With work being one of the most important places where Americans form friendships, it is absolutely critical that, once it’s safe, people return to in-person work settings.

Friendships do not only help mitigate issues related to mental health but can also improve civil society itself. For instance, survey respondents of different partisan affiliations were asked to share information about the partisan views of their friends. About a third (32 percent) of Democrats and Democratic leaners have some or a lot of Republican friends. Republicans are more diverse, with over half (53 percent) of Republicans or Republican leaners stating that they have some or a lot of Democratic friends. Even with companies going “woke,” taking particular ideological stances, and making political statements, workplaces can serve as politically diverse spaces where ideological differences can thrive. And having friends of diverse backgrounds limits the echo chambers and extremism that have escalated during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, large numbers of Americans spent significant amounts of time at their places of employment, and close friendships understandably developed in these environs. It should come as no surprise that so many television shows — from Super Store and The Office to Downton Abbey and The Chair — are set in workplace environments and focus on friendships formed in these places. The nation needs to get back to work in-person and soon; for Americans need their friendships, and need real spaces within to form them.