I see that Elon Musk’s email has reignited the “Return to The Office” debate this week (If this screen grab can be taken as authentic).
In any event, I think the idea that this debate is to do with the location at which work takes place is a red herring.
It seems to me that what people really came to value in the Covid lockdowns was not their back bedrooms but their freedom and control.
The chance to decide when and how their work got done and to be able to balance work alongside other demands or considerations.
I also think that if you believe your people are only productive when under your watchful gaze in your buildings then there are bigger problems looming.
I may be wrong, but my guess would be that organisations which take a hard line on this will lose staff and find it difficult to replace them.
Of course there are all sorts of implications of work being untethered to a physical location, which we’re all involved in figuring out, but the genie is out of the bottle and I can’t see it being forced back in.