Why I Don't Believe the Office Should Be Mandatory

Remote work exploded during the pandemic — and for a while, it felt like office life had finally evolved. But starting in 2022, the tone changed. More and more CEOs and business owners began calling people back to their desks, insisting that in-person work is the only way to stay productive.

The reasoning? People don’t really work from home. They slack off, disconnect, and productivity drops. Here's what that sounds like in practice:

“There’s a lot of people who’ve checked out. It’s almost like an epidemic of not really wanting to work.”

— Andrew Romanyuk, Co-Founder, SVP of Growth at Pynest

And from JPMorgan’s chief executive:

“It doesn’t work for younger people, it doesn’t work for those who want to hustle, it doesn’t work for spontaneous idea generation.”

— Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase

Or Amazon’s current position:

“We believe that in-person work drives innovation and collaboration. That’s why we’ve asked our employees to be in the office most of the time.”

— Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon

Now, these people lead multibillion-dollar companies. But in my opinion, they’re blaming the format instead of the lack of structure.

It’s not remote work that’s broken — it’s the systems behind it

If someone’s not doing their job remotely, chances are they’re not doing much in the office either. They just look busier.

The real issue is often the lack of clearly defined processes, transparent KPIs, and accountability mechanisms that don’t depend on being seen in a chair all day.

A system that measures performance by who showed up earlier and left later isn’t management — it’s optics.

The daily commute: unpaid stress no one wants

Here’s something I care about deeply.

For a lot of office workers, the daily commute eats up one to two hours — stuck in traffic, squeezed into public transport, and all of it unpaid.

By the time you arrive, you're drained before the day even begins — and somehow still expected to focus, contribute, and perform at your best.

What kind of mindset is that to start a workday with?

What kind of evening are you having when you drag yourself home in that same state?

And it repeats. Five days a week.

Home comfort matters more than we admit

When someone works from home, they’re not spending money on transportation, lunch, or buying office-appropriate clothing.

They work in lighting, temperature, and noise levels they control.

They take breaks when they actually need them.

If they’re introverted — they conserve energy instead of losing it to constant interruptions.

That’s not laziness. That’s an optimized environment. One that many employees would never trade for a crowded open office.

Remote work benefits employers, too

Let’s not forget: office space isn’t free. Employers pay for:

• rent (especially in major cities),
• security, maintenance, and cleaning,
• electricity, internet, and heating/cooling,
• desks, monitors, chairs, and coffee machines.

Going remote can eliminate a huge chunk of overhead — money that could be used to:

• boost employee motivation through better compensation, education, or wellness programs
• invest in better software tools for project tracking, reporting, and communication
• improve workflows and automation

This isn’t about losing control — it’s about building smarter systems that don’t rely on walls.

Not every job can be remote — and that’s okay

Of course, there are fields where physical presence is critical: healthcare, logistics, manufacturing.

But for digital teams — developers, marketers, designers, analysts — the old argument for office-bound work just doesn’t hold up.

My take

I’m not anti-office. I see its value — for onboarding, strategic planning, or when teams need focused time together.

But requiring people to be there five days a week, just for the sake of it, without explaining why — that’s a failure of leadership, not a solution to low productivity.

Remote work takes maturity, trust, and process discipline.

It’s not a “soft” model. It’s a high-trust, high-efficiency system — if you build it right.