Malcolm Gladwell slams working from home: ‘What have you reduced your life to?’

Agree 100%!!! Get your lazy slothful bones into work America!!!!

I am not my work. Yes, it’s just a paycheck. And covid is still raging through the office for people who have to go in. (We have public-facing offices.)

I have friends, family and neighbors I am friendly with it. I hate being fake-friendly with my co-workers.

Malcolm may feel differently be he doesn’t have a life outside of work. Does he have a wife or kids? I don’t know and am not judging, but he might not be so focused on “community” in the office if he did.

Convenience is what’s getting us. I think there will be a reversion at some point, particularly as younger folks realize they lack the connections and professional networks of their superiors.

If anything, it’s the more wealthy, senior folks in leadership who are driving this. They’d rather be comfortable at home. Leadership is often by example.

He is mentally slipping. He has been working from home for decades.

Don’t worry Malcolm, we can have still have company book clubs virtually featuring your mediocre books with questionable theories.

Why does everyone worship this guy? By his own admission he was too dumb to get into grad school.

Idk I agree, but the positives outweigh it.

1. Saving $2.5k+ month on rent

2. Can travel anywhere and work remote from there

3. Save 1hr on commuting

Office was mostly fun just to grab lunch with people. But only 2-3 people I actually enjoyed being around.

Working remote is rote and lonely but so is regular life too… so who cares

Just like the flu and every other virus that causes the common cold has raged through every office since forever.

Separation of work and home is a healthy thing. I love that I can compartmentalize my work and home life. I think it’s good for your sanity to have a clear separation, and it can make you better at both.

FYI I am not my work either and have a wife and kids.

Gladwell’s last two books featured defenses of:

1. Pedophilia enablers (real ones, not the made up stuff you see on Infowars)

and

2. War criminals

It’s cool that he likes running, but I don’t understand why the track and field community— Citius mag especially— still gives him a pass.

517 mile is not that fast

He has an opinion because he is an average runner

And I would argue we have handled flu season poorly for many years. Maybe come in when flu is down and stay home when it’s up? I think we also forget that covid is not the flu, and it’s new. My mother has long covid, and maybe no one cares about her except me but it’s been difficult to deal with. Although I guess you can say the same for cancer, dementia, etc, and too bad we just have to deal. I don’t expect compassion in this society.

If you want to go in, fine, plenty of jobs have in-office aspects. But it’s nice to have the remote option if you’re health vulnerable or if your job is just conducive to it. I just think the “company culture” argument is bunk. It’s challenging to maintain remotely but I also like … don’t care about it.

It's weird that some people are so limited in brain skills they actually need to waste resources to separate work and home. They actually have to drive to their little office to focus. That's odd to me. I've never had that problem.

Guy is a visionary

It probably depends on the individual. I've worked from home running a one person consultancy for well over 30 years.

Yes, work and home life tend to blur one into the other, but since I like what I do, I don't really mind.

Pluses for me are huge. I can get started within about 10 minutes of waking up. No dressing for office. No commute. Free to train when I want. No forced socializing.

Not what he was saying weirdo

Malcolm G. is a late 50's "confirmed bachelor." Working from home has been an outstanding opportunity for "girl Friday" single moms who would otherwise pay a fortune for daycare. Malcolm G. knows what it is like to be Malcolm G. He has no idea what it is like for single mom girl Fridays.

He's an idiot.

1) Who cares about feelings? The work you do is either impactful or it isn't.

2) Most American office workers use their computer all day, and some of them get on the phone. Why is it better sitting next to someone in a cubicle (or even at a table) doing that than it is doing it at your home? Back when I worked in a office, there would be days when I would come in, do my work, and go home without saying more than "hello" to anyone in the office that day.

3) At home, you save gas money, you cut down on pollution, you save money on clothes, you save money on potentially eating out, many people will have a larger workspace than they do in the office, and you have potentially fewer interruption as you don't have to entertain Jerry from Accounting when he's bored at 2:30 and wants to tell you about his powered paraglider.

Anyone who needs to go to an office to be fulfilled needs some self-exploring to do.

Why would you tell us how stupid you are?

Working from home is not best for everyone, however, it can be awesome for some of us. I find myself more productive at home and less distracted by the cubicle activity surrounding me and I will never go back to the office. I have lots of meaningful communication with my work team via phone, zoom, chat and some in person connections. It does take some discipline. I do not work in my pajamas...but I do wearing very casual clothing that would not be appropriate for the office setting. I dress more formal for online meetings. I show up on time...I time my breaks..and end my day mostly on time...sometimes run over slightly. Immediately after the work days ends, I leave the house for at least 30 mins, usually to take the dogs for a walk or to the dog park amd that helps create the separation from workplace to home setting.

Explain 1 and 2. I am not familiar with any of this. I sense that you are exaggerating or lying.