People seem to be spending quite a bit of time talking about whether they're better off now than they were in 2020. While that question may get asked a lot because of the upcoming election, I wanted to look at a different angle. Specifically, I posit we are in a better place now than we were in 2020 when it comes to work-life balance. I believe that's in part due to COVID forcing all companies to open up to working from home on a regular basis.

As the leader of Riveron's New York office, I'm probably the poster child for being in the office. I'm in the office four days a week. I developed a strong allergy to working from the office on Fridays, which arose in early 2020, and for the sake of my health, I continue to work from home on Fridays. Regardless of my role…  and my health :)  …what makes the most sense for me might not make the most sense for everyone.

In fact, I find more and more of my clients have evolved their return-to-office strategies in a similar way to Starbucks. Companies are pressing more and more of their employees to work from the office, on average three days per week, with a few requiring four and even five days (e.g., financial services). The reasons stated are ones I tend to agree with: apprenticeship, productivity, and growth.  

The move away from remote work to on-site continues to evolve, but I'm fairly certain that we won't be going back to the way it was in 2020, where working from home one or (gasp) two days a week was frowned upon with disapproval.

Regardless of how many days a week people are in the office or working from home, I think it's safe to say that many people's work-life balance is much better now than it was on January 1, 2020. And, for growth's sake, I think it's going to take a bit more than just getting people to commute into the office five days a week to help with that challenge.

For what it's worth, I don't even drink at Starbucks, and I prefer tea (Earl Grey) with milk.