When is it good for you to return to the office? Some people may be tempted to quote that famous New Yorker cartoon and reply, “How about never — is never good for you?” But what is acceptable in a smarty-pants magazine cartoon strip is hardly acceptable in real life. Few managers will take kindly to a zero-sum game.
So how do you handle that conversation? Because if it has not happened yet, it likely soon will. Some companies have gone fully remote. Airbnb
ABNB,
+3.96%,
for example, launched a “live and work anywhere” program for its employees. With more cities instituting strict rules around short-term stays, the company clearly has a vested interest in leading by example and having its employees work from home (or an Airbnb in the country). Coinbase
COIN,
+0.69%,
Slack, Shopify
SHOP,
+1.96%
and other companies are also staying remote. Meanwhile, a large number of companies are allowing their employees to work on a hybrid schedule, meaning a few days a week at home and a few days a week in the office. They include Twitter
TWTR,
+4.00%,
Reddit, Facebook parent Meta
META,
+4.21%
and, of course, Zoom
ZM,
+2.57%
— another company that benefits from people working at least part of the time at home. It’s also worth remembering that remote work is a luxury. Only 7.1% of workers in June teleworked specifically due to the pandemic, accordin …