Nick Kneer was excited to go back to the office. After working from home for about a year and a half, Kneer had missed the camaraderie he had with his co-workers at the Ohio-based university library system where he works as a communications coordinator. He was counting down until he could mingle with students and staff again.
But his excitement quickly faded after the reality of in-person work turned out to be far from what he expected.
Instead, to avoid contracting the delta variant, he ended up locked in a “windowless, cinder block room” — his temporary office — attending most of his meetings via Zoom.
“It was definitely a bummer,” he said….
“There’s this weird tension,” said Brian Kropp, chief of HR research for research firm Gartner. “We want everyone back in the office, but we still want everyone to do work by video.
As many workers head back to the office — even as the delta variant spreads across the U.S. — employees are facing a bizarre new reality: They’re still spending most of their time isolated and glued to their computers for Zoom meetings, email and Slack. https://t.co/2U9QFYu9Hd
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 27, 2021