Going into the office 5 days a week!

[Honeybunnny]

Hi

Im REALLY struggling with a good job offer which would probably kick start my career as it requires me to be fully office based. The office is a 2 minute drive so will have practically 0 commute but I have worked hybrid for a few years and I just love it. It changed my life so much and I am so much more relaxed at home, and more productive in general. It was a game changer for me.

The thought of returning to an office 5 days a week makes me feel queasy and I just can't shake it off.

It would be a shame to turn down the role purely because I can't bear to be in an office, they do not offer hybrid at all.

Any thoughts or has anyone gone from remote to office work?

Thank you

I love working from home, but I would suck up going to the office full time if it was only a 2 minute commute and was going to benefit my career. For me, the commute (50 mins for me) is the worst part as it feels like such a waste of time and money.

If being in an office full time will make you that unhappy then give it a miss.

Slightly off topic but are you really considering doing a 2 minute drive rather than a 15 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride??

I couldn’t face going into the office 5 days a week but then I spend 1hr30 commuting a day. I might be able to manage 4 mins though!

Give your head a wobble and take the job. Obviously.

The worst part of office working is the commute. Given you won’t have one, I’d take it. As someone stuck in a full time WFH job for five years, I’d snap someone’s hand off for an office job again.

When you say kickstart your career I presume you're quite young? I've found a few employers do unofficially offer hybrid once you've proven yourself to have a good work ethic.
Take the job - negotiate later down the line, or go for condensed hours, or half a day on Monday/Friday.

I don't think you can tell people what the worst part of an office job is. It vastly differs between individuals.

I currently do 3 days in an office and love my 25 minute bike ride each way!

2-min drive? You mean a 10-min walk, surely.

Hybrid working is a non-negotiable for me. I won’t even look at fully office based roles.

Since it’s only a 2-minute drive/short walk, I’d take it, especially if it will kick start your career. I wouldn’t if it meant a longer commute though.

I’ve also worked somewhere that insisted on 5 days in the office, but after several months my circumstances changed. Once I’d proven myself, my manager offered flexibility, and I ended up working 2–3 days from home.

Sometimes companies don’t offer hybrid upfront, but once you’ve proven yourself and built trust, flexibility becomes an option.

I can't get past wondering why OP drives when she could probably walk or cycle.

i don't like WAH so can't advise on what OP likes about where / how she works otherwise.

I only WFH 1 day a week and that’s likely to end early next year. My options then will be to work in the department that is a 1 hr commute away or try to negotiate working in the department that’s a 15 min walk…. I’m pushing for the latter as clearly one of the main benefits of WFH is no commute. If it’s a very local job with great prospects you may have to suck it up? What’s the alternative?

I think for that sort of commute I might manage it, BUT it would depend heavily on how pleasant the office environment is.

I would only be in the office full time if it was that or unemployment. I’d never choose it now. It shows the culture doesn’t align with me.

Take it, protect your lunch hour and come home most days. The short commute would allow you to do a lot of the WFH perks like sorting laundry before you start, or dropping kids off.

My view is that we're going to see more companies wanting everyone back in anyway and you'll kick yourself if you let this opportunity go, then end up doing 5 office days in your current job.

Also, (again imo) if you're interested in career progression, it is important to be among experienced and senior colleagues on a daily basis and for that, not only do you need to be in regularly, but you need a culture where they are too. It sounds like a great opportunity so close to home.

Yeah I did it from 1/2 days in the office to 5 days. I really don't mind it. I feel more productive in the office and got used to it very quickly.

@Honeybunnny you can't have the penny and the bun. You either push yourself out of your comfort zone to get back to the office and boost your career, or you stick with the comfy option but stall your career. Don't forget that up to 5 years ago the notion of wfh full time was practically unheard of. 5 days in the office is actually the real world!

The shortest commute she'll ever have is bedroom to study/home office surely?

I wouldnt go full time if I had a longer commute. But for a 2 minute drive, yes I would be taking it.
However, I would probably walk it, it can only be 15 minutes and you will get fresh air, time to yourself and excercise in which would make the day in the office less all consuming.
Altetntively it means if you do drive you can be home for lunch.

What is their justification for requiring full time in the office?

If it's valid, then that's fine. If it's some kind of top-down male-centric box-ticking performative nonsense (remembering that hybrid working benefits women more) then the wider company culture may not fit you.

Every single time I hear about a manager wanting people in 5 days a week, it's a middle aged man with a stay at home wife who has benefitted from her labour at home his whole working life, and spares no thought for the women under his management.

If I worked that close to home, I'd be in the office more. However my journey home is almost 2 hours, and it's a 5am wake up so I don't have that length of journey on the way in.

I work from home 4 days a week and actually miss being in the office. I like WFH but find it is very lonely some days, I sometimes don't even speak to anyone. The cats aren't great conversationalists!

Also I struggle to switch off, the laptop is always there set up on my desk. There's no 4pm pack up and finish for the day, leaving work at work.

Okay then. I was just giving my opinion… next time I will be more explicit if it helps you…

I would go for it. For a 2 min commute I would
walk or cycle in! You can give yourself a career kick start and then move to another workplace that offers hybrid in a year or two.

Well it's entirely up to you - sounds though like the perfect opportunity with little to no commute, and a good career move.