ArcaMax

The worm has turned.

Companies large and small are looking for workers, and workers, large and small, are looking for reasons to return to the daily grind.

It's a situation we haven't experienced in a while -- the demand for employees to work in our restaurants, hotels, factories and offices exceeds the supply. No wonder our corporate ...Read more

If you are reading this column because you believe there is no better way to spend three precious minutes of your life, I want to thank you. If you're not reading this column because you believe it is far better to spend three precious minutes of your life hitting your big toe with a hammer, I want to thank you, as well.

Obviously, I think ...Read more

You're leaving your fortress of solitude and going back to the office. Wonderful! Soon you'll be seeing your co-workers again. And they'll be seeing you.

That might not be so wonderful.

Your post-pandemic body may not be what it was, but let's face the facts: It never really was what it was. And besides, in the highly evolved environment ...Read more

The ability to travel back in time may be a long way off.

Until Elon Musk figures it out, you can pretty much enjoy the same "Back to the Future" experience by simply going back to your office.

But do make sure to wear your seat belt.

Walking past the dead ficus in the reception area and sitting down at your dusty desk can be a mind-bending...Read more

Interested in a job at Google? Like the idea of a ginormous salary, hot and cold running stock options, and a free-for-all, all-you-can-eat cafeteria that would put a Smorgy Bob's to shame?

Well, count me out.

There was a time when such emollients would attract me, but those days are over.

It isn't me who has changed. It's Google.

Or so I ...Read more

It's time to face the music.

The elevator music, that is, which will soon be ringing in your ears as you climb on board for a fast trip back to reality.

That's right.

In the near future, you may be required to leave the cushy cave that has been your workplace during the really-not-so-bad nightmare of exclusively working from home. And ...Read more

Tim Herrera must have had a lot of great bosses.

In "Managing Up: How to Deal With a Bad Boss During Quarantine," his latest column for The New York Times, Herrera asks if you remember "when you could clear up an ambiguously curt email from your boss with a stroll by her desk? Or when the anxiety of getting a dreaded 'We need to chat' Slack ...Read more

"Hyper-social mammals."

That's how professor Dacher Keltner describes human beings.

While Keltner might feel differently if he spent time with people from your company's IT department, it won't be easy to bring the mammals together again in the zoo that is your office.

Which brings us to "Need to Dust Off Your Social Skills?" This recent ...Read more

Told you so! I told you that the moment there was good news on COVID-19, your managers would celebrate by demanding that you get your cute little butt back to the office.

It isn't that they feel verklempt at the idea of sending your paycheck to a beach hut on Bora Bora. It's just that your managers like you so very much they want to see your ...Read more

What is your dream job? For me, it's a job in which I get paid for dreaming.

Sad to say, professional sleepers are not in demand these days, or any days, for that matter. The good news is that you can get paid for sleeping if you do it in secret and in small doses. Best of all, if you do get caught, you can tell your boss -- and yourself -- ...Read more

Do you yearn for office life?

Do you miss co-workers whose only goal in life is to pester you from morning to night?

If so, you are part of the 73% of knowledge workers who "want to divide their week between home and office working after the pandemic."

So says Nigel Davies, the author of "5 Ways to Support Hybrid Working In The Future ...Read more