How much of this has to do with paper storage vs digitization of records? Yes, paper would be stored near the people who use it, but that’s not the only benefit of people being in one place.
fair enough, but it may be the only necessity
Don't succumb to the strong selection bias that is the HN nerd crowd. Obviously over here we like to solitarily sit at our machines at home. We'd do that even if nobody paid us. And for those of us who trive with that, the remote work revolution was a blessing since it at least opened up those options and employers are recognizing the benefits (happier workers, more productivity, less cost for office space).
But we are not representative, so let's be careful with extrapolating
In fact, many people who strongly prefer working from home prefer it because they can socialize more with people they actually prefer to socialize with: family, relatives, neighbors
Lots of business will continue to have some office space, if only for in-person meetings, or for people to work from the office on days that they have meetings.
I do think that there are intangible benefits that come from being at the office in person, but I work remotely 98% of the time, so I’ve clearly made my decision as to the trade-offs lmfao
Liking my co-workers is an important part of good workplace culture for me, and if I wouldn't like them then it would be time for me to go look for a new job. Unfortunately, I'm less flexible regarding my housing situation.
Time-wise, I work about 50 hours a week, which is about an order of magnitude more than I'm even near my neighbors.