Remote work is here to stay despite in-person mandates, this economist says

The article discusses the continuing debate around return to office mandates post-pandemic. It states that despite investments in office spaces and some companies requiring RTO, employee resistance remains high. A contrarian perspective presented is that there may be an undersupply rather than oversupply of offices in years ahead. As pandemic fears subside, the demand for collaborative workspaces could increase, especially from younger workers.

Additionally, the article argues that the office versus remote binary debate is overly simplistic. Companies need to consider that the future is likely hybrid, with some regular office presence balanced with remote work. Another contrarian view is that the flexibility offered by hybrid or remote work may enable greater equity, diversity and inclusion. Companies shouldn’t rush to force RTO but should focus on balancing employee demands for flexibility with the benefits of in-person collaboration that offices can uniquely provide. There are still open questions around the optimal working models to boost innovation and productivity.

Original article: https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/03/return_to_office/