In Defense of the Office

Companies wedded to office work limit their hiring radius, as they need people living within a reasonably short distance (in time) from that office. This can be difficult for geographic locations that are less desirable or in a different country. This can be hard on families with two working professionals as it is quite difficult to look for two jobs simultaneously. Or for families with children above a (small?) age such that uprooting them from friends is undesirable. These family aspects can easily result with living apart which stresses relationships, or extreme commuting situations which stresses health. It also puts companies at risk of remote envy, if/when senior people especially managers can work more flexibly than the rest of the staff.

Most companies probably don’t care, given that staff turnover is high enough to solve any problem in a year or less. And most positions don’t require such talent as would be difficult to find. But workers should care, as they would have to lash their career to specific geographic regions or social situations to avoid career dead zones or lots-o-relocation (tm). I’m not even considering those with extended family or environmental or political concerns, all of which (greatly?) limit worker mobility.

Young and solo? Yeah, work those 60+ hour weeks and have fun. But at some point you might want to be non-solo (and you’re going to be non-young). Screw up that transition and you’ll end up not-young and solo, which is worst case.