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Remote Work Is Killing the Hidden Trillion-Dollar Office Economy
Article

Remote Work Is Killing the Hidden Trillion-Dollar Office Economy

From airlines to Starbucks, a massive part of our economy hinges on white-collar workers returning to the office.

Medium, 2020


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Steve LeVine, editor-at-large of Medium, reminds readers of the small businesses that catered to, fed, dressed, entertained and cleaned up after office workers and commuters. Hotels, airlines, dry cleaners, restaurants, upscale clothiers and janitorial firms served that workforce…until it was gone. Some offices may reopen, at half staff, but some firms have canceled their office leases and declared remote work permanent. LeVine finds that airlines, hotels, vendors and urban office centers must lower rents and fees, downsize and re-invent themselves, or die.

Take-Aways

  • An overlooked ecosystem of businesses is suffering: the service firms and people who tended the office workers – who are gone.
  • Businesses will save on leasing space and employees on commuting, but at what cost to the rest of the economy?
  • The losses for the travel and hotel sectors amount to a tsunami.

About the Author

Steve LeVine is editor-at-large for Medium, reporting on tech, science and demographic issues to interpret today’s turbulence.