In recent news, Amazon is having most of their employees come back to the office five days a week beginning in January 2025 – no longer endorsing a hybrid work model. I took a job that requires me to work in the office five days a week about a year ago after working a series of work-from-home jobs both during COVID and pre-COVID. I still find myself longing for a hybrid or work from home position. Here are my reasons:

1. I actually get more work done with less distractions. I close my door the door to my office, and I work. No one is walking in distracting throughout the day. The drama is less.
2. My home office is more aesthetic. Let me paint a picture of the office I go to each day – four of us share a room, each with our own half cubicle. We do have windows, but they do not open, and I face the white wall anyways. There are piles of boxes of papers that needs to be scanned in every corner. The four of us can never agree on a temperature. Don’t get me wrong, I have not invested thousands of dollars to make my home office the most visually appealing room in the house, but it has pictures that I picked out, furniture that I choose for both comfort and looks, and it has windows that actually open. Do you know how much more enjoyable work can be when there is a cool fall breeze blowing through the window?!
3. I eat healthier. I rush out the door every morning, mostly forgetting my own lunch after packing my kid’s lunch. When I am at home, I can make a proper, healthy lunch and I have access to a full kitchen versus the ancient microwave in the office.
4. I workout more. When I am home, I have an extra 30 minutes in the morning to workout, or I can jump on the Peloton or take a walk during my lunch break. Right now, I struggle to wake up half an hour earlier to fit a workout in, and I am exhausted by the time I get home from the office and driving my kids around to various activities. Having that extra commute time back in my day is glorious.
5. I can throw in a load of laundry on my lunch break, which frees up my weekends doing laundry after it has piled up all week.
6. I feel like I can be here for my family more, as I am in the house in the mornings before they go to school and at the house when they arrive back home. It is easier for me to run them to and from after school activities as I do not have to commute home first. I am ready to go as soon as work is over.

While I understand that some people may take advantage of working from home by getting less work done or milking the clock… what about those who truly work better at home? What about those whose lives are better working from home? What about those that are happier working at home?