Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda
The thing is they don't have to now, and the benefits of working from home far outweigh any perceived negatives that boomers whine about. If governments were actually serious about climate change, mandating that companies allow WFH where possible would be one of the easiest wins with the highest impact. But no, we have to have millions of people in their cars stuck in traffic puking out CO2 because boomers need to see heads in their office because "That's the way it's always been"
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The thing that few people talk about in the return to office conversation is the degree in which it props up industries. When people are forced back to the office then they need to:
- Have a car and use it daily, which is good for the car industry as well as the Oil & Gas industry that is selling you the fuel
- Pay for parking
- Prepare meals that they take to the office or buy food at the shops around the office
- Buy coffee around the office instead of making it at home
- Update wardrobes to office appropriate attire and likely need dry-cleaning to maintain the clothes
- Spend more money to go to the gym at the office instead of the one near (or inside) your home
- Justify the money spent on that big, fancy corporate headquarters and ensure companies are not reducing office space consumption
It is not hard to see how these supporting industries might lobby a CEO to get them to bring their people back to the office. Especially when lobbying a CEO is considerably easier and more acceptable than lobbying a politician.
It is also worth mentioning that a lot of organizations have pretty poor managers and senior leaders that do not know how to lead people beyond making sure their bums are in their chairs for ~8 hours a day. Having everyone back in the office is really important to an organization with 8 layers of bad managers.