Journalist Matthew Yglesias started another thrilling online debate when he posted on social media, “My strongest ‘vibes not evidence’ belief is that remote work is a cancer that’s making (most) people miserable even though it seems better in the short term.”
Yglesias even admits this was an opinion without actual facts to support its conclusion, but people did respond as if he could pass a law forcing everyone out of their sweatpants and back into the office.
I haven’t worked full-time in an office since 2011. I don’t particularly miss the experience. I’m a writer, so arguably I’ve always been inclined to work better in solitude. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Daniel Pierson pointed out what he considers major downsides with remote work: “It is bad for new hires and people in the early stages of their careers. Every senior person who wants to work remote 5 days a week benefitted from this kind of workplace osmosis.”
However, all the suggested professional development and mental health benefits of working in an office are somewhat beside the point, as that rarely matters to employers when making business decisions. Remote work is an interesting example of technological advances producing what many workers consider a true benefit and companies are seemingly needlessly resisting it in ways they never have for technological advances that aren't beneficial to workers. When companies have “rightsized” staff (sending work overseas) or eliminated staff thanks to the latest “Labor Saver 9000,” you would’ve been laughed at if brought up the same arguments I’ve seen for having workers in the office.
The pandemic accelerated remote work outside employers’ control. Many had already committed to costly leases for office space that they couldn’t afford to leave empty. If employers had been able to set their own timeline for remote work, they would eagerly embrace the benefits — specifically shifting the cost of overhead to their staff. You have to buy the office supplies (and extra toilet paper) and find space in your home to work. Since the pandemic, more people are renting or buying home with dedicated office space (what we once called a “guest room” or even just the kids’ room).
During covid, many professionals started working from home and continued doing so after the lockdowns ended. People started viewing it as a benefit, but while they enjoyed the lack of office drama — especially the coworker who reheated fish in the microwave — they missed the personal interaction. And it turns out people don’t really enjoy working from home all the time, like some content producing Miss Havisham.
Self-described entrepreneur Andrew Yeung lamented on social media last week, “Finding a coffee shop in NYC where you can actually sit & work for 3 hours without getting side-eyed is HARD.”
He went on in defiance of our many side eyes:
What I need:
- Outlets
- Wifi that works
- A real chair
- No "no laptops" sign taped to the doorWhere are ppl actually going? Spot & neighborhood.
Yeung and many others in his feed were annoyed when people suggested he instead visit a coworking space, which his fellow “entrepreneurs” started years ago to fill this need. These places are designed for people who are working for an extended period, not just hanging out for a while, so there are outlets a plenty, reliable high-powered wi-fi, and ergonomic chairs.
I am typing these words from a local coffee shop myself, as I do like to get out of the house on occasion, but I never stay longer than it takes to drink a single oversized cup of coffee. I also enjoy the coffee here. Yeung wanting to camp out for three hours is probably why many spots have started putting up “no laptops” signs.
It’s possible that Yeung would actually buy at least one coffee drink per hour (maybe even a pastry treat). If so, he should also include “clean restroom” in his hierarchy of coffee shop needs. However, this is rarely what happens in practice: Melissa Petro wrote in a 2021 Business Insider article, “Before COVID, I was a regular at my local coffee shop, where — for less than $5 a day — I could sit down at the table I’d secretly designated as mine, slap on a pair of headphones, and dig into my work, oblivious to the flow around me.” Petro was also seemingly oblivious to coffee shops stay in business.
One problem I’d noticed is that laptop campers would arrive fairly early in the day. They’d take a table intended for two if not more people. This would create an opportunity cost issue when casual patrons arrived later and couldn’t find a place to sit. Also, after a while, the entire vibe of the coffee shop started to scream “office,” which the very environment people go to coffee shops to escape. Once, someone had a Zoom conference call next to me … without headphones. People online have defended this as no different from friends having a spirited conversation at the table next to you, which is not really how anything works. I confess that I were inclined to eavesdrop, I’d probably find someone sharing details about a bad date more entertaining than a lengthy discussion about TPS reports.
People seemed genuinely surprised at the negative response to Andrew Yeung’s request. Someone posted on Threads, “Apparently it’s now bad to do work in a coffee shop. Wasn’t that like 90% of the marketing for coffee shops?”
Not really — coffee shops were marketed as a community space, where people could unwind and even socialize. Back in the 1990s, everyone at my local coffee shop would read the newspaper or a book. It was a second living room (or just the first one, considering how most of us lived in New York). That’s very different from an environment where strangers have their faces glued to their laptop screens and aren’t even enjoying the barista’s music selection. A Starbucks commercial from back in the day depicted just one guy typing on his laptop. Yes, Starbucks might have originally encouraged patrons to hang out for extended periods, but the intended vibe was more Central Perk than Severance.
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As laptop camping became more commonplace, many cafes and bakeries started imposing restrictions. Some outright eliminated wi-fi and banned laptops and tablets entirely, which perhaps not surprisingly resulted in increased sales. The Bearded Baker in Edinburgh banned laptops after their very small cafe was monopolized by three customers — in the loosest sense of the term — who camped out all day on their laptops and spent just seven euros.
I’m middle-aged enough to recall the pre-internet, pre-laptop era, when people working in a coffee shop were usually writers or college professors grading papers (or posers scribbling on blank paper and pretending they were one of the two). Working in coffee shops has long been romanticized. Hemingway supposedly spent his days writing in Paris’s Café de Flore on the Left Bank, surrounded by fellow artistes enjoying the bohemian life. This was of course mostly fantasy. Hemingway’s broke ass could barely afford a cup of hot water at most Parisian cafes. He was able to charm some charity from the cafe owners at times, but today, it’s the coffee shop owners who could use that charity, not “entrepreneurs” with $2,000 laptops.
Real estate is expensive, and many business owners post covid realized that they could sell just as much coffee in a much smaller space or even a food truck without having to offer room for remote work
I would love if more outright remote working spaces were available. They wouldn’t all have to resemble sterile offices. They could offer comfortable chairs and tasty beverages, but their intention would remain clear. You could even reserve private meeting rooms for Zoom calls.
Most existing coworking spaces offer a “hot desk” for around $100 to $300 a month. Conversely, even the cheapest beverage and a tip at a coffee shop would run you at least $5. On a hourly basis, the coworking space is actually less expensive, so any resistance to this business model might suggest that laptop campers want to enjoy pleasant accommodations outside the home but not for more than the cost of a cup of coffee.
Someone should tell this guy about libraries
"Once, someone had a Zoom conference call next to me … without headphones. People online have defended this as no different from friends having a spirited conversation at the table next to you, which is not really how anything works. I confess that I were inclined to eavesdrop, I’d probably find someone sharing details about a bad date more entertaining than a lengthy discussion about TPS reports."
Why would anyone want others to know their business, even if there is no need to be secret? It's rude to inflect your business onto others, but if you do, at least make it interesting, like the details of a bad date, as you mentioned. That, at least, would be worth listening to.