As the set of charts on the preceding page demonstrate, at least among Americans, the time we spend with our families and friends drops off precipitously as we enter our professional lives. Focus shifts to partners and children, thereafter, as might be expected. But our time is devoted almost equally so to our colleagues and co-workers throughout adulthood — and then increasingly spent alone as we age. Little wonder that work relationships play such an important role in our lives, and that the loneliness some experience in remote working is such a growing concern.1
Perhaps it is this that drives many of the current trends seen in the workplace. Economics will play a role, as ever, but it does seem that, during the covid pandemic, people have opted to re-prioritize time spent with those whom they care about most: those at the center of their ‘Dunbar circles.’ Time spent in commuting was never popular. Today it is intolerable. Difficulties in finding work/ life balance has long meant excessive time away from loved ones. This is no longer acceptable. Perhaps better to leave the workforce altogether than to suffer in jobs that fail to provide a sense of meaning, agency, purpose, and belonging — or that afford scant opportunity for time with those we care for most?
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