I've worked from home full time since a couple of years before the pandemic, when my company decided to save some money by closing our office, so I've been doing it a while. I have gone to the office a handful of times at my current job, mostly for events (and for a few weeks while I was in between projects).

I only did that because I knew it was a temporary situation though, and even then I didn't go in as many days a week as they wanted, they wanted 4 days per week when in between projects and I only went in 2-3 days a week. Keep in mind I had a ~3 hour round trip commute by bus each day I went in, or I spent at least $20 on parking and drove almost as long.

I'm actually going to a client's office for two days this week, and paying $45 in parking to do so (and will be on the road at around 6am to try to make sure I get there by 8am). But this will be the first time I've been there since last June.

Here's what it would take for me to go into the office more than once in a while:

1. Super close commute, with free parking. 10-15 minutes max.

There was a time when I did 40+ minute commutes five days a week, but I won't do that anymore (unless I absolutely have no other choice).

2. Need to, in writing preferably, allow full flexibility in when I go to the office.

No X days a week mandates (which is looking like the vast majority of companies are doing now). I might have tried to get a full-time job at my current client (and probably would have been hired) if not for their 3 day a week in office mandate.

I'd like to feel free to not go in for a few weeks if I don't feel like it, but come in when I need a break from the house and lack of social interaction.

3. When I do go in the office, not to have an expectation that I'm in there for a solid 8 hours each day, especially if I'm not busy.

That three weeks I went to the office semi-regularly? I was practically spinning in my chair from boredom that last two hours, watching the time crawl ever so slowly to when it was time to leave. I even left a bit early to catch the bus home, so it wasn't even a full 8 hours then. I had stuff I could work on, but I could no longer concentrate on it.

At home I could step away for a bit, pop on a Youtube video to distract my mind for 5-10 minutes, or put switch the laundry, do a few dishes, lift the kettlebell at my desk, let the dogs outside, etc. But there's only so much coffee or restroom breaks I can take, and even those are super boring.

4. If we ever have another proper pandemic again, you better let me be 100% remote.

I'm starting to think some companies wouldn't be willing to do that again next time, that they're tired of the concessions and just want compliance.

If I lived close and you only expected me to show up in the morning and head back home at lunchtime (and go back to work at home), I might even be willing to head in to the office 2-3 days a week on a regular basis, just for the change of scenery and a bit more socialization.

But I'm not seeing workplaces offer that, and most jobs that I'd even be interested in aren't all that close of a commute to me, so I'm a little hesitant to start looking for a new job again.

By the way, if you promise full flexibility in an interview and on the job you say "well actually, we need you to come in X days a week" I will just not show up. You can fire me if you want. I'll probably already be looking for my next job. And/or start figuring out the freelancing thing again, since that's increasingly looking like the only way I'm going to make sure I have the flexibility I want.

BTW, it sickens me that corporations are pushing so hard to have so just about everyone return back to the office when it was shown how well it can work for a lot of people.

From an environmental standpoint alone it's a disaster. Also a much higher number of people have shown that they have a clear preference for it than there are jobs out there that support it nowadays, as evidenced by the swarms of applications that get sent to remote jobs, and much much less to in-person (and the bait-and-switch tactics that recruiters feel they have to use about remote work in order to get people to agree to interviews.