Is Remote Work Here to Stay or Will Office Work Return with a Vengence?

As the world continues to move beyond the time of Covid, humanity is turning back to old habits and ways of living, but should we? Debate rages all over the world about whether society should return back to how it was, or push forward with the lessons that we learned through this pandemic. Perhaps the most prominent of these discussions revolves around how we work and whether it’s time to accept a new normal.

Most of us are accustomed to the idea of working five days a week, 09:00–17:00, in an office. Perhaps, like me, you assumed that we do this because it is “how it was always done”. Well, I’m here to tell you that is not the case.

During, and after, the industrial revolution, employees began working as many hours as their factory bosses deemed fit. Typically you would find yourself working 10 or 12 hours shifts, usually six days a week, and you only got Sunday off so you could go to church. It wasn’t until the late 1930s that America passed a law for companies to start paying overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week and subsequently the 9–5 we’ve come to loathe was born.

Yet as we approach almost 90 years later, I can’t help but think, what else has really changed? Work attire, free coffee and paid holiday — the list isn’t very long.

Before the pandemic, remote work was bubbling away as a concept. Typically restricted to tech start-ups and the occasional forward thinking company, it certainly wasn’t a widely adopted concept. In fact, it was generally frowned upon. In my line of work, it was viewed only as a necessary evil incase of a catastrophic event that meant we couldn’t get to the office. Well, that certainly happened with Covid.

For over two years, the majority of office workers found themselves at home. Yes, there was disruption, as is usually the case with significant change, but from my experience it was a relatively easy transition. Yet now we are seeing a reversal of that change, as companies reinstate office work as their many policy or, in some cases, a hybrid model. But after so long working from home with seemingly little (if any) impact to our ability to do ours jobs, I can’t help but wonder why.

I’ve seen many theories floating around the internet, “perhaps our bosses don’t trust us” I saw one person write. “They just want control”, said another. I have a different view. I believe that it is twofold.

Sunk Costs

Office space isn’t cheap. Not only that, it is a huge economic driver. Many companies either own their office space or hold long-term leases from a third party, often a pension fund that owns the building or a global constructor. The money involved is astronomical.

Not only this, but psychology plays a huge part in this. We all have a tendency to put increased value on anything we’ve invested significant money, time or energy into.

Fear of Change

There is no getting away from the fact that it would be a massive change to completely move away from office spaces forever. For the generations that have worked for decades in this way, it’s easy to imagine that they would be reluctant to make the change.

I can sympathise to a point, but surely this isn’t a change to be feared? Heck, it was forced on us almost two years ago, without any warning, and we managed okay. Arguably it would be even more disruptive to change back.

Remote Work is the Future

For me personally, remote work is the future. I was recently in Barcelona with some friends, the first time I’ve been abroad since before Covid. We stayed in a beautiful apartment that would be the ideal location to work for a few hours each day. It got me thinking — perhaps remote work isn’t just about having the flexibility to look after your kids or avoid the morning commute.

Remote work could, in theory, enable an entirely different way of living our lives. It could go as far as giving us the opportunity to find true balance between working and living, ensuring we work only the hours we need to, rather than the ones we have to. It could be the catalyst for the advancement of society, allowing us to work enough to sustain our lifestyles, whilst providing sufficient time to follow our true purpose. If that’s the case, who knows where that could lead, with an entire generation of creatively enabled humans.

I’d be excited to know your thoughts, please share them in the comments below.