This is a column about working from home.
Well — not exactly.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve talked, debated, and vented about this year, it’s working from home.
So I thought I’d flip the perspective a bit and write a column about working at the office — and why I believe the office actually has a bright future ahead.
Let’s rewind for a moment
Sometime around the era of the Spinning Jenny and the Industrial Revolution, workers began flocking to cities. We built factories, assembly lines, and logistics networks. The factories filled up with laborers, and of course, they needed people to count, optimize, innovate, and lead operations.
Thus, the work group was born.
But with smoke signals (!) as the only means of long-distance communication — not ideal in a smog-filled factory environment — everyone had to be physically in the same place.
So we built offices. And the office workers moved in.
Then came the telegraph. The telephone. The fax. The mobile phone. The computer. The internet. Tablets. 4G. 5G. And digital collaboration tools.
Already back in 1973, American professor Melvin Webber foresaw what was coming:
“For the first time in history, it might be possible to locate on a mountaintop and to maintain intimate, real-time, and realistic contact with business or other associates.”
Today, we have more tools than ever to work from anywhere. We could, theoretically, sit in the lotus position at an ashram in southern India while A/B testing our latest Facebook campaign. Or rescue orangutans in Borneo while having a performance review with HR in Stockholm.
The thing is — we don’t.
Instead, we take all this fantastic technology, pack it into our bags, and hop on a train or get in the car to commute to a stationary desk at the office. Some of us even wake up hours early just to get there.
The question is: why?
Why do we still work from offices?
I think the answer is simple:
We like the office.
Despite its flaws, noise, and quirks — we don’t actually want to leave it.
And no amount of technology can change that.
But then came the pandemic
Suddenly, remote work became part of daily life — almost overnight.
To be fair, many Swedish companies had already started moving in that direction. And while we might not have been ready for Professor Webber’s dream back in 1973, the technology certainly is today.
The problem? Many organizations still aren’t fully prepared to embrace it.
Remote work became the hot topic
When the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March, a survey revealed that half of all Swedes had the possibility to work from home.
Six months later, working from home had become the new normal for many.
Major companies like Facebook, Google, and Spotify announced that employees could continue working remotely at least until the end of the year.
So… is the office dead?
If remote work is the new normal, does that mean the office is a relic of the past?
Are we about to say goodbye to commuting and the coffee machine for good?
Not so fast.
According to research by GlobalWebIndex, working from home comes with plenty of advantages — but it doesn’t mean the office is obsolete:
- Remote work increases satisfaction: 60% of remote workers say they’re happier than those working in an office.
- Remote work doesn’t harm productivity: 76% report being just as productive — or even more — when working from home.
- Adaptation takes time: At first, productivity and communication might dip, and the sense of belonging may weaken. But within a month, most people adapt and even thrive. We’re creatures of habit, after all.
- Technology helps: When teams use collaboration tools like lynes, they feel more connected, work more efficiently, and are happier overall.
All of this challenges our traditional view of what a workplace is.
But my prediction? The office isn’t going anywhere.
In fact — I think it’s about to get more important than ever.
The future: working remotely
from
the office
Yes, remote work is here to stay — and that’s a good thing for both employees and companies.
But let’s be honest — working from home for weeks or months on end isn’t sustainable for most of us.
We need movement. Change of scenery. Human interaction.
What’s happening now is a shift — not away from the office, but toward a more flexible idea of work.
We’ll see new combinations: working from home, from co-working spaces, cafés, or even an ashram in southern India.
Technology connects it all, allowing us to blend focus and freedom, creativity and collaboration.
At the same time, the office will redefine its purpose — transforming into a social space for collaboration, discussion, and shared energy.
Home (or Borneo!) becomes the place for deep focus and concentration.
Together, they form a sort of geographically distributed activity-based office, where every environment serves a specific role.
That’s why the office will matter more than ever
In the future, companies might even offer office days as a perk — the perfect complement to remote work, not the other way around.
Because no matter how digital we become, we’ll always crave human connection.
And that’s something no Wi-Fi signal in the world can replace.
Want to learn more about how to handle remote work challenges?
Read our article: “Working from home – the workplace of the future.”
