White House asks Cabinet agencies to 'aggressively execute' return to in-person work

[meadowlander]

38. Some people like going in to work. They chose their job with their eyes open

knowing that going in to work was part of the deal. Most people have a choice to do something else if they don't like that deal and weigh it up against different salaries, more education time and cost, having to move, having to do something unpleasant or massively stressful, etc.

I've worked at home full time for about three years and the majority of people I work with still choose to go in to the office some or most of the time because they like it. They like the social elements of it, they like getting out of the house, they don't have space to work at home comfortably, they find it easier to stay focused around other people doing a similar job, they're bucking for a promotion and want to network, etc.

People become doctors and nurses and paramedics and firefighters and HR bods and customer service reps because they like people and enjoy being around them. More power to them. They chose those jobs knowing that they couldn't be done from home.

For me, working in an open plan office was literal torture. So yes, I spent 30 years working my ass off with the primary objective of getting a job that would pay enough for me to live independently and be able to work from home. I gave up basically any social life for 20 years and the ability to buy a house or car before I was 40 and the chance to have kids because that was my priority in life.

I don't think my WFH office job makes me superior to anyone else, but neither do I think the work and sacrifice I put into getting it should be ignored in the name of "well if this college kid manning the front desk or this guy making widgets has to come in, I guess everyone has to come in, even if the job doesn't actually require it, or it's not fair".

I worked in a factory making ski poles to pay part of my way through college. It was fine. I enjoyed it. But I wanted to work from home more. So I made a choice to bust my ass for 30 years to put myself in a position so that I could. And there is no reason on earth why anyone else in the same position with the same priorities couldn't do the same thing if they wanted to instead of complaining about how unfair and demoralising it is.