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The pandemic moved a lot of jobs remote, but this isn’t the way of work for everyone. Is a return to the office something you need?

There are plenty of people who love working from home. I also know a lot of people who hate it. They want to get back into the office, even though their workplace doesn’t have an office building any more. This is leading to some people looking for a new place to work.

Your work may have an office space. Not everyone in the workplace wants to use it, but it’s there for you if you do. You’re starting to think that a return to the office is the way to go. Is it right for you? It could be the best move you make in the new year.

You aren’t productive working from home

You can be honest with yourself here. Working from home* isn’t for everyone. There are so many distractions.

It didn’t help that in the past, a lot of people viewed working from home as a chance to sit and watch TV all day and work from the couch. I remember a lot of people telling me that it was okay me being at home while I worked. I didn’t need child care, I could do the housework, or I could just sleep when I wanted.

That’s not the way working from home works! People forgot the “work” part of the term.

Now that more people are working from home, they get it. That doesn’t mean that the distractions aren’t there. If you find the distractions too much, you may find a return to the office a better move for you in the new year.

You miss the office place banter

One of the things that I do miss about working in an office is chatting with my colleagues. I miss the banter that we had. It’s not enough to make me want to work for someone else, but I can understand why people say they want to head back to the office. They want that banter back.

Of course, you still need to get on with work. If the banter was stopping you from working, you’ll find that returning to the office isn’t a good idea. But if it was a good way to break up your day, then it could be something to consider.

However, you’ll want to look at how many people work in the office. It’s no good going back for the banter if you’re the only person in the office.

You want to save money with a return to the office

While you’ve saved money on gas and lunches, you’re spending money elsewhere when you work from home. You need to spend money on electricity bills to get the computer going, and you’ll have other costs around the house that you may have overlooked. In fact, you could end up spending more on groceries as you may snack more with your fridge so close.

So, you could find that a return to the office* helps you save some money. Look at the costs you had when going to work and the costs that you have now. There’s nothing wrong with saying that you want a change in the new year.

You want to leave work in the office

A major reason to return to the office is to leave work there. Many of the people I know who hate working from home hate that their work is so close to them. It’s too easy to turn the computer back on after dinner and get through a few more reports.

It can be hard to get a work-life balance. This is something that you can do, but it takes time and effort to gain. And if you have a workplace that doesn’t quite respect your time away from the job, then you could find it much harder to manage.

So, you need to find a way to split your work and your home life apart*. Returning to the office could be the best way to do that.

You just want to return to the office

There’s nothing wrong with saying that you just prefer to work away from the home. A lot of people do for a variety of reasons.

In fact, you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone. If you want to work from an office, go for it! If you want to work from home, go for it! You only have to make yourself happy.

MORE: 3 tips to organize the office when working from home

Do you want to return to the office? Is this something you’re thinking of doing in the new year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.