1ºActually, he's RIGHT. The concept of a company owning a HUGE office building, or, renting out large amounts of office space where literally EVERY employee commutes to it every day all day - really IS outdated now. It's been the norm for well over 100 years. But Covid shoved us ahead a few years early - we finally learned how to properly use tele-everything from office meetings to doctor's visits, and found out that in not all but many cases, we actually CAN do the work from home now. We again, finally, started to evolve.
It doesn't mean that 100% of every worker in every job will never have to go in again. But many won't have to - and yeah, it really does have a big impact on how much space a company really will need to build/rent in the future. That's not a bad thing. Less people on the road every day, no dry cleaning for office attire, more time at home but in most cases just as or more productivity, etc.
2ºSomething gained, something lost. In my 30 years in the workforce, I have made close friends at these offices and the great times we had during work commiserating and laughing, going out as a group after work and bonding, it just can’t be replicated on Zoom. Just sticking w your own all the time (same friends and family) is probably not healthy as you are never exposed to different thoughts and experiences. But hey, not commuting is a plus, but I do feel badly for all the small business owners like dry cleaners (and there are some environmentally conscious ones,) delis and restaurants in the cities who will fail with far less workers coming in to pick up their lunch or go shopping during lunch or after work. Things always change, but I am grateful I got to experience the old way. Have fun in your pajamas today