The post-pandemic debate surrounding the need for employees to return to the office after nearly five years of exclusively remote and hybrid work is now in full force. Gone is the initial justification for remote and hybrid work — public safety given the threat posed by COVID-19. Yet surveys show it remains popular with the majority of U.S. companies offering such flexibility and their employees growing accustomed to it.

There are clearly pros and cons. On the one hand, collaboration is much easier when colleagues work side-by-side and not merely connected by email, text, social media platform of teleconference. That likely improves productivity. On the other, the burden of long commutes and family obligations may cause some employers to lose their best and brightest if they don’t offer some level of flexibility.

Can some workers actually be more productive working at home? Sometimes. But what is lost when people no longer gather together around the conference table or even the proverbial water cooler? For most Americans, work is far more than an obligation or a paycheck. For many, the workplace is the centerpiece of their lives. It’s where they may meet their spouse or make their closest friends. It adds spice and experience to life that you simply cannot find alone in the isolating confines of a studio apartment.

Surely, we can at least agree that, general speaking, we would prefer to be in the presence of people we genuinely care about rather than on a Zoom video conference with them no matter the size of the screen. So it is with work. Humans are designed for interpersonal engagement. The imperceptible body language, the organic progression of dialogue, including interruptions, whether positive or negative, vocal tone, and on and on play a role in each encounter.

Even in the digital age with all its capability, we have collectively come to learn that words can only carry you so far absent human interaction.

Remote work doesn’t necessarily promote productivity. When two employees desire to speak in the office concerning an important matter, one can simply rise from their desk or open their mouth to engage the other. Even if a phone call or direct message is needed between departments, the very fact that both employees are embedded in the workplace adds that sense of urgency and meaning to the message that one would not get from being at home.

In the context of remote work, when two employees are situated in their homes, possibly even states apart, the dynamics change. It is not possible to immediately get someone’s attention. And even if a person were sitting by their phone all day or had their direct messaging application open, the rapid and efficient exchange of interactions is still hindered by the need to breach that virtual barrier. Interaction is no longer natural, organic, spontaneous exchange but a deliberate, and often delayed, digital communication.

Yet, we must also acknowledge and empathize with people such as single parents unable to work in the office due to the inability to hire a caretaker, persons with disabilities and others whose circumstances render returning to the office challenging, if not impossible. Small wonder there are smaller yet often faster-growing companies seeking to lure top talent by offering workplace flexibility. Such employees are frequently willing to take lower pay to work remotely. And that choice also reduces a company’s office costs (fewer desks, fewer chairs, less conference room space and so forth).

The solution? It’s not so simple to conclude one is good and the other is bad. We think in-person is often preferable for the reasons listed above but remote work has demonstrated its value as well. The much clearer lesson is that sweeping pronouncements are ill-considered.

Offering blanket buyouts to remote workers to trim the payroll? That’s truly lazy. Whether dealing with the private or public sectors, the better solution is to find out what works best for your circumstances in the 21st century where technology has fundamentally changed the nature of the office and of working productively.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.