Some companies might try to fight it but they will fail. For information workers like programmers, data entry, accountants and call center reps, work from home is the new normal and that's just how it is now. If you've got to go somewhere for work, it's because you have to be there to do something, like dig a home or cook a steak or mop a floor. The question "why do I need to be there" is now a normal question to ask when considering a job, and a real answer better exist. And if it does, you'd better pay me for my commute.
There's an infrastructure of service businesses (restaurants, tailors, hair cutters) and retailers who depend on the foot traffic of office workers. They are suffering too. There's a critical density of foot traffic that makes a city survive. I feel intuitively that that density is lower than one might expect, but the data may not bear that out.
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Last week my GF went into the office for the first time (she switched employers in the autumn of 2020) for the new "three days office two days WFH" schedule. That was on Monday, the program's first day. She spent the time on Teams calls same as when she was at home. She hasn't been in since and nobody has said anything.
I thought it would be fun to to drive up with her for some moral support. I found out I could get a wework in the building next to her for $29. Turns out for $29 what was actually on offer was an entire floor. It wasn't only me -- people came to service the kitchen during the day.
That's simply how life works, its dynamic and constantly changing
New businesses and business models will evolve and change as they always have
I also think I am more productive at home, and am upfront about that.
I think the labor market will have a higher rate for in person SWE work compared to the WFH market.
We are already discussing things like having sprint kickoffs as picnics, meeting at coffee shops, etc. So we do have those face-to-face interactions where it counts, but they can also be in an environment that is unconventional. Let's see how it turns out. It may be a pain, who knows? The point is that I have an opportunity to build the ideal company I'd like to work for, so I'm trying that.
But again, I understand this might be a smaller company thing (where people in smaller companies tend to be more invested than ones in larger companies regardless). In a larger company that might not be as easily done.