I quit my job at the start of 2020 to relocate. Shit hit the fan around that time of course, so when I found a new role, it turned out to be – luckily – fully remote.
I worked there for 2 years. Simultaneously, due to very low micromanagement and plenty of “free time,” I developed my preexisting side gig which became more of a side business.
Got screwed over during a round of redundancies about 6 months back. But by this point, my side business was enough of an income to just dive into it full time.
Well, recently I decided to find another job. Being at home 24/7 after already doing that for 2 years was driving me a bit nuts. Also, the economy is so bad right now that I could use a second salary to reach my goal of owning a home sooner. I thought some social time might be good for me.
I took a role that insisted on several days office a week. Short commute. How bad could that be? I quit on day five. Something felt inherently wrong. Just being there felt like being stood in a dark forest, alone, at midnight, with no light. I can’t explain it; everything in my body was urging me to run. So I did.
I’m going to focus on purely remote roles as a secondary means of income, and get outside more for fresh air, but I’m curious whether anyone else has noticed this effect? I know most of us don’t WANT to be in an office, but have you noticed that WFH has inherently broken the brainwashing of office culture to the point that we can’t tolerate it anymore? I used to be in the office five days a week pre-pandemic and would’ve felt like I’d won the lottery if my manager gave me a single, one-off WFH day. Now, I can’t manage a single week in the office.