It&#x27;s interesting watching the juxtaposed trends of increased remote work and... this, in the tech sector.  Clearly there is a trend away from &quot;traditional&quot; offices, but it appears to be moving in two fundamentally opposite directions at the same time.<p>Of course, both share one significant feature: cost savings compared to a more traditional office environment.  I guess another similarity could be increased equality, although again, achieved in opposite manners: in one case, everyone gets to choose their own work environment, and in the other, everyone has an identical work environment.  (Right down to a lack of personal effects in this case.)  Still, the proponents of both approaches appear to believe they offer many other advantages.  I wonder whether we&#x27;ll see one or the other ultimately dominate.<p>Personally speaking, as the owner of a small, all-remote company, I vastly prefer the remote approach for my own quality of life.  (Although I&#x27;ve certainly known people who prefer to go to an office every day.)  As far as work output though, both remote work and open offices have advantages and disadvantages. Personally I can&#x27;t stand the distractions being crammed in a room with a bunch of other developers, but at least being in the same building undoubtedly makes collaboration easier (not that it&#x27;s impossible remotely). The company culture can definitely do a lot to make that sort of environment more pleasant too. (Things like avoiding noise pollution, and knowing when not to interrupt.)  For me, even if I knew I could make more money by relocating everyone to an office, it wouldn&#x27;t be worth it, but obviously that math would change a bit at Facebook scale.