THANKS, COVID:

If one thing is clear about remote work, it's this: Many people prefer it and don't want their bosses to take it away.

When the pandemic forced office employees into lockdown and cut them off from spending in-person time with their colleagues, they almost immediately realized that they favor remote work over their traditional office routines and norms.

As remote workers of all ages contemplate their futures - and as some offices and schools start to reopen - many Americans are asking hard questions about whether they wish to return to their old lives, and what they're willing to sacrifice or endure in the years to come.

Even before the pandemic, there were people asking whether office life jibed with their aspirations.

We spent years studying "digital nomads" - workers who had left behind their homes, cities and most of their possessions to embark on what they call "location independent" lives. Our research taught us several important lessons about the conditions that push workers away from offices and major metropolitan areas, pulling them toward new lifestyles.

Legions of people now have the chance to reinvent their relationship to their work in much the same way.

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