry are telling.

Alessandro Volta invented the electric battery in 1800. Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor in 1821. Electric lights were publicly demonstrated in Ohio in 1879. Electric vacuum cleaners and washing machines emerged as consumer products in 1908.

Despite this progress in electrification, steam remained the dominant source of power in manufacturing well into the 20th century.

Why?

It can be persuasively argued that the primary friction was management mindset.

Steam-powered manufacturing plants required a specific layout, with pipes occupying strategic locations to distribute steam to equipment.

Equipment requiring more energy was located closer to the steam source and equipment requiring less was positioned further away. Materials, workers and activity were distributed according to the location of machinery, rather than in a logical or contiguous manner.

Work was planned according to the physics of the workplace, rather than worker productivity, inputs and outputs.

At the turn of the 20th century, when steam-driven equipment broke down, it was usually replaced with electric counterparts (where possible). However, more often than not, this new, electrified equipment was simply installed where the broken steam-powered equipment had been positioned.

That is, it was plugged into the existing floor layout without any consideration given to whether it might be better deployed elsewhere - because that was the accepted, physics-bound manner of laying out and operating a factory or manufacturing plant.

It wasn't until the next generation of managers came to operate these plants that things changed.

These managers had risen through the ranks during electrification. Conscious that electrical outlets could be placed anywhere within a factory or plant, they were willing to revisit how best to design and layout manufacturing plants to make the most of the new capabilities of electrified equipment.

In short, they were prepared to redefine the physics of their workplace, organising for contiguous workflow, and reaped significant cost, efficiency and productivity outcomes, as evidenced by the economic growth of the mid-20th century.

Today, many organisations have precisely the same opportunity - rethinking not just the 'where', but also the 'who, what and how' of their workforce - but management mindset is holding them back.

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