Remote work has proliferated thanks to two factors, both of which the WFH movement needed in order to gain momentum:
-
Pandemic restrictions
-
Labor shortage
The pandemic restrictions forced employers to try remote work, even though they otherwise would have avoided it. The labor shortage forced employers to respect employee demands for continued remote work. In isolation, either of these two factors wouldn’t have forced widespread, continued remote work.
With the impending recession and surging inflation, employers will regain leverage as people desperately seek employment. And without a pandemic, employers will have the ability to force people to work in the office.
I welcome rebuttals to my thesis. What do you think?