Why I am cautiously optimistic about the return to office for my team

As the covid-19 pandemic fades in the US, many companies are preparing their employees to return to the office. I work in a large tech company that is also going in that direction, and with a slow rollout, we can reasonably expect that the vast majority of employees will be back in the office by the end of the year.

There has been some pushback, as some workers would like to prolong the period that they were allowed to work from home, or would like to come to the office only for a few days per week. They contend that the safety just isn’t there, and that other workers will not be vaccinated, and will trigger outbreaks in the office; they also argue that their productivity for the last year has been great, if not greater than when they were in the office. Finally, they say they can work more hours by avoiding hours of commuting time.

Some companies, mine included, have responded to this pushback by giving for freedom to work from home, even after employees are back to the office, allowing teams to organize themselves around about 3 days in the office per week, and 2 days where they can decide where they want to work from.

However, some managers and individual contributors are eager to come back to the office, as they feel the office space is more conducive to their work, as well as good team morale and collaboration. They simply can’t wait to go back and enjoy the perks of going to the office, that is, free food, fast internet, fewer…