The Importance of Being "Official". the New Role of the Office As a Socio-Material Space in Digital Transitions

The digital transition and the forced digitalization of many workplaces and work environments have raised critical questions in sociological studies regarding the role of space in the tasks of each worker, particularly in the service sector and non-essential goods industries. The international debate has developed around the notion of the office and how it influences work relationships both in subjective-interpersonal and objective-performative terms (Tirabeni, 2024; Fullin, 2022). Moreover, the porous boundary between workspaces and private spaces (especially during the pandemic and lockdown phase) has highlighted how the absence of a concrete workplace can generate discomfort and disorientation, even at managerial levels (Albano, 2019; Wood, 2016). This contribution aims to reflect on the need to rethink work infrastructures based on a sociological analysis that addresses three potential levels of contemporary alienation (Rosa, 2016): technological acceleration that reduces spaces and resources for social interaction, digital automation that renders entire buildings obsolete and leads to their abandonment, and the need to create shared coworking and flexible workspaces to revitalize neighborhoods otherwise destined for decay. Finally, this study seeks to show how rethinking urban spaces through qualitative research among remote workers can become a key strategy in countering the fragmentation of the social fabric and fostering more conscious and mediated innovation.