#rto

The findings also cast doubt on one of the main arguments for bringing employees back to the office: that people need to be together in person to feel connected.

Effective collaboration can happen remotely when teams have clear norms, strong documentation, and psychological safety, she adds. “I’ve also seen teams sitting next to each other collaborate poorly because decisions are unclear or leaders equate visibility with progress,” she says. “Collaboration doesn’t automatically improve just because people share a building.”

Employers are so terrified at the prospect of their employees not working or thinking about work that they would risk cutting into their profit margins. Perhaps they are right to be afraid. If people weren’t locked up in offices for eight to ten hours a day, they might have time to take care of themselves. They might have time to reflect on whether their jobs actually bring them happiness or contribute meaningfully to the world. They might have time to discover other ways of experiencing pleasure beyond the fleeting dopamine hits occasioned by retail therapy. Instead of buying things to fill the voids in their lives, they might make art, they might experiment sexually, they might organize a protest, they might read a book, or they might spend time caramelizing onions for a leisurely dinner with their friends—and God, what a frightful world that would be.

As Gideon Haigh observed 20 years ago, the era of neoliberalism has been associated with the “cult of the CEO”. The office has been the shrine of that cult. In their plaintive call for a return there, CEOs are like declining deities who see their votaries deserting them.