Remote work has become a de facto benefit to recruit, retain and, in some cases, appease workforces.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was a luxury. During the pandemic, employers sold it as a necessity to keep their businesses functioning. Once the public health risk abated, it became a privilege. Now, some employees take it as a right.
What began as a means to mitigate public health risk to individuals and keep the economy functioning has persisted beyond what anyone could have envisioned.
During the peak risk period of the pandemic in 2020, more than 40% of the workforce was remote. This number dropped to a little more than 25% last year. Before the pandemic, around 6% of the workforce worked remotely.
With more people working remotely, office building use has been gutted. With these buildings in dense urban areas, businesses such as restaurants and cafes are finding it more difficult to remain afloat. Retail outlets that rely on walk-in traffic are also suffering. Though the overall amount of money being spent may remain the same across the economy, the shift in where it is being spent threatens downtown business life that may not be reestablished for many years.
THE BIGGEST LOSS associated with remote work is not directly economic but rather the random interactions that foster new ideas and innovation. This is why a growing number of companies are scaling back remote work, with Google now on this list. Even Zoom, the facilitator of remote work, is asking its employees to spend more time in the office.
Interacting via video calls and other technologies does not yield spontaneous dialogue. Much as diversity is touted as a vehicle for innovation, the reverse can be said about remote work, in which people are brought together virtually, creating sterile, task-centric rather than human-centered interactions.
