Originally Posted by jDSTJD

I don't think things will ever be the same for much of the work force's work environment and routine. I happen to work in one of the fields that requires most work to be done in an office environment in which I sit in front of a computer most of the day. My other time is spent in meetings or on the phone. My employer had already begun experimenting with remote working before the pandemic struck so the concept wasn't that foreign to me. However, since I have been an "office worker" my entire career, it took some getting used to because I was used to wearing mostly suits all the time, the hour long morning and afternoon hustle and bustle of commuting to/from the office everyday, getting that morning cup of coffee as soon as I stepped foot in the office and then settling into my chair at my desk for a day of emails, phone calls and meetings. I was actually uncomfortable with the idea of not doing that everyday...I felt like I was not "working" when I was at home. But when the pandemic struck and we were required to work from home, I had no choice but to get used to it. Now, after having worked this way for over two months...to HELL with going back to work as usual. I invested in creating a home office that I set up to be almost identical to my office downtown. I get to walk from my bed to the kitchen, poor a cup of coffee and sit down at my computer in my home office in my jammies and footies and do the same work I have been busting by tail to drive 2 hours a day to do. I no longer have to spend almost $60 a week for gas, sit in traffic on a hot Texas highway two hours a day, I save a ton of money by not having to shop for expensive clothes and other crap every week or so, can have my tv on in the background while I work all day, can run to the store or go have lunch with my kid or mom or whoever, take walks or exercise during the day, the list goes on. When I do have to go somewhere, there's no where near the amount of traffic there was in the past because so many people are working from home as well, which is good for the environment! Its awesome. I don't see how things will go back to the way they were now that Americans have gotten a taste of what life is like working from home. It's just an overall reduction in all of the stress that goes along with having to travel elsewhere to do work that you can do from home if you can configure your home technologically to do so. As discussed by others, for many working from home will not be a long-term reality, but I think allowing this form of employment will benefit all of us in terms of quality of life, mental health, financially, and in a host of other ways.