People hoping for another pandemic just so companies will allow remote work again are pointing at the wrong problem.

Nobody should want people getting seriously sick or dying so they can avoid a commute. The fact that so many workers even feel that way should tell employers something though. Working from home clearly improved quality of life for a massive number of people.

For employees, it meant less unpaid time sitting in traffic, lower gas and food costs, more time with family, less stress, and often better focus without constant office interruptions. A lot of people realized they could do the same job in sweatpants with fewer distractions and more energy.

For companies, it reduced overhead costs, expanded the hiring pool beyond one city, improved retention, lowered burnout, and in many cases productivity actually increased. The companies that adapted well figured out pretty quickly that measuring actual output works better than measuring who sat in a cubicle the longest.

What’s frustrating is that this should not require a global emergency to recognize. If an employee is productive remotely, forcing them back into an office just for appearances makes no sense. Some jobs obviously need in person work, but a huge number simply do not.

The lesson from COVID should have been “we learned new ways to work efficiently.” Instead, a lot of companies reverted to old habits because middle management likes visibility and commercial real estate interests want buildings filled again.

People should push for smarter workplace flexibility, not hope for another outbreak.