What We're Losing in Endless Remote Work

Former AOL CEO Tim Armstrong won’t win many friends with his comments, published in The Information today, that young people should go back to the office to protect their own career development. It’s an unfashionable view, particularly given the surging Omicron variant. It may also be impractical right now. California’s reintroduction of an indoor mask mandate will turn off a lot of people about working in an office, regardless of their views on remote work.

But Armstrong has a point that deserves more attention. The broader debate over remote work focuses on the opposing viewpoints of employees who prefer the flexibility offered by remote work—and who want to retain those benefits long term—and bosses who want people back in the office. Implicit in that framing is that employers are the losers as the dates for returning to the office get pushed back. But there’s a strong case to be made that in the long run, more employees may be the losers from remote work.