Work from office

I'm probably in the minority of people who prefer commuting to work. As an introvert, I thought I was gonna really enjoy working from home during the early days of the pandemic. But within the first few weeks I realised how important social contact is. 

These days I come across so many articles about how people are resisting going back to the workplace, especially in the software industry. I'll admit I would also probably have been in that group if I had friends or family here. But living alone and not having any friends for social interaction has now given me first hand experience of what having no social contact feels like. And I believe this experience has helped me become a better person. 

For months, I was stuck in my small studio apartment with the only interaction with others being short official meetings with my colleagues, staring at a screen of profile pictures. The boundary between work and life ceased to exist and my productivity suffered too. Things got a little bit better as people understood the challenges of remote work and started introducing virtual social events, but honestly they are no match for meeting face to face.

I've been going to work the last few months and it's been great even though many continue to work remotely. I doubt we'll ever go back to how things were, but it's gonna be very interesting to see how a hybrid work environment is gonna evolve over the coming years.