The Argument Against Working From Home Just Fell Apart. Now What?

The story we tell ourselves about the value of working side-by-side in an office…is disintegrating.

Some of the most successful businesses in the world are now being run exclusively from impromptu home offices while toddlers dance across in Zoom meetings. And the incredible thing is - it’s working.

When this is all over, and we see that big companies didn’t collapse and employees still got the work done, there’s going to be some soul searching to do. What’s the new story we tell ourselves about forcing everyone into the office? What’s the new story about dressing up when most have been doing fine in pajamas? What do we tell ourselves when productivity actually goes up? What do we tell ourselves about why, in the face of incredible adversity, we were more innovative apart than together? What’s the new story about professionalism when we are less polished? What’s the story about being a parent and a professional at the same time?

Leaders are going to have to reevaluate. The results from this experiment, with it’s broad scope and instant execution, will be too compelling to ignore. There will of course still be reasons to continue working in an office, but they won’t be the same reasons we had before. We’ll have to find a new story to tell.