Microsoft founder Bill Gates who famously predicted that an epidemic could occur is now making new predictions about the return to work and travel.
“My prediction would be that over 50% of business travel and over 30% of days in the office will go away,” Gates said.
The type of business travel where it’s important to fly somewhere to physically sit in front of someone else to discuss something in person won’t be the “gold standard” anymore, Gates said. He predicts most companies will have a “very high threshold” for doing those types of business trips.
When it comes to working from home, “some companies will be extreme on one end or the other,” Gates said, likely alluding to companies like Twitter, who have said their employees may work remotely forever, from anywhere.
Gates did reveal one downside of virtual meetings versus in-person events: the inability to meet new people. He told Sorkin that he hasn’t made new friends this year because he never meets people at random.
“More could be done on the software side to allow for serendipitous run-ins after meetings,” Gates said.