“The pandemic has really transformed work. It’s transformed lifestyles. It’s transformed how we basically live,” says Rutgers University Professor James Hughes, dean emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. COVID-19 sparked the Great Resignation. Many people no longer even consider work as a place where they’re required to show up in person. More than two-thirds of the workforce did their jobs from home during the pandemic.
As businesses consider reopening, the office dynamic will look very different, Hughes figures. Few bosses will demand five days in the office. Labor expert Bill Castellano of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations agrees. “I think there is an expectation among many workers that some form of flexibility continue,” Castellano said. But others are glad to be back on the job, even if it means masks and COVID-19 tests.