Early morning, I dreaded driving all the way to downtown San Francisco. After months of no commute, I had to go in to the office (mandatory individually booked time slots and a strict check-in/out process). Dread!

Unexpectedly, this visit turned out to be an affirmation on how far I have come in seeing corporate life realistically and in devising a plan for FIRE.

The office building is modern and used to be filled with faces I miss seeing, and with snacks and drinks (see how COVID19 work-from-home expenses have changed). Outside of the few positives, the office was confining like a “prison” that corporate employees are trained to voluntarily enter. Employees even gloat to family and friends about their office as if it is anything of their own accomplishment (I’ve totally done this and still remember the first time I visited a Google office where a barista makes you a handcrafted caffeinated beverage. For free). Now I realize the hilarity of all this.  

Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for a safe, pleasant, and well-stocked office. That said, not only is it spatially confining (remember that sense of freedom when you step outside and see the sky after all day in the office?), but also confining mentally. Entering this space means you are one “of the team”, conforming in some shape or form to a business practice or a workplace culture whether you like it or not, since if you don’t at least appear agreeable, you will be perceived and labeled as “not a team player”. You have a reporting structure and when (not if) restructures happen, you get a new boss or a new team, your project could get reprioritized, without your input and definitely it is not your decision to make. The list of corporate practices goes on.

With the global pandemic in 2020, office environment and work-from-home (WFH) policies will forever change. Tech companies in Silicon Valley led declaration of permanent WFH options. Employees have also verbalized that many only want to return to the office post-COVID19 part-time. For all the perks and glory that a well-decorated and well-stocked office brought, it is merely a physical manifestation of the corporate life. Since deciding that working a corporate job until the age of 65 is not for me, I will find ways to recreate the positives such as having hallway conversations, lunch or a walk with colleagues, and setting a clear delineation between work and personal life (where work is somewhat contained in that office space). For all other aspects – thanks to going back to the office – I will not miss the office at all.

I am ever more determined to achieving FIRE and living the best life that I can.

For those interested, read this Harvard Business Review article on open office.