I thought I was done talking about this, but in my mind, I keep coming back to this topic.
If you read anything about “reasons to return to the office” and think “I don’t need any of this”, then please consider one more thing: Have you thought about “the long game” (eg, career-path, salary).
Have you ever heard of “being in the right place at the right time”? It might be hard to imagine what kind of fantastic career-building opportunities will just fall-out-of-a-ceiling-tile at work, into your waiting arms, but I’d chalk some of this up to corporate culture (so ymmv).
I can tell you from experience, many CEOs, VPs, owners, etc. like to meet & get-to-know employees. You might sometimes see them walking around, striking-up a conversation with random ordinary folks at their company. The informality and arbitrary nature of these encounters is refreshing. It seems especially genuine and personal. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it is a unique opportunity for you to make an impression on the big-guy.
Don’t just think about the CEO. Opportunity can come from many directions. In my career and in my life, I’ve been surprised by folks who have reached-out with job or business opportunities. I’m talking about folks who I haven’t seen for years, after I moved-on at another job. I somehow left them with a good impression, and they told their boss, or they are the boss now, or started their own company, etc. Years later I’m surprised and grateful that I sowed those seeds. I wasn’t expecting this harvest, but it is good.
I’m not guaranteeing this will happen to you too, but I can almost guarantee it won’t happen while you are working from home.
Aah, the pain of being an elitist 