Well, it was fun while it lasted...
I predicted this would happen last year, and it's coming true...
[Google is accelerating partial reopening of offices and putting limits on future of remote work](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/31/google-speeds-partial-office-reopening-and-puts-limits-on-remote-work.html)
[Goldman Sachs wants its US workers back in the office next month](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/04/business/goldman-sachs-return-to-office/index.html)
(and many more stories like this...)
I understand Google wants their people back because the whole reason they have the Chocolate Factory is for happy fun collaboration time. And Goldman Sachs/investment banking is a little different -- that entire culture is built on having junior bankers in the office 100+ hours a week cranking out Excel sheets and PowerPoint slides. You can't scream at your associates as effectively through Zoom as you can when it's Hour 88 in the office on a Sunday morning. (In fact, some GS associates got up the nerve to [complain about this](https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-junior-bankers-inhumane-working-conditions-survey-2021-3) earlier this year, and I can only chalk that up to I-banking not being as attractive as a FAANG is anymore. This is a job where you're miserable for 2-3 years but make enough in bonuses and connections to make up for it...it's "lighting cigars with $100 bills" level money.) But the thing I worry about is that every single business out there (or their management consultants) cargo-cult Google, so I assume all businesses are going to force people back into the office as soon as possible.
It's worrying to me because I switched jobs during COVID to a job that would involve a headache of a commute to New York, almost 3 hours a day between train and subway. My workplace hasn't said anything yet, but unfortunately they're kind of startup-ish and I know all the younger people have been chomping at the bit to get back to an office I never went to. My personal opinion is that I wouldn't mind 1 or 2 days a week at work, but I know that most managers are going to take the first opportunity they can to drag everyone back. Middle managers who just babysit employees have basically had very little to do this last year, and I assume this will be their way to show they "add value."
Personally, WFH has been very productive for me since the kids are back in school. I don't have a commute, I can move stuff around in my day so I can get errands done and make up the time later, and I've managed to onboard into an insanely complex environment and be useful all while fully remote. I know it bothers some people and I've been very careful to set limits on work time, etc. But, I think getting WFH taken away is going to be a huge loss for some people while others who love the whole "we're a family at work" thing and/or have all-inclusive workplaces are going to "celebrate togetherness."
When I was looking for a new job last year, most of the recruiters said, "Yeah, it's 100% remote now, but that's just COVID, you'll be back in the office." Unfortunately, I was hoping that remote work would become more of a thing because it gets rid of major problems we have living around metro areas...high CoL and horrible traffic. I'm just surprised Google, of all places, who has to pay SREs $350K+ just to keep them housed in SF/SV, is basically pulling a Yahoo! or an IBM and saying "Everyone back to the collaboration paradise!" You could easily hire someone in a smaller city for a fraction of that. I grew up in upstate New York and there are a ton of cities that could use more tech jobs like this and it would keep their populations vibrant.
So what do you think? Are you desperate to get back to the open-office preschool with 3 meals a day or would you rather crank out work at home like I do? I doubt we'll have much of a choice in the matter once McKinsey or BCG or Accenture build a "return to office" work package for their clients.