Expecting a return to office will boost worker productivity is ‘magical thinking,’ says Meta’s former director of remote work

A woman in Bali working from home sitting in garden furniture surrounded by tropical plants (Credit: Martin Puddy—Getty Images)

The “balancing act” of the new age of work was the issue at hand during a panel at Dropbox’s Work In Progress conference—focused on AI, product announcements, and expert keynotes—in New York last week. But the panelists explained it isn’t nearly as fraught or complicated as some bosses make it seem. 

For Annie Dean, a panelist and the global head of Team Anywhere at software firm Atlassian, the most important thing is being realistic and affording people reasonable choices.