It seems like every day there is another story about a restaurant or bar closing and people proclaiming the death of Chicago. Much of this is blamed on people working from home during the pandemic. Many feel that this is a permanent condition and downtowns will become wastelands of deserted high rises , once busy streets lined with towering, empty boxes of glass and steel.
Although companies are seeing cost savings on the horizon resulting from work from home models there are problems associated with it. There is a lack of the positive effects of socialization including the spontaneous collaborations that happen when people work together in the same space. While some functions, such as record keeping and routine interoffice communication, can be preformed adequately at home, the ability to react quickly to an unexpected opportunity or obstacle is hampered when people have to be brought together in Zoom meetings or conference calls rather than being brought together in spur of the moment desk side discussions.
There are human issues as well. Employees that live alone feel isolated. New hires lack mentorship and recognition for the quality of their work. People in small or shared apartments have difficulty creating a space to work efficiently from home. Some I have talked to bemoan the lack of a work/life separation and balance.
It is possible, perhaps even probable, that office occupation will never return to pre-pandemic levels. Chicago's downtown landscape is somewhat unique as it has been redeveloped over the last few decades to include a mix of both residential and commercial spaces. Over the course of it's history Chicago has been forced to reinvent itself several times. It has been burned to the ground, it's once infamous stockyards and meat packing district a thing of the past. Many of the warehouses from that time have been recreated into a art galleries. The riverfront, once pockmarked with parking lots, as seen in the opening credits of the Bob Newhart Show, is now a wall of spectacular late 20th and early 21st century architecture.
There are signs of a more normal life returning. Although performances cannot be held safely yet, our museums, though not back in full force, are reviving. On recent visits to the Art Institute we, even as members, had to wait in virtual lines to experience socially distanced exhibitions of the work of El Greco and Monet.
Some restaurants and small businesses have had to permanently close, however, once the pandemic is under control, once it is behind us, others will open in their place. It will take time but 6 months, even a year or longer, is not long enough to kill the drive of the entrepreneur, or merely someone, as I once did, who decides to pursue a desire. Who, aware of the risks, forges ahead, deciding the risks are worth taking a chance to follow a dream.
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