Maybe WeWork will make a comeback. People that need to have others around or need a commute so they can listen to pod casts can go to a shared workspace.
- Being tethered to a physical location means limited options for where you can live. You live where you have to, not necessarily where you want to.
- Commuting sucks, unless you live in a nice neighborhood and can walk to work or take a leisurely ride. This doesn't exist for most people. It's especially bad in the bay area if you need to take BART. Who wants to be packed inside a train like sardines with people smoking crack. Seriously, have you ever seen a train station during commuting hours? They're 10 rows deep of people waiting to get on. That's assuming it isn't shut down for some random reasons. I should also mention wasting around 2 hours a day that you could spend on more sleep or hobbies.
- Open offices suck and are a poor excuse that they increase collaboration. Constant disruptions (both sound and visual noise), can't have any personal conversations and need to find a meeting room or hide in the hallways. Not to mention, I don't need/want to see my coworkers on facebook all day while they complain that they don't have enough time to finish their tasks.
- WFH can contribute to a more flexible schedule. Most people cannot focus non-stop for hours on end. It's healthy to take breaks but you can't do much beyond walking around your office (if it's in a safe location) if you're tied to the office.
It goes both ways, just because certain personality types work better in a social environment doesn't mean it's a one-size-fits-all. If you hate your living condition that badly, you probably should move somewhere else.
What we should be advocating for is an inclusive policy that allows employees to choose how they want to work.