COVID-19's silver linings

Still, the percentage of former office workers who may opt for home now could be significant, and may well improve their life satisfaction. Katy Clark, a researcher at the University of Michigan, told the Washington Post that she would frequently leave home before dawn in the morning to ensure that she got a parking spot. If she didn’t, she might have to circle the lot for an hour and then work late and miss taking her teenagers to hockey practice. Christopher Thomas, an office manager at Portland State University, related that before the pandemic, he had seen his 3-year-old daughter only briefly on weekdays. It meant that their relationship was a bit distant. “She would always go to her mom for everything.” But in the past year, his wife got a job and they’ve split the childcare. Now, he says, “I’m like her favorite person. She follows me around.” The post-COVID world will not eliminate the office, but it does seem likely that many employees will have more choices about where and how they work. More choice is good for everyone, and particularly for working parents, some of whom may be liberated from grueling commutes.