The woman says that returning to the office has not made her more productive

• Joy-Ann returned to work in August for the first time in four years.
• She said working in person has benefits, such as work-life balance and socializing with colleagues.
• She doesn’t think that made her more productive, though.

When Joy-Ann started her position as a sales leader at a digital marketing company in 2022, her role was completely removed.

The 32-year-old, who asked Business Insider to omit her last name for privacy reasons, worked in an office until 2020, when much of the workforce was sent home amid the pandemic.

For the past four years, she has worked from home in New Jersey, even after changing jobs to her current role.

But in August, her New York company began requiring employees to work in the office four days a week.

“I knew it was coming,” Joy-Ann told BI. “I’ve already mentally prepared myself for this.”

Joy-Ann’s office’s mandate is not unusual, as more and more companies end their distance-friendly policies by the day. In September, Amazon announced it would require its employees to return to the office five days a week starting in January, joining the ranks of other companies such as JPMorgan, Apple and Disney. Remote work won’t disappear entirely, but experts previously told BI that it could be relegated to an advantage when companies recruit new talent.

As of October, Joy-Ann has been in the office for just over a month, commuting an hour and a half to and from work each day. She told BI that she really liked going back to a more traditional work environment, but it didn’t make her a more productive employee.

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Joy-Ann said she liked the “flexibility” working from home gave her to run errands at lunch and create her own routine. Still, she was pleasantly surprised by the benefits of office work.

For example, she said that returning to the office made her feel less tied to the office.

“I found myself glued to my computer for hours,” she said. “I felt like I had to be constantly available and involved.”

Joy-Ann said she felt guilty if she actually used the flexibility telecommuting offered, constantly checking her phone if she ran an errand in the middle of the day.

Because she works in an office, Joy-Ann said she finds it easier to step away from her desk.

She also likes to pick out outfits for work because she is a fashionista. Plus, her job provides free lunch, so she doesn’t have to spend as much time preparing meals.

At a time when companies need to build employee loyalty, Joy-Ann said she appreciates that her workplace has made coming to the office appealing.

Socializing with colleagues has been another benefit of returning to the office, as it allows Joy-Ann to have “real face time” with her team.

“This kind of interaction is refreshing compared to virtual dating,” she said. “There’s an organic energy that comes with seeing people in person.”

This personal connection can benefit people’s careers, as Hannes Schwandt, associate professor of Human Development and Social Policy, previously told BI. He said the networking opportunities younger employees can do in the office are among the biggest benefits of working in-person, and those who work completely remotely may miss out on career-building moments.

For Joy-Ann, those potential networking moments also make her time at work happier.

“I smile more,” she said.

It has yet to see an increase in productivity

Despite the benefits, Joy-Ann told BI that working at a desk hasn’t made her more productive at work — at least not yet.

“I don’t think my productivity has increased at all,” Joy-Ann said.

The sales leader said her long commute actually lengthens her work day. He usually tries to avoid taking the train during peak hours and is up working until 7pm most nights after he gets home.

“With the commute, it takes time away from the work you’d be doing at home,” Joy-Ann said.

She also said that while she enjoys socializing with her colleagues, meetings – which are already a strain on many people’s work calendars – can sometimes take longer because she and her colleagues speak more freely than when they worked from distance.

But Joy-Ann doesn’t think it’s a bad thing that working in an office hasn’t skyrocketed her productivity, as her work days feel “more balanced”.

“I can go between dates,” she said. “Even if I’m just going to the different meeting rooms, that’s good, especially for my sanity and clarity, which I wasn’t doing as much at home. straight hours.”

For now, Joy-Ann is trying to focus on the positives as much as she can.

“It’s up to you to figure out how you’re going to deal with it and how you’re going to benefit from it,” she said.