As companies start reopening offices, and perhaps give employees a choice as to whether to return, both companies and employees should consider that without a shared physical space, we will lose a kind of relationship we're rarely aware of, and that barely has a word to describe it. Somewhere between strangers and friends, these are people with whom we share moments of chats and check-ins. It's easy to dismiss them as superficial. But the relationships we develop with such workplace acquaintances are much more important to our sense of connection and community than many of us realize.
— The Wall Street Journal
