The office is a tool. Use it as such.

That pull quote pic above is from this article, which is surprisingly nuanced — for Harvard Business Review, at least — about decisions that need to be made right now. I’ve never understood why people cannot grasp this logic. Just like a piece of software, an office is a tool. It’s good for early-career. It’s good for meeting with old-school money guys who need to be in-person. It’s good for bringing teams together for brainstorming (which doesn’t work, but eh) and product advancement. It’s good for the starting point of a happy hour or scavenger hunt. It’s not good for everything, and a lot of managers don’t get that, and they ostensibly ask you to come in to an office and sit on a screen all day, which you could easily do at home. That engenders a shit ton of resentment. For all the hand-wringing we’ve done about hybrid vs. remote vs. in-person vs. different models, what we’ve largely failed to admit and acknowledge is that work is often about control and nothing else to people, and that’s why these discussions and decisions become so fraught. Use the office as a tool. If you grab the “socket wrench” office in the right situations, the real estate ROI of an office will be there long-term.