Since working remotely became the emergency norm in the early days of the pandemic, workers have shown that they can maintain, and even increase, their productivity at work from their own homes.

But it looks like that newly rediscovered work/life balance may be coming to an end, at least on the federal level, as a bill requiring federal workers to return to the office has recently cleared the House. I personally feel that it’s only the first step before private companies and other employers will follow suit and require their employees to return to the office, especially with the recent news that Zoom will be laying off 15% of its workforce.

But it doesn’t mean that the fight to keep hybrid and remote work is over. The implementation of remote work has given workers a new lease on life and, even greater, the closest to that work/life balance they keep on dreaming about, without having to be stuck in traffic early in the morning while sleep-deprived or sacrifice time with their families; without having to dress up in their best business attire, and able to multitask during conference calls (i.e. fold laundry, prep dinner to feed a baby; I’ve had seen people on conference calls in their car while picking up their wine at curbside pickup).

But those aren’t the only benefits disappearing should people be ordered back to the office. The most important thing that is not being discussed that will disappear with remote work is public safety, especially if you are committing in a major metropolitan area such as Washington D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia (also called the DMV area).

The DMV area has some of the worst traffic in the country, and we’re not talking about gas prices and inflation. In D.C. alone, there were 40 traffic fatalities in 2021 as restrictions were lifted–including kids who hadn’t even started first grade–making it the deadliest year driving on D.C. roads in 14 years. Across all three DMV areas, nearly 300 people were killed in auto-related accidents, a 6% jump from 2020 and a 12% increase from 2019. Experts believe the rise is due to many different factors, including speeding, more anti-social driving behavior, distracted driving, and decreased seat belt use (the rising levels of drug and alcohol abuse over the past few pandemic years do not help either).

To make matters worse, crime is also on a ridiculous climb throughout the country, but the rate in D.C. makes it one of the most violent cities in the country. Despite a drop in violent crime in 2022, D.C. still averages over 200 murders a year.

And, to make matters worse, the rising violent crime hast has access to your public transportation.

The Potomac Avenue Metro Station in Southeast D.C. experienced a mass shooting in early February, where the assailant got off a bus after an argument with another passenger, followed that other passenger into the metro station and began firing, killing a Metro employee and injuring three others. Another incident allegedly involved gangs and a popular shopping mall, when Noah Settles, aka No Savage, and a group he was with confronted members of a rival gang and fired a gun three times at Tysons Corner Center Mall, allegedly part of a long history of bad blood between the 37th Street and Simple City gangs in the district.

I am not laying these stats and facts before you as a scare tactic–odds are that you already knew–nor am I saying that you will never be not in a dangerous situation; we take that risk every time we step out of bed (also, let’s not forget the violence at grocery stores in recent memory, specifically in Buffalo and El Paso).

I’m just saying that it is merely another very important reason–another argument–to not completely dismiss hybrid or remote work options. It’s an opportunity I was never offered, yet I will defend it for others as long as the business model permits it (it’s hard to work remotely as a cashier or merchandiser for a brick-and-mortar department store which, by the way, is considered one of the more difficult and dangerous industries to work).

Whether you like it or not, the pandemic changed everything, including how we do business. Whether you as a manager or employer like it or not, implementing remote or hybrid work into your company has been nothing short of a godsend that continues to show that your workers can be just as productive–or even more productive–working from their home office. In doing so, they have been able to significantly reduce their chances of being in a serious car accident, struck by a drunk driver or shot by a stray bullet at the train station. As a result, they love working for you.

Because safety and staying alive increase productivity.