alt Hacker NewsI've been "work from home" since 2012, mainly because the projects I worked on were actually in overseas cities.
Before COVID, I would go on work trips of 1-2 weeks every 2 months or so, which was more than enough "office time" to get my doses of office chatter, noisy work environments, stupid in-person meetings etc.
Even before the lockdowns (Melbourne had the longest in the world), I made it part of my routine to go outside every day to get coffee/lunch/sit-in-the-park/walk/talk to people.
It's important to have that human contact, but it's better that I get to choose who to have that contact with and when and how. There are numerous friends from my work that I also see out of work, but there are a great majority that I have no interest in being with in person or outside the work context.
I feel this is the perfect mix. Aside from a short stint at a company that didnt believe in allowing employees to work remotely in 2020 (don't ask), I have been fully remote since 2019. I love being remote, love being able to take my son to school and pick him up, etc. I do, however, cherish the two times a year I travel into the corporate office and work in person with my teammates. I wish I had the option to go into the office, not required, just a choice.