The working-from-home illusion fades

It is not more productive than being in an office, after all

A home worker being lassoed — Image: Alberto Miranda

Jun 28th 2023

A gradual reverse migration is under way, from Zoom to the conference room. Wall Street firms have been among the most forceful in summoning workers to their offices, but in recent months even many tech titans—Apple, Google, Meta and more—have demanded staff show up to the office at least three days a week. For work-from-home believers, it looks like the revenge of corporate curmudgeons. Didn’t a spate of studies during the covid-19 pandemic demonstrate that remote work was often more productive than toiling in the office?

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Don’t be workshy”