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In his piece (Working from home has entrenched inequality – how can we use it to improve lives instead?, 9 January), John Harris rather glosses over one of the most vital aspects of having a collective workspace: the importance of social interaction and discourse, for our wellbeing as social animals.
The creeping takeover of our lives by electronic technology already signifies an increasing alienation from our fellow human beings, not only in the workplace but in so many other areas of our lives.
Only a few days ago, there was an article about new supermarkets where we have no interaction with people at all; we simply take goods off the shelves and walk out. For many, the workplace is vital for meeting people outside our family circles, a place where we can exchange ideas about work and life in general, banter and form close relationships. All that is threatened by home working. Capitalism will always have a tendency to exploit and, in essence, would prefer robots rather than flesh-and-blood human beings. We have to strongly resist that tendency.
John Green
London
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