I hope this trend is here to stay, I cannot even imagine of going to an office in a daily basis anymore
Also I've only once had a commute longer than 20 minutes and it was such a burden (even though I carpooled) I gave that up after less than a year.
You're not alone.
The internet likes to talk about remote work as the only acceptable arrangement, but that's mostly because it's biased toward people who like socializing via internet comment sections.
The number of people who actually like going to the office (either part or full time) is far higher than you'd expect from reading Reddit and Hacker News.
I think most people like an office setting. Even remote work proponents like myself enjoy the office every now and then.
The problem is really two things.
1.) The commute is brutal. If you live in any decent sized city and have a family, it's likely that you are far enough away from the office that you have to drive 30+ minutes in pretty horrendous traffic. That's not only lost time that you could be spending with your family, or even doing work, but it's mentally exhausting. No one is refreshed in the office after a shitty commute.
2.) Often offices turn political. The dynamics of in person work can cause many issues that just don't happen when you work remote. Remote work, when done correctly, is mostly about contribution and output. In an office, low performers can outshine high performers simply by being present and seeming busy. Remote work mostly fixes this.
This is fundamentally a problem with urban design, not with in-office work.
- don't like to commute
- don't like to live in the city where the office is
- don't want to pay insane rents to live in a studio
Personally, I quite like the office and really miss socializing but it's a tradeoff and I chose full remote.
Bingo. There is relationship building and other interactions that are simply not possible in any other way that I have found. I go in 3 days most weeks, and that makes a huge difference in lifestyle and flexibility. Since I work in robotics, 100% remote is never going to be a thing for me. Zoom meeting and software days, remote. Wrench days, in the lab. Works for me.
Where you live is a choice, there's nothing lucky about it.
I'm more likely to try and get a $15/hr job with benefits here locally than haul my family back to the bay area.