Don’t blame the wrinklies for those empty office desks

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a deskbound diaspora of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here.Today’s Agenda Workers (of all ages) of [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a deskbound diaspora of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Workers (of all ages) of the world, unite! [You have nothing to lose but your chains commute](. - It’s time to dismantle the connections [between farm produce and gas tanks](. - Ukraine needs [a Marshall Plan]( — and fast. - Italian bond yields are [doing that thing they do]( (again). I Owe, I Owe, So Off to Work I Go The pandemic helped my personal retirement planning. It seems that one pair of Ugg sheepskin slippers worn around the house all day, every day, lasts for approximately one year before the interiors are so worn through that stepping on a plastic mouse discarded by one of the Beastie Girls (aka my cats Bollinger and Purdey) becomes painful. That’s useful knowledge for when I permanently stop going to the office. For now, I’m among the ranks of workers adjusting to a hybrid arrangement of time at the dining room table and days in the workplace — an option that appeals to a wider demographic than was previously supposed. As lockdowns forced employees to work from home, [a false picture was painted](: “The narrative was that remote-working was a grind for younger workers stuck in cramped apartments and bliss for their seniors living it up in airy home offices,” says Chris Hughes. The data, though, suggests that spending five days a week in the office is an unappealing prospect for all age groups. While those in their 20s would start job-hunting if their bosses banned working from home, more of the over-50s say they’d quit even without alternative employment. For sure, there’ll be less transfer of knowledge and skills between generations whenever desks are unoccupied. But the time and money saved by not having to commute remains a powerful incentive. “The tightness of the labor market and the need to attract up-and-coming talent will continue to force most large firms to offer the option of at least some remote working,” Chris argues. Biofuels Aren’t the Solution to the Climate Emergency Twenty years ago, the world’s best option for replacing internal combustion engines powered by dirty diesel and ghastly gasoline seemed to be plant-based derivatives. While technology has intervened, with electric vehicles offering a cleaner transportation alternative, government-imposed mandates mean [biofuel still consumes far too much of the world’s farm output]( at a time when food prices are surging, says David Fickling. Governments need to rethink their policies. “An industry that always had questionable advantages is now starting to be an impediment to cleaner modes of transport,” David argues. “Worse, the pressure it’s putting on the planet’s limited farmland is hampering our ability to feed the world’s poorest. It’s time to start dismantling the pipeline connecting farms to gas tanks before it does any more harm.” Rebuilding Ukraine Can’t Wait for Peace A running tally compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics estimates that Ukraine has lost $105 billion of key infrastructure as a result of Russia’s invasion. While the current priority is military and humanitarian aid for the nation, it’s not too early for Ukraine’s allies to start debating [how to rebuild the war-stricken country](, argues Therese Raphael. While post-conflict reconstruction efforts often fail, Ukraine’s status as a democracy with a strong civil society should help it avoid the internal conflict that has often dogged such attempts — provided planning starts now. “Rebuilding Ukraine will be slow, expensive and fraught with risks,” Therese writes. “But the alternative is unthinkable. And the longer the war drags on, the higher the costs will be.” Telltale Charts The European Central Bank was more hawkish than traders expected this week, with its latest inflation projections all but guaranteeing that its official interest rate will be raised by 25 basis points next month and a further half-point in September, putting the deposit rate into positive territory by the end of the third quarter for the first time in eight years. What really spooked the bond market was [the lack of an explicit plan to safeguard peripheral countries]( from rising debt costs, argues John Authers. “The risk that the euro zone fragments is once again, in the minds of investors, one that needs to be taken seriously,” he wrote. Further Reading US taxpayers got [a terrible return on their investment](in Corinthian Colleges Inc. — Michelle Leder Iran has overplayed a weak hand in its [nuclear negotiations](. — Bobby Ghosh Think China cares about investors? [Think again.]( — Shuli Ren [Carvana copycat Cazoo]( claws yet more hedge funds. — Chris Bryant ICYMI Amazon plans to abandon $7.7 billion bid for [the right to stream Indian Premier League cricket matches](. Millennials are [more likely to quit their jobs]( than Gen Z, according to bosses.  The [billion-dollar crypto game]( that promised riches but delivered ruin. Russia’s former McDonald’s chain [plans to reopen with a new logo](based on a burger and fries (although IMHO it seems to be relying a little heavily on the “would you like LARGE fries with that?” shtick). Kickers NASA is setting up a team to investigate UFOs [Unidentified Aerial Phenomena](. Texan who raps about robbing ATMs is arrested for, errr, [robbing ATMs.]( Wave goodbye to the rest of your day: [How many penguins can you save](from the royal tyrant? Notes: Please send cute flightless birds and complaints to Mark Gilbert at magilbert@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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