There are a lot of news articles about “back to the office”, but they recirculate the same bad ideas. Let’s provide some new ideas for the media to circulate. It may also have the effect of making the office less terrible.
I would like my work computer to do Windows updates lightning quick in the office. It currently takes weeks, in or out of the office. Stopping in for a day makes no difference, so there is no point. Now, if there was a point, I would go in.
What would get you in the office?
An office I can walk to. I might even prefer that to a home office, because I find it hard to get away from work when it is always looking at me at home, even in my spare time.
An office where I have a say in how it is furnished and how it looks, together with my colleagues of course. Natural light, being able to sit or stand at my desk. “Please do not disturb” signs that people respect when I want to concentrate on my work. A place that is built to reduce noise, and that allows me to have it as cold or warm, light or dark, as I need it to be that day.
A place where I can eat and drink when I need to, and a place where I can lie down for a moment when it helps me recover from a difficult task.
Basically, make my workplace a place to live, because work is life, not a separate thing, and you go home to start living.