I like working from home and I would also find it pretty f-ing great to be able to access a pool of interesting jobs without having to move to San Francisco.
However let’s admit it, it’s not only real estate that loses with WFH. A lot of businesses, bars, restaurant, transport and travel companies, nurseries, you name it… depend on people commuting every day, sipping overpriced lattes, dry-cleaning their suits and going for a quick pint at the pub with colleagues. All the money I’m saving by working from home is money that someone else’s job currently depends on. And some of the money other people are saving is funding some jobs at the company where I work too. Maybe mine too?
The city I live in is one of those business cities with overpriced rents that would probably lose over 50% of its population almost overnight if WFH became the standard. Including probably me and my family. The mayor, unsurprisingly, has been one of the biggest fans of return to office.
And yes, I do think WFH is the path to a more sustainable and humane future. But arriving there so suddenly could be problematic for more than real estate moguls. I think there has been a cultural shift and we’re hopefully going to get there, but saying “ok, the last one to leave Manhattan please turn off the lights”, going back to our small towns and expecting all our current salaries to still exist is not realistic.
Over time (and I don’t think it’s going to take generations, just maybe a decade or two) things will gradually adjust, people will start selling their houses in the city, new, smaller local businesses are going to emerge, the window cleaners at skyscrapers will have found a new job or retired.
All of those jobs that depend on your commute would get hurt, yes, but the money you spend on them you’d probably spend a part of it in your community, when you go to cafes near your house, when you have time to get groceries in your neighborhood, etc.
Also, people moving away from big centers is not a downside, that would improve their lives, and it would make the big cities cheaper for those who stay.
I like working from home and I would also find it pretty f-ing great to be able to access a pool of interesting jobs without having to move to San Francisco. However let’s admit it, it’s not only real estate that loses with WFH. A lot of businesses, bars, restaurant, transport and travel companies, nurseries, you name it… depend on people commuting every day, sipping overpriced lattes, dry-cleaning their suits and going for a quick pint at the pub with colleagues. All the money I’m saving by working from home is money that someone else’s job currently depends on. And some of the money other people are saving is funding some jobs at the company where I work too. Maybe mine too?
The city I live in is one of those business cities with overpriced rents that would probably lose over 50% of its population almost overnight if WFH became the standard. Including probably me and my family. The mayor, unsurprisingly, has been one of the biggest fans of return to office.
And yes, I do think WFH is the path to a more sustainable and humane future. But arriving there so suddenly could be problematic for more than real estate moguls. I think there has been a cultural shift and we’re hopefully going to get there, but saying “ok, the last one to leave Manhattan please turn off the lights”, going back to our small towns and expecting all our current salaries to still exist is not realistic. Over time (and I don’t think it’s going to take generations, just maybe a decade or two) things will gradually adjust, people will start selling their houses in the city, new, smaller local businesses are going to emerge, the window cleaners at skyscrapers will have found a new job or retired.
All of those jobs that depend on your commute would get hurt, yes, but the money you spend on them you’d probably spend a part of it in your community, when you go to cafes near your house, when you have time to get groceries in your neighborhood, etc.
Also, people moving away from big centers is not a downside, that would improve their lives, and it would make the big cities cheaper for those who stay.
People still do all those things. A big part of my friend group is all WFH, but we still go out to bars, restaurants, etc.