PHOTO BY RICHARD COOK

The new year arrived in Pittsburgh with something we haven’t seen in a while: Snow.

While it seemed we were buried under 18 inches throughout the whole 1990s (anyone who’s still holding onto an “I Survived the Blizzard of ’93” T-shirt, you really oughta wear it more) a series of mild winters, heavily influenced by a changing climate, have left us relatively unglazed in recent years. Five of the last eight years have seen snow totals below the historic average; the ’22-’23 slush season was the second-driest in history, with a mere 17.6 inches dusting the city.

The only particularly snowy session in recent memory was the winter of ’20-’21, during which a significant percentage of us were inside anyway. Those of us fortunate enough to have jobs that can be performed remotely had become pretty good at WFH by then; we had learned how to deftly complete our daily tasks, respond to email and be available to our teams, all without ever putting on pants.

High on the list of lessons imparted by those years: If you have a job where you can work from home, you should be capable of doing so pretty much any time.

Yet last Friday, I saw two things that suggested otherwise: First, drivers on the roads, even from early in the frosty morning, second, a slate of comments on every conceivable social network, all along the lines of: “How are the roads?”

“They say that snow is coming and that we got two inches already but my cousin just called from Irwin and said that he got around fine, although his car does well in the snow, I’m just trying to figure out if I should call the office or …”

You should call the office. In fact, the office should’ve told you sometime earlier this week not to bother coming in.

There are, of course, many of us who don’t have the privilege of a job that can be handled with a computer and a cell phone. Medical workers, folks in the service industry, delivery drivers and plenty besides do not have the luxury of rolling out of bed, throwing on a bathrobe and logging on.

And to keep such workers safe, those of us who can work from home during winter weather should stay the hell off the roads.

Icy and otherwise low-visibility conditions are, to state the obvious, hazardous. They’re less so if the roads aren’t crowded. And that poor overnight nurse on the way to the E.R. shouldn’t be swerving around your 2014 Hyundai Elantra to get to the hospital because you (or your boss) decided it’s essential that you answer emails from an office building rather than your dining room.

There are plenty of philosophical arguments in favor of doing more work in a hybrid manner (at home when it’s just us typing away, together when it’s time for collaboration) but snow isn’t a philosophical issue. It’s one of public safety. There is simply no reason why anyone should travel to do a job that requires no movement if conditions are poor.

If you are able to work from home, don’t ask what the roads are like or wait to see how conditions change; tell your supervisor that your driveway is covered and you’re not coming in today. Even if you could theoretically make it: What, are they gonna drive out and check? Grab your laptop and get to work without leaving your bed.

And if you work in an office where your employer insists that you come in under hazardous conditions: Begin looking for another job. We worked from home for years; we can certainly do it when things get icy. If your boss doesn’t get that, they don’t deserve the privilege of your service.