I’ve already voluntarily started going to the office. My company does not require it, nor does it gain me any particular favors with the company for doing so - either in-office, full remote or anything in-between is allowed.

I’ve decided to do so because, frankly, our office is out of the world. The amount of free shit I get there on a daily basis straight up rules. The office staff puts on frequent events which I enjoy attending, I get to meet and interact with other people in person as opposed to sitting around in my apartment all day, I’m in the city near all the good food options. There’s a whole lot of perks to going in to the office for me, and not a whole lot of negatives.

Some negatives and my reasoning around them:

• I have to wake up a bit earlier in order to get ready for work. This does indeed suck a bit.
• I spend more on food buying lunch from restaurants in the city as opposed to eating leftovers. I see this a bit as a plus, as I get to experience great food made by professionals every day.
• I have to spend some money on transporting myself to the office. It’s not a whole lot - public transportation is excellent where I live - but I’ve mitigated this further by commuting by bicycle, which affords me some quality exercise on the commute, and some great podcast listening time.
• My less flexible schedule affords me less good opportunities for strength exercise. I’m still working on fixing this problem, but right now the bicycle gives me what I consider to be more than enough exercise, all in all.

All in all, I’m happy with my choice. I spent a lot of time working remote during the pandemic, and weighed the upsides and downsides, and going to the office came out on top in the end. I understand that this is not for everyone, and I think everyone that wants to work remotely should get to keep doing so. Hopefully others afford me the same respect in my choice!