Ok so I'll share my personal anecdote. I was of the opinion that I wanted to go back to work. I was tired of the remote work, feeling trapped in my apartment. My office wasn't calling us back till at least July, so I had to figure out a solution -- this was affecting my mental health!
So I signed up for wework.
Initially it was great, the change in scenery and socializing was a welcome change. However I quickly got very exhausted. My wework was down the street, yet I was getting exhausted on a daily basis.
I cancelled my membership and now I am working from home and much happier than before. I think we underestimate how hard it will be readjust from no commute/mental simulation from the environment to full blown pre pandemic lifestyle.
Yes I think it was a cumulation of these things. (I am adding more points as I become aware of it. I never really considered why I stopped going, but I knew that I would never go back to wework).
1) Having to wear a mask for 8 hours a day. I couldn't breathe properly. Also, generally poorer ventilation compared to my apartment -- I sit beside a window.
2) Couldn't freely engage in meetings -- especially the technical ones. I was the only engineer there and I could feel how flabbergasted people were of what I was saying.
3) Constant dread of hunger; at home I always had snacks, fridge nearby, but at wework I had to either responsibly pack the lunch/snacks or routinely go out the convenience store.
4) Exhaustion from the environment stimulus. What I mean is, my mind is always subconsciously scanning the room (cleaning lady, elevators, telephone ring, coworker A-Z). At the end of each day I was mentally tired which led me to skip my gym workouts. Now that I'm back home, I have been back to regularly hitting the gym.
5) No large screen monitor; context switching for screen real estate is also exhausting.
Overall I think my experience at my employer could be different since point 2, 3, 5 would be mute.
So I signed up for wework.
Initially it was great, the change in scenery and socializing was a welcome change. However I quickly got very exhausted. My wework was down the street, yet I was getting exhausted on a daily basis.
I cancelled my membership and now I am working from home and much happier than before. I think we underestimate how hard it will be readjust from no commute/mental simulation from the environment to full blown pre pandemic lifestyle.