<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial increase in the use of remote work for occupations where this modality is feasible. This paper speculates on the likely outcome of this unplanned experiment by asking what might happen if we never go back to the office. I predict that: (1) managers will find an adjustment to permanent remote work difficult, (2) some tasks will become increasingly difficult to perform, (3) female employees will suffer, (4) many employees will respond positively to doing away with the office, but this response will be far from universal, and (5) organizations will thrive, particularly organizations that are already rich and powerful.</p>
</abstract>

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial increase in the use of remote work for occupations where this modality is feasible. This paper speculates on the likely outcome of this unplanned experiment by asking what might happen if we never go back to the office. I predict that: (1) managers will find an adjustment to permanent remote work difficult, (2) some tasks will become increasingly difficult to perform, (3) female employees will suffer, (4) many employees will respond positively to doing away with the office, but this response will be far from universal, and (5) organizations will thrive, particularly organizations that are already rich and powerful.

Life After COVID-19: What if We Never go Back to the Office?

The Irish Journal of Management

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Life After COVID-19: What if We Never go Back to the Office?"}

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial increase in the use of remote work for occupations where this modality is feasible. This paper speculates on the...

Life After COVID-19: What if We Never go Back to the Office?

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Oct 13, 2021

Page range: 78 - 85

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2021-0007

Keywords
COVID, remote work, manager, leadership, gender

© 2021 Kevin R. Murphy, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Life After COVID-19: What if We Never go Back to the Office?

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Oct 13, 2021

Page range: 78 - 85

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2021-0007

KeywordsCOVID, remote work, manager, leadership, gender

© 2021 Kevin R. Murphy, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
COVID, remote work, manager, leadership, gender