Airbnb’s boss says post-pandemic we could all enjoy being ‘untethered’ from workplaces while the architect of Googleplex thinks offices need to be reimagined. Perhaps it’s time to stop asking billionaires about the future of work
Is the office dead? Or have rumours of its death been greatly exaggerated? The pandemic has already spawned a million think pieces on the subject. Now that Boris Johnson has dropped work-from-home guidance and some big companies are starting to tell staff to come back in, brace yourself for a gazillion more.
If you don’t have time to navigate the debate, here’s a handy summary: the future of work looks very different depending on who you ask. People who have spent the pandemic Zooming from spacious holiday homes, and those with a financial stake in remote work, seem to be adamant that the days of trudging to an office are over. People with a financial stake in commercial real estate and ancillary industries, meanwhile, have been working overtime extolling the virtues of in-person work.
