The future of work is here … and it's a mess — I write at some length here this morning with our Eleanor Mueller on the scramble on Wall Street and across white collar America to figure out when and how employees should return to their offices and get to back to something roughly resembling normal. It's the lead of our new Recovery Lab project highlighting policy challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and possible solutions (though in thise case no one really has the answer.) From the piece: "Sarah, a young analyst at one of the biggest investment banks in the world, is back in her lower Manhattan office about three days a week now, mostly clocking the kind of long hours typically required of the junior Wall Street set. "She's got free breakfast in the morning, a comped gym membership and can expense a car ride home at night if she doesn't feel like hopping on her bike and pedaling back to Chelsea, all new perks dangled by her bosses to lure employees back to headquarters in the late Covid era. But the tug of remote work remains. … And Sarah doesn't want to revert to the way things were. Sarah's experience is playing out across the white-collar working world as the biggest, fastest and most head-spinning disruption in American working life in generations rambles toward some kind of return to normality. The trouble is that almost no one -- workers or bosses -- has any real idea what normal means now. "It's all over the place," said Ed Egee, who handles workforce development for the National Retail Federation. Remote work is "definitely going to change the workplace. But I don't think I know, and I don't think [employers] know, exactly how yet." Powell in trouble? — From Robert Kuttner in The American Prospect on Fed Chair Jerome Powell: "As a Republican, he partly bulletproofs Biden against the charge of being soft on inflation, and serves as an administration olive branch to Republicans in Congress. But Powell has been dismal on the Fed's other job—financial regulation. My sources say the decision hasn't been made yet, but Biden is likely to name a new Fed chair." Real talk — Kuttner has nailed some econ staffing stuff before so it would be unwise to dismiss his reporting, even if dumping Powell and spooking markets would seem an odd thing for Biden to do given how perma-dovish the central bank chair is these days (see below.) And Biden could allay fears on the left by just getting rid of Fed fin reg chief Randy Quarles and keeping Powell. But there are clearly battle lines being drawn inside the administration and the Fed Chair slot could turn into an ugly fight. That would be rough on markets especially if it drags on into the fall. The White House would be wise to either telegraph that Powell is staying or make it clear sooner than later that he will be replaced. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING — Email me on bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @ morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver on aweaver@politico.com and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver. | 
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