I’m very in favor of remote work, but I think it remains unfair to compare this current situation with working in the office. The more extroverted types already

I’m very in favor of remote work, but I think it remains unfair to compare this current situation with working in the office. The more extroverted types already prefer the social interactions of the office — but right now, most people can’t get social interaction outside the office even if they wanted to. They can’t go to a cafe a couple of times a week for the atmosphere. A lot of us have small kids at home, so now we’re (mediocre) teachers on top of our work. But most importantly, this is a national — no, a global — trauma. People might not realize it, but that trauma is there, and it will have to be addressed at some point. It’s another factor which makes it impossible to fairly evaluate the efficacy or desirability of working remotely. Climate change is another reason work will likely have to change over the next decade. This pandemic has forced us to confront the types of changes we might need to make to adapt to a world of less flying, commuting, etc. Those changes seemed impossible, but we’ve been forced into a trial run. If we can get through it in these incredibly difficult circumstances, it gives us time to design a future of work that’s a bit more balanced. Perhaps a mix of remote and in-office. Perhaps an office that is less crowded. Perhaps a more distributed, regional world, where we can revitalize the lost cities in America rather than crowd into overpriced hubs. Is it convenient? No. Will we lose certain bits of magic? Maybe. But we’ve ignored problems for a long time that we now need to confront. It’s time to put on our design thinking hats. We’re the innovators — so let’s innovate the future. It doesn’t have to suck.