look, I'm not gonna pretend this was some badass power move. it was messy
my company announced RTO in january. five days a week starting march 1st. not negotiable, not gradual, just "be here or resign." the email had that corporate cheerfulness that makes you want to throw your laptop out a window. "we're so excited to reconnect as a team!"
I've been remote since 2021. four years. moved 2 hours from the office, bought a house with a home office, built my entire life around not commuting. going back wasn't realistic
so I started applying. quietly, terrified someone would notice. clearing my browser history on lunch breaks like a teenager. sent out maybe 60 applications over 6 weeks
got ghosted on most of them. had 4 phone screens that went nowhere. one company offered me hybrid which defeated the whole point. I started panicking around mid-february because march 1 was coming fast
honestly by the last week of february I was ready to just give in and do the commute. told my wife I'd try it for a few months. she looked at me like she already knew I'd be miserable and said nothing
then on february 27th – literally three days before RTO – I got a call from a company I'd applied to 5 weeks earlier and forgotten about. phone screen tuesday. team interview thursday. offer email friday at 4pm
put in my notice the following monday. first day of RTO. my manager looked confused. "I thought you were coming in?" nope
the relief was physical. like my chest unclenched for the first time in two months
new job pays slightly less. commute is zero. I sleep 8 hours again. I don't spend sunday nights dreading monday. worth every penny of the difference