The modern office after Covid

I wanted to offer my view, that i’ve been formulating of the last few months around remote work, and the future of remote work. 

I’ll preface this with: Growing up my Dad commuted 30-90 min each way to his job to give my family give a good life, but as a result he was home late, and rarely was able to make it to my sports games. He is on the verge of retiring (in the next few years) and his boss told to not expect to need to go back to his office again even after covid, besides maybe a few times a year for meetings. 

As a result he is now able to work fewer days a week and spend more time with my mom, my grandmother, and his grandkids.

So I hope that in the next few months people will really start to understand what working remote can mean long term and as a way of life. As a few examples: 

• Getting an extra time each day with loved ones
• Being home when your kid gets off the bus
• Feeling like you can stay up a bit later because you don’t need to get up for hour long commute
• Being able to cook yourself lunch
• Not waiting in line for a microwave or worrying if your coworker is going to microwave fish and make the whole office smell
• Being able to work out and shower at home

I sincerely hope that those lessons and many more aren’t forgotten by a rush to get back to the old normal.

I’m imagining a future where employees do not need to come into the office because they find that their quality of life though not commuting has drastically improved. And managers feel empowered in supervising a largely distributed remote workforce, not though hours spend at the keyboard or behind a desk but by productivity and results.

I hope this will be a rebirth of the modern office space. One where it is transformed from a place of holding bodies 9-5 to a place of effective support for employees, and a space that can bring them together when it is important, if thats for collaboration, a big meeting, or just to catch up.