U.S. workers grapple with new stresses as they return to office

I can also add that the lightning in offices really strain your eyes and in combination with staring at your PC all day, it can cause vision impairment. I prefer getting the natural light from my own window at home and occasionally going out to stretch under the sunlight.

As usual ignorance is bliss, when workers were convinced they needed to be at their desks because everybody "knew" productivity would drop otherwise they still had stress and troubles but at least they believed it was a necessary evil.

Then comes remote working and a lot of people realized the lie, they were happier, healthier and more productive than ever, quickly realizing their previous situation had no meaning.

Now they are told to go back to the old days, using the same excuses as before. Obviously this is not going to work because people now know it can be better, it should be better.

We have zero intention of ever fully returning to the office. We closed one down during covid, and scaled the other back in size. It cut our overhead significantly, and was part of our strategy to be able to pay our staff through covid without dropping salaries.

The era of work from home is over. Even with hybrid arrangements, unless you want to give up the potential for promotions or risk to be the first batch to be let go in layoffs, you would have to make it to office daily anyways. As soon as the next recession hits, I fully expect many of those hybrid options to go away

The era of work from home is over. 

Not in our company.

When you work from home, you don't get any pay to cover the ever increasing cost of Electricity used by your Computers/Screens/Lights/AirCon... which bites into your Salary - more-so if you are a paid by the hour-worked Contractor. Contracting Companies as far as I know, haven't factored that, into contracts yet. For Permanent Employees - your Salary is higher, so the impact is less obvious.

We enacted the policy of paying what our employees used to claim for commuting, as part of their salary to cover electricity at home, and their internet costs.

The stressfulness of working at home is heavily dependent upon neighbours (loudness), comfort (aircon) and family/kids/elderly relatives/callers (disruptiveness). Stress in the workplace may have more to do with difficulties interacting with people in hierarchies and personal insecurities (appearance, confidence). The latter are often fixable - you can't get rid of your kids or neighbours.

Americans may have more space/insulation between themselves and their neighbours/family, and aircon. With no aircon and often loud noise from surrounding properties, there are plenty of times when I cannot concentrate on work and go and do something else for an hour. If I absolutely have to do something, I wear ear protectors. In the summer, Zoom isn't an option. The UK has no residential air con and I work at home on my PC in my underwear, the sweat dripping off me. Luckily (for everyone) I communicate via e-mail.

I can understand people being uncomfortable in the 'workspace' pictured. It's not anyone's comfort zone, is it? A bizarre mix of path lab chic and museum display - you are reality TV to all those passing. You could also be underground. There is no indication of whether it is day or night. Is there a plant or a window anywhere in the building? I can't be the only person who sees dystopian minimalism as creepy.