The Workers Quietly Backtracking on Return-to-Office

After years of resisting, some workers are back at their desks. The secret? They don’t hate it. Plus, why young workers are live-quitting on TikTok.

Why some workers are changing their tunes about office work

Soon after graduating from university in 2021, Jessica Bryan landed a fully remote job handling customer service at a tech company. She absolutely loved working from home. “I could work for a bit, then walk the dog or meet a friend for coffee, then continue working after,” she says. “I had this great office space in my house, too. As soon as I had finished work, I had the ability to fully relax.”

Then, as Covid-19 restrictions eased, Bryan’s bosses asked her to spend more and more time in the office. It was her first experience of a full-time, in-person environment. “I was back in an almost-school routine … and I didn't like it,” says the 24-year-old, based in the UK.

In February 2022, she left the company, determined to stick only with roles that afforded her the flexibility and freedom of working remotely. She landed a remote role soon thereafter, but the job ended abruptly in August 2022, when the company unexpectedly dissolved. Bryan is now in a new position at a digital PR firm as a senior copywriter – but she’s required to spend two to three days a week in the office. A few months in, she’s surprised by how much she’s enjoying it – even after digging in her heels against returning.

“It creeped up on me how much I liked being in the office,” she says. “In the mornings, I'd be looking forward to seeing my colleagues and having a nice chat.” Bryan missed the camaraderie in a way she never would’ve predicted only a few months ago. “That social interaction and feel of being part of a collective is something I think people forget when they’ve not had it for ages.”

Bryan is one of a growing group of workers who have quietly changed their minds about returning to their desks, at least a little. They’re rediscovering the unexpected perks of being back in the office, from catching up with colleagues face-to-face, to finding themselves able to draw clearer boundaries between work and home.

And while many are willing to tell their bosses they’re glad to be back, some have taken the decision to keep those feelings quiet – they don’t want to encourage management to take away flexible-work arrangements.

Read more from Megan Tatum on the workers happily returning to their desks.

Why young workers are live-quitting on TikTok

Even years into the Great Resignation, workers continue to leave their jobs in droves. While plenty of employees are still sending off official resignation emails to bosses, younger workers are increasingly taking a different tack: live quitting.

TikTok is awash with users sharing real-time footage of the moment they told their bosses ‘I quit’. Sometimes tense, often funny and nearly always compelling, these short video clips are attracting thousands – sometimes millions – of views on the social media platform.

Read more from Megan Tatum on what’s driving the trend.

Why workplace drinking culture is fading fast

Prosecco to toast a project wrap-up, cocktails at the Christmas party, an ‘al desko’ beer to end the week, payday drinks.

Alcohol has long been a staple of workplace culture. In some industries, post-shift pints to unwind are par for the course; in others, drinking is woven into the fabric of the work itself, with client relationships built over boozy lunches and dinners. And yet, while the pandemic destabilised workplace social culture as we knew it, alcohol didn’t disappear. In many cases, especially early in the pandemic, pub happy hours simply moved to Zoom.

Yet, as central as drinking is to workplace socialisation and strategy, there are signs that some companies are re-thinking the role of alcohol in professional settings.

Read more from Megan Carnegie on how drinking in the workplace is changing.

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–Meredith Turits, Editor, BBC Worklife