I mean (and I've said this before) that COVID gave us the opportunity to start doing things differently; to make a new way of life. And it was working!
But noooo... As soon as they could (some say it's still too early) the powers that be declared it was time we get back to the exact same horrid state everything was in prior to COVID—even with the knowledge that the average person actually preferred the slower pace of life; the freedom of not having to waste time sitting in traffic to get to a job that it was proven could be done from home instead of being trapped in a beige cube for 8 hours a day, and the multitude of other positive things that were happening. (Like cleaner air; less emissions. Less—if only a minuscule—reduction in global warming? Remember how that spontaneously happened a few weeks into lockdown?)
Remember when almost everyone was working from home and the streets were nearly deserted? Remember when wildlife started appearing in the cities again? Remember when we were actually paying attention to health and safety?
And there's a not-so-subtle resentment that's building because of it. People are saying hell no to going back to into the office and it's going to be interesting to see if the wheels of industry adapt or continue thinking they can crush people under the weight of "it's always been done that way."
While not perfect, the entity I work for is at least allowing for most of the employees who have been working from home over the last eighteen months to continue to do so two days a week going forward. (I was hoping for a two-day/three-day alternating week schedule, but this is the best we're going to get at the moment.)
Unfortunately, our capitalist overlords will manage to keep everyone under their thumb. Unless, as my "socialist" friend believes: the working class will rise up and set things right. Uh-huh. I'll start holding my breath now.