(2025-11-12) Barnett Wfh Is Not For Me

Olivia Barnett: WFH Is Not For Me! I had only been working at my first job out of college for about six months before Covid-19 hit. So nearly the entirety of my professional career has been post-Covid and therefore remote-first. Typically, I do not like working from home. Even in college, I don’t think I used my dorm room desk one time. I also avoided the dark, airless libraries of my college. I opted instead for the warmth and liveliness of coffee shops.

Working from Gemini’s office was incredible.

I loved going into the office. I loved the routine of commuting into work. I loved the office coffee. I loved seeing the few regulars who also detested working from home. I loved having a lunch break and finding a meal out in Flatiron.

And I realized while getting my first real dose of in office work culture that those who are claiming company culture can exist in a remote-first company are mistaken

Starting your career in a remote-first world is a handicap.

Remote work makes everything explicit and scheduled, when so much growth depends on what’s implicit.

someone well makes you better at your job — it makes you care more. Forced culture is unbearable, but when connections happen organically, when you find people you can laugh with, work becomes more meaningful.

Lately, I’ve been reminded of all this as Blaine and I have been café-hopping while we code. The few times we’ve stayed home to work, that same claustrophobic feeling creeps over me. I need the brightness of the outdoors, the casual human interactions, the ritual of ordering coffee as we settle in. (ambient interestingness)