I recently had the good fortune (</sarcasm>) to come down with a fairly horrible head cold. Aside from contributing significantly to the financial well-being of the makers of the “Congested Stuffy Head, Sore Throat, Cough, Aching, Try-To-Get-Through-The-Day” medicine, I learned something about work.

(Besides the fact that I don’t particularly like the requirement of having to wake up every day to do it.)

My current role is essentially a front-end web developer with some other project-management-y responsibilities. I like it; it suits me. It’s challenging but not to the point where my sanity is in grave danger (at least no more so than it otherwise would be), it satisfies my inner need for problem-solving, and it lets me be online all day long. And I can work from anywhere.

That last part is the kicker. I’ve spent the last five days in self-imposed quarantine (because clearly I value my coworkers’ health more than my own), but only one of those days was spent entirely wallowing in self-pity a cold-induced delirium. The rest were spent working.

After a week of working entirely from home, I realized: I have no need for an office. Sure, it’s handy to be in proximity to some of my coworkers, but let’s face it. We all have phones. We all have email. We all have company-issue laptops. As long as there’s an active internet connection available, we’re connected to the corporate network. What’s the point of going to the office besides having that dedicated “this is where you work” space?

Accounting for the effects of being sick and not having the clearest head, my work was just as solid as any other day in the office. I actually worked even longer and harder this week than most normal days, if for no other reason than to prove to those still in the office that I was in fact working. So why is it that we’re still required to go into “the office” on such a regular basis?

Obviously this only applies to people with jobs that can be done remotely – the burger flipper at McDonalds can’t really work from home, and someone who regularly meets with clients likely doesn’t want them coming to their home.

However, I’m neither of those things, and thus: I have no use for your office. (But I’ll still go since I don’t yet write my own checks.)