The Five-Day Office Week Is Dead

Nicholas Bloom, The Five-Day Office Week Is Dead, NYTimes, Oct. 16, 2023.

Why have the return-to-office maximalists lost? There seemed to be so much excitement and pent-up demand from people who wanted to leave their kitchen tables for ergonomically better office desks. There was. They just didn’t want to go in all the time.

Hybrid work arrangements have killed the return-to-office hype. Employees equate a mix of working in the office and working from home to an 8 percent raise. They don’t have to deal with the daily hassle and costs of a commute. In fact, the process of getting to work is more despised by employees than the need to actually work.

And, at the end of the day, despite all the noise some business executives made to the contrary, remote work saves firms money. It cuts overhead, boosts productivity and is profitable. And what is profitable in a capitalist economy sticks. Thankfully, remote work also has major benefits for society, including improving the climate by cutting billions of miles of weekly commuting and supporting families by liberating parents’ time. We all should celebrate the resilience of our workers and the benefits of working from home.

There's more at the link.