Back To Work

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about the current debate on whether we should all start going back to the office or not. And in this strip I literally debate myself, because I do see both sides of the issue.

All joking aside, if you ask me — which nobody will — I think what people want is freedom. They want to be treated with respect and given the ability to make their own decisions about how to be successful at work. For some people, that may mean 5 days a week in the office. For others, 1. Or zero. Of course, that is a very difficult thing for a large organization to achieve. Big groups thrive on order and routine, so it’s unlikely there will be a lot of “do whatever you want.”

But I think frame 7 of the strip really nails it — no matter what, you still won’t be happy.

Essential

This new Dustinland comic is about the people keeping our society functioning right now… or better yet, it’s about how it feels to not be one of them. I mean, in terms of the complexity of the way our economy works, everyone is “necessary” in the sense that all these parts keep the money moving, keep tax dollars flowing… basically us “unessential” white collar workers do help pay the essential workers. But it still feels weird working from home and having some person making minimum wage bring food to my house like a servant. I’m grateful of course. I have a great life. These are just weird times that make certain things about our civilization hit home.