Ross: Why aren鈥檛 people going back to the office?
Apr 25, 2022, 6:28 AM

Westlake Park (Flickr Creative Commons)
(Flickr Creative Commons)
I鈥檓 working from home today 鈥 a last-minute directive because of a little COVID scare.
And I will admit I was a little bummed, because going into the office is energizing, whereas working here at home 鈥 everything I look at reminds me of some chore to be done.
Last week the Seattle Times about Seattlites being especially slow to return to the office, and the reader comments offered various reasons 鈥 the number one reason being safety鈥 too many weird people on the loose, not enough police.
But security is not the only reason 鈥 a lot of people who ride a computer all day just see no reason to fight traffic just to sit in an office where, if anything, they feel less inspired, less productive, and more stressed.
I see Google is taking an innovative approach 鈥 with its new Kirkland Urban campus. It鈥檚 building its OWN downtown 鈥 its own Googleville!
With all the big city amenities including a Shake Shack, a QFC, and a driving range! It even has bike lanes and custom bikes.
Maybe that鈥檚 what you have to do to get people back 鈥 go all Disney 鈥 turn control of downtown over to the property owners 鈥 they can set up their own police force, they鈥檒l scan you in and out, everyone you approach is wearing deodorant, and the graffiti is confined to the art museums where it belongs.
I know 鈥 that鈥檚 not what America is supposed to be about 鈥 America is about FREEDOM! But we only like the IDEA of freedom. Not necessarily the way it plays out in real life.
The founders warned about this 鈥 that if citizens couldn鈥檛 self-regulate, freedom would backfire.
And that鈥檚 the message the holdout office workers are sending鈥 in the eternal struggle between freedom and security, security wins again.
One ray of hope for downtown 鈥 the cruise ship season is finally here! That means every afternoon, the Market and the shopping district will be flooded with festively dressed, well-behaved, deodorized, law-abiding people looking for directions to the Space Needle and the Fremont Troll 鈥 so that for a few hours, everything will seem normal.
Of course, then the complaint will be, 鈥渋t鈥檚 too darn crowded down here, I鈥檓 staying home.鈥