Many of us have spent little time in physical proximity with our colleagues over the past year, and this next chapter of work is likely to still include reduced in-person interaction. How do we minimize the cognitive and social impact of not being physically present with each other?

Among the researchers thinking about this question is Simon Roberts, a business anthropologist who has studied “embodied knowledge,” the idea that humans’ understanding arises from their entire bodies’ interactions with and perceptions of the world. The author of The Power of Not Thinking, Roberts led a human-centered R&D team at Intel and co-founded a London-based consulting firm that uses social and data science to help companies innovate. We reached out to him to discuss the impact of reduced physical proximity on work and what his advice is for navigating that.

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