Back to the office

Sir, – I refer to the prescient piece in today's Irish Times by Ellen McKenna ("The office is not for everyone, but it's essential for society", Commercial Property, February 17th).

It was most enlightening to read, first hand and from a recent graduate, the tangible value of spending at least some of one’s working time in a physical office, and, even more importantly, the significant risk of not doing so. When we strive to reduce or even eliminate our office time, we should keep in mind the potential debilitating effect this reduced office time may have on the burgeoning careers of young professionals. It’s been difficult enough for this group already without compounding the disadvantage by diminishing the critical (and probably not fully understood) on-the-job learning that the rest of us took for granted in our early career formation. Employers, if it is at all within their capability, have a particular responsibility to prevent this from happening. Yours, etc,

CONOR MOONEY,

Paris.