When you’re a passenger in a car with someone who drives just a bit too fast, do you prefer to sit in the back seat or front seat?

The control freak in me usually feels a wee bit more in control when I’m in the front seat. It gives me the sense that maybe, just maybe I’ll spot an accident about to happen, and can inform the driver in time to respond.

In reality, I know that I’m completely out of control whether I’m in the front seat, where I can see, or in the back seat, where I can’t.

This sense of control I feel by sitting in the front passenger seat is the same sense of control that many managers are grasping for when they try to get everyone back in the office. While there can be many legitimate reasons for some to work from an office, this isn’t one of them.

They feel more in control when they can see what you’re doing. In reality, they don’t have any control. And the ones who recognize this are happy to sit in the back seat, or let you work remotely.

Don’t work for control freaks.

(Also, don’t drive too fast.)