The co-working workspace has security implications.

Also I think the current setup is working to a large extent because everyone is remote and playing field is even. It will be somewhat complicated after half the team is on-site and other half is not.

i’ll just continue to work for a company with the ability and desire to deal with those security issues, and whatever other problems my preferred way of working causes, since it makes me a happier and more productive employee. plus, in my experience, when you work from home, you don’t have to deal with an asshole control freak boss, since almost all of those don’t allow work from home in the first place, given a choice. ipso facto, one of the benefits of working from home is the opportunity to work under “better” management.

This just isn't true. Office culture requires people and regularity. The ability to go and tap someone on the shoulder is priceless.

WFH makes businesses less effective.

> The ability to go and tap someone on the shoulder is priceless

Indeed and the annoyance I feel from that while I'm trying to concentrate is matchless.

Tapping on the shoulder can mean two things: "riddle me this" and "drop everything because I'm more important". The former can be replaced by a chat app. The latter is a stopgap for a failure to plan and goes with an adhocracy.

If a company became less efficient due to a lack of "drop everything" taps on the shoulder, it wasn't efficient in the first place.

Nothing "robs" you. Companies make choices, employees do too. There will be a mix of companies offering everything from on-site only to remote-only and if you're skilled enough you will be able to dictate the terms of your employment.

If you’re good enough relative to what test?

I simply do not believe meritocracy can exist.

Our biological sensibilities are too easily confused by concepts we don’t fully grasp, and come on; there is so much rubber stamping and favoritism (even now I know the founder of my company is invited to private sessions in DC to hammer out rules that favor us and we’ve proven nothing).

This forum seems to have too much of a naive and weirdly trusting belief in such subjective and hand wavy ideas when literal reality is offering plenty of evidence to the contrary in the political sections of a newspaper.