I was hired during the pandemic, and I've worked remotely for the past few years. Never went into the office at all. By all accounts, my performance has been excellent. All of my managers say I'm a top performer. But recently, the hammer came down on me, and I'm required to be back in the office a few days a week.
I hate it. My commute is 40 minutes each way in heavy traffic. I don't have an assigned desk so I'm working in a temporary cube next to the restrooms. The guy sitting next to me taps his foot all day, and it shakes the floor under me, my desk, and monitor which is infuriating. The office politics are so much more apparent and I can't avoid it now. The stupidest thing is I'm much less productive — not just because of the distractions, but also because I'm more exhausted day to day.
I've talked to my manager about wanting to be remote but she DGAF and says that her hands are tied. A bunch of my direct teammates don't come into the office, so why do I need to? I'm currently planning my exit.