5 ms·

Wonder how much WFH could help. Seems like during covid demand went way down.

duskdozer 6mo ago
Heavens no! How could we ever afford to be more productive overall? Just think of the effect on corporate real estate prices.
schnitzelstoat 6mo ago
That's true. I wonder if the government might force companies to allow WFH if there are petrol shortages. They did it during covid so I wouldn't rule it out.
billcube 6mo ago
It helped on reducing traffic, spending more time with family, favouring local shops... Why we went back still is a mystery for me. Even if it was "working from a coworking space" or anything that was not the downtown open-space.
- mirekrusin 6mo ago
  Exactly, put AI in the office instead.
- THansenite 6mo ago
  Because downtown city centers were missing out on office worker revenue and started giving incentives to companies who brought people back into the office. I 100% believe the reason we went back into the office at all was because of this despite all the talk of 'in-person collaboration.'
- duskdozer 6mo ago
  I remember reading articles about local politicians insisting companies and governments do return to office for no other reason than to have the workers spend money downtown for lunch. Not even implying it, directly stating it.
  - Qem 6mo ago
    ...and increasing valuation of office real state.
whalesalad 6mo ago
But think of the commercial real estate market?!?! What about the chopped salad slop bowl market?! Dry cleaning?! This would shatter the fabric of our precious society. We need butts in seats. We need to foster open communication and cross functional pollination.
giarc 6mo ago
WFH and the almost 100% shutdown off airline travel at the beginning of the pandemic resulted in nearly 0 change in CO2 emission and levels in the atmosphere. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/...
- Qem 6mo ago
  Of course we shouldn't expect a couple of years of shutdown to significantly reverse 200 years of man-made atmospheric CO2 accumulation, but surely it would help stop the problem to get worse if the widespread WFH effort were sustained after the pandemic.
- interloxia 6mo ago
  It's a bit off topic but that didn't sound right to me. According to the following it was a reduction but yes near zero in the context of total emissions. A few hundred million tonnes reduction ain't nothin none the less. "plummeted from more than 1 000 Mt CO2 in 2019 to less than 600 Mt CO2 in 2020, in the context of the pandemic. In 2023, aviation accounted for 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, " https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation
abustamam 6mo ago
I don't have data but I was always under the impression that consumer use of fossil fuels (ie gas) was a drop in the bucket compared to enterprise use of fossil fuels (shipping trucks/boats/planes, private jets, etc). The whole "reduce your carbon footprint PSA" was just a ruse.
- johnny_canuck 6mo ago
  > The whole "reduce your carbon footprint PSA" was just a ruse. It is especially true in the context of this war when the US is attacking oil infrastructure which is causing catastrophic environmental damage: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-oil-strikes-health.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-oil... Similarly related to the paper straw meme that has been circulating the last while.
  - Qem 6mo ago
    Also: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/30/carbon-footprint-of-israels-war-on-gaza-exceeds-that-of-many-entire-countries https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/30/carbon-footpri...
    - abustamam 6mo ago
      Yikes. I never really thought about the environmental impacts of war mainly because no one seems to talk about it. Now that I know about it, it just infuriates me that anyone could even criticize any individual person's usage of fossil fuels.
  - abustamam 6mo ago
    Ugh don't get me started on paper straws! At least EVs are a cool way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, however ineffective it may be at scale. But nobody likes paper straws.
- Mashimo 6mo ago
  But the companies have a large carbon foodprint to deliver a product or service for the consumer. When I buy a large SUV / Truck, and never drive it, is that not counted negative towards my carbon foodprint?

Heavens no! How could we ever afford to be more productive overall? Just think of the effect on corporate real estate prices.

schnitzelstoat 6mo ago

That's true. I wonder if the government might force companies to allow WFH if there are petrol shortages. They did it during covid so I wouldn't rule it out.

billcube 6mo ago

It helped on reducing traffic, spending more time with family, favouring local shops... Why we went back still is a mystery for me. Even if it was "working from a coworking space" or anything that was not the downtown open-space.

mirekrusin 6mo ago
Exactly, put AI in the office instead.
THansenite 6mo ago
Because downtown city centers were missing out on office worker revenue and started giving incentives to companies who brought people back into the office. I 100% believe the reason we went back into the office at all was because of this despite all the talk of 'in-person collaboration.'
duskdozer 6mo ago
I remember reading articles about local politicians insisting companies and governments do return to office for no other reason than to have the workers spend money downtown for lunch. Not even implying it, directly stating it.
- Qem 6mo ago
  ...and increasing valuation of office real state.

whalesalad 6mo ago

But think of the commercial real estate market?!?! What about the chopped salad slop bowl market?! Dry cleaning?! This would shatter the fabric of our precious society. We need butts in seats. We need to foster open communication and cross functional pollination.

giarc 6mo ago

WFH and the almost 100% shutdown off airline travel at the beginning of the pandemic resulted in nearly 0 change in CO2 emission and levels in the atmosphere. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/...

Qem 6mo ago
Of course we shouldn't expect a couple of years of shutdown to significantly reverse 200 years of man-made atmospheric CO2 accumulation, but surely it would help stop the problem to get worse if the widespread WFH effort were sustained after the pandemic.
interloxia 6mo ago
It's a bit off topic but that didn't sound right to me. According to the following it was a reduction but yes near zero in the context of total emissions. A few hundred million tonnes reduction ain't nothin none the less. "plummeted from more than 1 000 Mt CO2 in 2019 to less than 600 Mt CO2 in 2020, in the context of the pandemic. In 2023, aviation accounted for 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, " https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation

abustamam 6mo ago

I don't have data but I was always under the impression that consumer use of fossil fuels (ie gas) was a drop in the bucket compared to enterprise use of fossil fuels (shipping trucks/boats/planes, private jets, etc). The whole "reduce your carbon footprint PSA" was just a ruse.

johnny_canuck 6mo ago
> The whole "reduce your carbon footprint PSA" was just a ruse. It is especially true in the context of this war when the US is attacking oil infrastructure which is causing catastrophic environmental damage: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-oil-strikes-health.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/iran-oil... Similarly related to the paper straw meme that has been circulating the last while.
- Qem 6mo ago
  Also: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/30/carbon-footprint-of-israels-war-on-gaza-exceeds-that-of-many-entire-countries https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/30/carbon-footpri...
  - abustamam 6mo ago
    Yikes. I never really thought about the environmental impacts of war mainly because no one seems to talk about it. Now that I know about it, it just infuriates me that anyone could even criticize any individual person's usage of fossil fuels.
- abustamam 6mo ago
  Ugh don't get me started on paper straws! At least EVs are a cool way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, however ineffective it may be at scale. But nobody likes paper straws.
Mashimo 6mo ago
But the companies have a large carbon foodprint to deliver a product or service for the consumer. When I buy a large SUV / Truck, and never drive it, is that not counted negative towards my carbon foodprint?