Loud Zoom calls, hogging space, spending a pittance: no wonder laptoppers’ antics irk cafe owners | Emily Watkins

Cafes are cracking down on remote workers - but we can save ourselves by following a few simple rules

Once upon a time, it was socially acceptable to smoke inside, wear those mad, wide ties and pat your secretary on the bottom. Norms change, and that's often for the best. But when it comes to laptops in cafes, falling from favour as owners lose patience with remote workers, I am begging society to reconsider. Don't take my cafe nook - it's the only thing keeping the WFH brigade and lonely freelancers like me sane.

My kitchen table, where I do most of my work, is fine. It's got a window next to it. There's a kettle I can use whenever I like. I can play my own music, make loud phone calls and migrate to the sofa when being upright gets a bit much. But variety is the spice of life, and truly I would lose my mind if those were my only options. Yes, I'm aware of co-working spaces, but they are a) full of awful people and b) I can't afford one. Luckily, the buzz of the outside world, the soothing white noise of life beyond my keyboard's tip-tapping, is only as far away as the nearest cafe - for now.

Emily Watkins is a freelance writer based in London

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