Boston Globe – After scrambling to shut down their offices last March, many top executives told their staffs that normal commutes would probably resume by sometime in September, if not earlier. But Labor Day 2020 eventually turned into New Year’s Day 2021, as the coronavirus surged and return-to-office timelines kept getting extended.

Some of the area’s biggest companies now have June or July circled on their calendars. Many others are talking about Labor Day again. And many aren’t giving any return dates, no matter how tentative, just yet. They’ve been burned before.

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for our return to the office is still hazy.

The uncertainty doesn’t just weigh on commuters and employers. It’s vexing everyone from state policy makers to the cobblers, clothiers, and café owners who make downtown office districts hum. Complicating matters: A newfound embrace of remote work will continue in some form once it is deemed safe to head back.

The uncertainty doesn’t just weigh on commuters and employers. It’s vexing everyone from state policy makers to the cobblers, clothiers, and café owners who make downtown office districts hum. Complicating matters: A newfound embrace of remote work will continue in some form once it is deemed safe to head back.