Great piece.

There's a part of me that agrees with the work remote growth. It could be it's the part in me that hated getting up at dawn, showering, dragged myself into a thankless place of toil day in and day out...What's to like?

At the same time it is absolutely true that at least in service intensive businesses, say a large hotel, employees present is an absolute must. Yes even in the hotel business there may be some exceptions, say perhaps the reservation department. But hotel remoters' then miss out on the day to day spirit/culture building so vital to a hotel trying to offer true hospitality. It's as if at home workers aren't even a part of the hotel company. Out of sight of mind. It's easy to imagine too that working at home almost of necessity means daddy or mommy are going to be doing a hell of a lot more than concentrate on their work. IE: changing diapers, picking up the nine year old from school, repairs. All good stuff to be sure but is it being done on company time? How much you want to bet?

No doubt remoters will be around and will continue to grow. I can think how staying at home at the computer might translate into mass savings in a companies physical overhead costs: less lighting, less A/C, less cafeteria production, less furniture inventory, etc.

Really depends on the type of industry.