The people part matters most.

Return to office is supposed to feel like coming home.
Instead, for many, it feels like wandering into someone else’s house.
Familiar desks. But unfamiliar rhythms.
Same breakroom. Different energy.
It’s clear now—normal is not going to come back with us.

That’s because normal is gone.
Work didn’t pause and resume.
It transformed.

In just a few years, we’ve lived through one of the fastest and most disorienting transitions in the history of work.

Remote models became default, then hybrid.
AI arrived—fast—and now shows up in everything from project planning to performance reviews.
Generational shifts accelerated, and so did our definitions of purpose, success, and balance.
Layer in global crises, social tension, and personal upheaval—and it’s no wonder we’re feeling off-balance.

McKinsey calls this moment The Great Acceleration—a period where trends that would have taken 5–10 years leapt forward in 18 months.¹

That kind of speed doesn’t just change systems.
It rattles people.

So we reached for “normal.”
Not because it was ideal.
But because it was familiar.

The Gravitational Pull of the Past

In times of turbulence, it’s human nature to seek the known.
That’s why “return to office” was framed as a return to normal.

But what many teams are realizing is this:
We came back to the same buildings, but something fundamental had shifted.

The question isn’t “How do we go back?”
It’s “What do we hold onto now?”

What Hasn’t Changed: The Need to Belong

The sun still rises in the east.
Rain is still wet.
And people still need people.

That’s not sentimental. It’s biological.

Dr. Matthew Lieberman’s neuroscience research shows that our brains are wired for connection.²
When we’re not focused on a task, we default to social thinking—wondering how we relate, where we stand, who matters to us.
We process social pain in the same regions as physical pain.

And psychologist Susan Pinker found that social integration and close relationships—not exercise, not diet—are the top predictors of long life.³
Human connection is more than a feel-good extra.
It’s essential to our health, longevity, and effectiveness at work.

Windshield is a better predictor than rearview mirror.

Businesses by the millions are simply moving forward. Yes—some people are resisting change.
But many, maybe even most, aren’t.

They’re adapting.
They’ve welcomed remote work as part of life.
They’re inviting AI in—not as a threat, but as a tool.
They’re finding rhythm in hybrid days, meaning in smaller teams, and purpose beyond traditional hierarchies.

They’re not waiting for “normal.”
They’re building something better.
They’re asking different questions:

What actually makes work meaningful?
How do I stay connected without being constantly in-person?
What kind of culture travels well—across distance, tools, and change?

There is optimism here.
Quiet, thoughtful, forward-looking optimism.
And it’s worth noticing.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

The real challenge isn’t to return.
It’s to re-center.

To recognize that the most important part of work was never the location.
It was the connection.

The check-in. The shared laugh. The small gesture of kindness.
The feeling of being seen, valued, and included.

Culture isn’t built by policy.
It’s built in moments—tiny acts of attention and care that say:
“You matter. We’re still in this together.”

(We've built an entire business around the people part.)

The Future Isn’t a Place. It’s a Feeling.

We’re not going back.
And that’s okay.

Because if we choose to lead with presence—whether in person or remote…
If we prioritize connection—no matter the tool or title…
If we remember that people will always need people…

Then we haven’t lost our way.

We’ve just found a new one.

John

¹ McKinsey & Company. (2021). The Great Acceleration.
² Lieberman, M. D. (2013). Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect. Crown Publishing.
³ Pinker, S. (2017). The secret to living longer may be your social life. TED Talk.