Many business owners insist that their workers will return to the office soon. Think again. Mega-commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield admits, “No one is expecting workers to come into the office to primarily answer emails—that and any other heads-down tasks can be done anywhere.” This is not happening, Cushman & Wakefield argues, just because COVID-19 forced businesses to embrace working from home. It’s a trend that’s been building since 2005. The further along an area is in the knowledge and experience economy, the more likely it is to support remote work. For example, in 2019—before anyone knew anything much about pandemics—Austin, Texas had already seen 14.4% of its office workers doing their jobs remotely.
