Will Offices Rebound?

 While we know that the future of office working is uncertain in the short run, and we suspect that the long term will bring more flexible schedules, there is still reason for hope for office use and demand. 

 We have never had so many people in our country working from home, and yet employees in general seem more unhappy than they have ever been.  Some of the malaise clearly has to do with COVID, and what that has done to people's lives.  But, when we examine that statement more closely, what we know is that many workers--and retirees as well--miss the interaction with others that they used to find in their places of work.  

Not just connection, but collaboration--working on projects, receiving input, brainstorming--has been missing as well.  Some parts of work just can't be done alone, or at least can't be done as well.  The social aspects of sharing office space seem obvious, and hard to replace.  The sense of ease you do or don't have with coworkers comes from interaction, and not many have had much of that lately.  That makes us think that offices aren't dead yet.  Although dressing up (and that may not come back anyway) and commuting (but think coffee and podcasts, plus a separation between work and home) may not be something everyone looks forward to, the intangibles of sharing space may win out, at least part of the time.

Then there's the social distance issue.  Even if fewer people are in an office at any given time, they each may need more space, or more privacy, or both.  It could turn out that half as many people take up just as much square footage, so downsizing may not take place the way we once thought it might.  

For lots of reasons, don't count the office sector out just yet.  Let's just wait and see.  Community takes all kinds of shapes, and coworking is one of them.