We will go back to the office
A vaccine will allow us to return to our usual schedules and routines. Public transport, our morning coffee and office desk will once again become the norm.
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The Argument
As we hear good news from vaccine trials, many look forward to days when going back to the office is no longer farfetched.
As the first wave of cases subsided in many nations over the summer months, offices tentatively reopened. There was an increased awareness of space and a stronger emphasis on health and safety protocols, but viable solutions were found[1].
Working from home is not effective for many workers. There are jobs which require in-person attention and equipment which cannot be accessed outside of labs or a workspace. A vaccine will allow these workers to resume near pre-pandemic levels of normality.
Furthermore, technology is struggling to replace in-person communication. Why, when all these resources at our disposal, did we continue to go on business trips? Or have in-person client and group meetings? Only when we were unable to meet and speak in person did we resort to wide spread technological methods of communication.
Counter arguments
It is unlikely that we will see the same work environment and office culture we had before the pandemic. Even before 2020, we had begun to see a trend towards more flexible working, with some companies offering staff the option to work from home a couple of days a week[2]. The pandemic has only sped up this transition to telework.