The COVID-19 pandemic shut down offices around the world. Ever since, employers have pushed for workers to return to the office—with varying degrees of success. In a piece on return-to-office mandates for The Walrus, Toronto writer Kathy Chow writes about modern office design, worker productivity, and employer control; and also reflects on her own lackadaisical office experiences early in her career.
Employers are so terrified at the prospect of their employees not working or thinking about work that they would risk cutting into their profit margins. Perhaps they are right to be afraid. If people weren’t locked up in offices for eight to ten hours a day, they might have time to take care of themselves. They might have time to reflect on whether their jobs actually bring them happiness or contribute meaningfully to the world. They might have time to discover other ways of experiencing pleasure beyond the fleeting dopamine hits occasioned by retail therapy. Instead of buying things to fill the voids in their lives, they might make art, they might experiment sexually, they might organize a protest, they might read a book, or they might spend time caramelizing onions for a leisurely dinner with their friends—and God, what a frightful world that would be.
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