Here’s one of the main reasons I think company executives...

Here’s one of the main reasons I think company executives are so eager to get people into the office. Yes, there’s a trust issue, and yes they want to get the value out of fixed cost assets (office space), but I think there’s a more fundamental reason.

An office environment favors a certain type of personality; those who thrive with lots of interaction and collaboration (e.g. extroverts) and can handle lots of interruptions to their work (neuronormatives). People who thrive in that environment rise to leadership.

Most leaders who excelled in an office environment can’t imagine that others might not. And even if they can, their success was built on having their teams close at hand, so they’re likely really struggling with remote work so they want their people back in the office.

As someone who is an extrovert, but neurodivergent (ADHD) I like the collaboration aspect of an office but always struggled with the interruptions. So for me working remote has been good for my focus but I’ve had to compensate for the collaboration piece.

I think we’ll see a lot of companies embrace a hybrid option whose in office frequency will probably vary by team, ranging from a few days a week to once a month. I think we’ll also see people start to gravitate towards companies that support their personality preference.

If you are someone who really needs an office environment, that will exist for you, likely at traditional or big companies. If you are someone who thrives in a remote environment, that will be more of an option than it was before, likely at smaller tech companies (aka startups).

As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I’m excited to watch how this shift impacts companies, especially those who find a way to make it a strategic advantage.