COVID-19 changed the way we work. Will office life ever be the same?

When offices hastily closed in March 2020 to help slow the spread of COVID-19, employees expected to be back at their desks within a couple of weeks. Now, more than 18 months later, the American workplace has been transformed by what has become a massive and unplanned remote-work experiment. It’s uncertain when many offices may reopen, but it’s clear the virtual work revolution that began with the pandemic isn’t going away. “We all have to accept the fact that the workplace is never going to be the same and that there is no plan,” says Stacie Haller, a career expert. “We now have a different purview of how we can work successfully, that it can be remote.” While remote work isn’t an option in every field and hasn’t been ideal for everyone, many employees have thrived in their virtual settings and want to keep the flexibility and autonomy it has allowed them.