I’ve been wondering about how the pandemic will affect office space, too. My employer owns a handful of buildings in a downtown city center, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they move to shed a few pieces of real estate.

Personally, I would love a 100% remote work environment, but I know there are others who really enjoy the office atmosphere. How do we weigh whose preferences matter more? Maybe what would work best would be a completely flexible arrangement, where an employee can set their own in-office (or not-in-office) schedule. Mine would be, as previously mentioned, 100% remote, while my colleagues might choose to work in the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I think offering that kind of flexibility will become table stakes to attract talent in the near future.

This raises the question — for people who don’t love working from home but whose companies will move to remote work more permanently, will we see a resurgence in co-working spaces as those employees search out congenial, office-like environments? I’ll be curious to see what happens.