"Reduce flex time or work from home: The logic on doing this was questioned at the time, but working with your colleagues in a confined space has proven to be beneficial (Pixar, Yahoo, almost any start up)"
Pixar and startups work well not because they are in a confined space but because they have a good company culture that allows people to do their job. Things like reducing flex time and remote are just surface changes that avoid addressing the deeper issues. My company does the same: At every step people are discouraged from making changes. Management complains about lack of innovation so they do "innovation days" and put up innovation posters. But they still squash any good ideas people have because the next deadline is always two weeks away so there never is time to think about things.
Pixar and startups work well not because they are in a confined space but because they have a good company culture that allows people to do their job. Things like reducing flex time and remote are just surface changes that avoid addressing the deeper issues. My company does the same: At every step people are discouraged from making changes. Management complains about lack of innovation so they do "innovation days" and put up innovation posters. But they still squash any good ideas people have because the next deadline is always two weeks away so there never is time to think about things.