It has been over a year since I left Manila to work from Cebu, which is my hometown, given everyone is working from home anyway. As offices are already planning to implement their return-to-office plans, I wanted to “test the waters” by “flying through the skies” and doing a “dry run” of how it is to be back in the capital for work.

It was a two-week trip that turned into three weeks – intended to help me figure out if I am ready to go back, or if I really wanted to stay longer in Cebu. See, returning to office is a bit more complicated if your “real home” isn’t within driving distance from the office. It’s a renewal of a life decision that was made when the world was a bit more different than it is now. The past two years have proven that some work can indeed be done remotely, and while we recognize the need to physically connect and meet our teammates to keep the teamwork and culture alive, do we really need to see each other on a weekly basis? And from a personal point-of-view, does the benefit of that outweigh the cost of moving your life back to the city?

Everyone has these questions. And it’s difficult to answer. There was only one way to find out if I still wanted to go back, and that was to actually go back and try working from the office. Those three weeks made me realize how foreign my old life before the pandemic now feels – but at the same time, how much I missed it!

My realizations

In the end, my issue is not about working from home or returning to the office, rather, it’s about being able to continue working from Cebu, or returning back to Manila.

Like any important decision making process, I had to make a list of pros and cons to help me decide.

	Pros	Cons
Work from Cebu	1) Living with family, people who will keep you afloat when you’re sinking 2) Save up money on rent, food and transportation 3) Save up time (no traffic, can sleep longer) 4) Life is generally easier, more peace of mind 5) Able to meet up with friends I grew up with (and mahjong sessions!)	1) Living with family is also an additional responsibility (especially when they tend to depend on you for everything) 2) Working from home the entire time does get tiring because you’re working alone 3) You tend to miss the interaction with office friends and colleagues (i.e., the coffee/ranting sessions, karaoke night-outs) 4) The temptation of the bed is stronger; easier to be complacent
Work from Manila	1) Can visit the office and meet up with friends and colleagues any time 2) More freedom in living alone 3) Sense of accomplishment working in a nice office and dressing up for work 4) I feel more productive when I’m in an environment that inspires me to work harder	1) Expensive. I’m already paying for my house in Cebu, and I need to pay for rent here. 2) I eat out more, and food is significantly more expensive vs. in Cebu 3) Stressful. Just going to the office takes a lot of patience (booking Grab car, traffic) 4) It can get lonely sometimes, which is not good for my mental health if coupled with stress and anxiety

It’s not an exhaustive list but these are the ones at the top of my head right now. And to be honest, I’m still 50:50 if I have to just choose one over the other. The best solution would be if companies would meet their employees half-way, whatever that means (and I mean companies should be the one to figure this out).

What I’m sure of though is that I’m ready to go back if we really need to be back already. And then we’ll see where it goes from there. I would just need to find ways to save money (wish me luck on this), and manage my stress in a healthier way (wish me more luck on this). I’m sure that I will miss Cebu so I’ll make the most of my remaining time here. I have saved up a lot of memories that will hopefully last me a year, until I get to visit again.

It feels like the world is recovering but at the same time, it doesn’t feel right for it to return to the way it was. Another virus or calamity could come and we need to be set-up for it by learning from the past two years.

How do you feel about returning to office? Let me know in the comments below!