I was interviewed in the Financial Times for an article about the extraordinary office environments currently being developed to attract and retain elite professionals. Where is home really when you spend most of your life at the office?  

Office buildings are a powerful representation of organizational culture. So an office move is an important opportunity to examine what aspects of culture to hold on to, and what need to change. With hair dressers and doctors on the premises, it seems the long hours culture in elite law firms is still strong, and getting stronger.

As I say in the article, for elite professional firms their buildings serve a powerful symbolic purpose as luxury cocoons. It is partly about status; the exceptional facilities make the professionals feel special. It helps them believe in themselves and the fees they charge. Elite buildings are hugely visible signals to competitors and clients that you are "worth it".  

But it is also about security; when you routinely spend nights and weekends in the office, you need to have things around you which make your workplace feel like your “home”. With everything on-site, and with your strongest relationships at work, some elite professionals have less and less reason to ever go home.