Remote Possibilities

Recently, Cathy Merrill, the chief executive of The Washingtonian, published an op-ed on “the risks of not returning to work in the office” as the pandemic abates. If employees aren’t around to participate in “extras” (birthday parties, answering questions in person), she argued, “management has a strong incentive to change their status to ‘contractor.’” Merrill’s staff rebelled by staging a publishing strike; she went into apology mode. Yet there remains widespread uncertainty about when...