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Comment by AussieWog93 | Hacker News Reader

I think magical thinking gets too bad a rap these days.

When systems get complex enough, data or logic driven decisions aren't really any more reliable than gut feeling. They're just easier to rationalise.

Either this will work, and the companies that resisted Return To Office will be at a competitive disadvantage, or it won't and the companies who advocated for Return to Office will be behind.

Either way, Darwin will punish whoever is wrong.

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Magical thinking is a manifestation of the mind's desire for clarity beyond its reach. Instead, we should become comfortable with not knowing. That's the path of honest humility. Not all realities can be knowable and we should accept it rather than making up a false reality to make us feel more comfortable. We're better than that.

Sure, but sometimes you have to make a decision.

> Either this will work, and the companies that resisted Return To Office will be at a competitive disadvantage, or it won't and the companies who advocated for Return to Office will be behind.

Only if there is a competitor making a different choice. This is why I believe RTO decisions will vary by market, as all competitors will eventually follow the efficient choice for their market.

Unless there are network effects involved, and return to office works or not for a particular firm depending on if most other firms returned or not. For example, if firm A forced return, but everybody else not, it is labeled a shitty employer, and gets worse workers on average. If everybody else returns as well, at least it's not left behind on this metric.

Another possibility is that it doesn't matter, and we're only talking about it because someone thinks they can get a few more clicks out of the story.

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