wfh: WFH, the ultimate spy’s master disguise

This column has been a votary of work from home – where it doesn’t negatively affect work output. So, while we wouldn’t be a dummkopf to let a cricketer or a car mechanic WFH/WFA instead of in the field and garage, certain professions do beg the question: can quality work be done well without ‘stepping out’? That is the conundrum now being faced by Germany‘s Federal Intelligence Service, which is finding it hard to recruit new operatives since an increasing number of applicants have a common prerequisite: permission to frequently WFH.

For those of you whose idea of spies is stuck with Bond exotica or Le Carre secrotica, you would be better informed to know that not every intelligence officer has to be a field officer – meaning, be in the rough and tumble of fobbing off (or being) honey traps or dipping radioactive droplets into tea. An overwhelming part of a secret agent’s job profile – (correct) information gathering and (false) information splattering – is done from a table, internet connection and phone. In fact, an ideal spy should see/hear and not be seen/ heard. Exactly the sort of thing mainstream industry, especially those under Elon Musk‘s Big Brotherly factory eye, finds uncomfortable about workers WFH-ing. But spymasters should be happy with a flexi-work arrangement with their operatives. After all, WFH can do away with disguise.