Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there scaring people into thinking that if they don’t get back to the office, they’ll have a very lonely life with no friends. After all, most adults make most of their friends in the workplace nowadays. I know I’ve made plenty myself. But, part of that is because we spend so much time in the office, and nowhere else, that we struggle to maintain any relationships outside of work.

Who has time? Between our 9-10 work day, another hour commuting, and all the extra work we do at night and on weekends, what time are we going to spend with other people?

It doesn’t have to be that way though. Many of us can get our work done from elsewhere, and spend more time in a location that is more conducive to keeping in touch with our friends. That’s the ultimate promise of remote work, and something that employees, and employers, should be considering when we think about what our office policies are going to look like.