Workers Can’t Wait to Return, but Delta Variant Upends Plans

He caught Covid, too, but recently tested negative and returned to work, and his children are back at school and day care. But he expects additional quarantines.

“It feels like we’re never going to get out of this,” Mr. Orona said. “For people who are working, both parents, it’s totally unsustainable.”

In Toronto, Alethea Bakogeorge is counting the days until she can return to her job at a musical theater company. Working from home, she said, has “eroded the boundaries between work space and home space,” even causing her to occasionally skip meals to avoid spending more time in the kitchen, which doubles as her office.

Ms. Bakogeorge, 25, has cerebral palsy, a condition that causes chronic pain. Her daily walking commutes to the office, she said, provided a form of mild exercise that helped her cope.

“I didn’t realize how much of an impact that had on my physical health as a disabled person, and how much I missed it when it was no longer there,” she said.

But the spike in coronavirus cases has dashed her hopes of a summer return.

“In May, I thought we might be trending in a direction where I could go back to the office,” she said. “Now, with the Delta variant being what it is, I think it is far less realistic for me to hope for a return to the office anytime in the near future.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/business/workers-eager-office-return.html