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Comment by dgritsko | Hacker News Reader

"Those praying for its awakening (basically, everyone in real estate) need office workers to return."

That includes the author, who is a partner at a real estate firm. The livelihood of these people is very much dependent on making sure their buildings are occupied - but for the would-be occupants, what's the benefit?

I have a private office already; it's in my house. It's quiet and comfortable. I don't have to deal with a commute or noisy coworkers, and I'm able to be extremely productive. My quality of life has improved tremendously as a direct result of working from home, and no "carrot" of private offices or "stick" of a forced return will cause me to give it up.

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> I have a private office already; it's in my house

Not everyone has this. Commuting isn't free, but neither is a spare room at home.

From the article:

> freeing the techies to move much farther away, to towns where they could afford four-bedroom homes

Moving to a different town is a big disruption which at least i won't do just to be able to afford a big house. Not only do you lose the option to come in to the office (which is a good option to have even if you prefer home office most of the time); some people just prefer to live in big cities.

> Not everyone has this. Commuting isn't free, but neither is a spare room at home.

It's a lot cheaper in the long run than a commute, all things considered.

That depends on whether home is owned or rented, and where. Also, how long of a long run you're talking about.

It depends on a million things, of course if you live across the street from your office you're a special case. Most people have to spend at least a few hundred dollars a month commuting if they go into the office with fair frequency.

$4-5k/yr can get you a decent bit. Remote also means you don't need to live in the city, so that cost is easily offset by moving into a more affordable area.

This is true, but it goes both ways.

I wouldn't mind office space being turned into living space (though I've seen some claims here that it's not easy).

   > but for the would-be occupants, what's the benefit?

Learning the crucial skill of socializing with other humans, in real life. I suspect a lot of the self-reported misery and disconnectedness they report is due to being more and more online with less actual human interaction.

I can get that in contexts other than work, however.

You're right of course, at the individual level. But on the macro level something is clearly broken with Gen Z and their ability to interact in social situations. Anything that can get them interacting with humans more on a regular basis, I think would be a net society benefit. They are literally rudderless and it hurts to watch them be so miserable because it is entirely fixable. The lives they lead are not natural and it is messing with their humanity.

I agree with the diagnosis. I think the root cause is growing up with social media.

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