So, the first week is done. For the first time in about five years, I am no longer a remote or hybrid worker. I am now a full-time, Monday-to-Friday, in-the-office employee. It's a strange feeling, like putting on a pair of shoes you haven't worn in a very long time.
My previous job was also at a product company, but the culture was completely different. We had a hybrid model that only required us to be in the office two days a week. To be honest, I usually just went in for two afternoons, and that was perfectly fine. The HR team was friendly and incredibly easy-going, as long as the work got done, there was a deep sense of trust and flexibility. It was a system that worked for me.
This new company is different. It's a product company as well, but my first impressions are that it lacks some of the proper working processes and management I was used to. Things feel a bit more chaotic. To be fair, the people on my immediate team are friendly and welcoming, which is a huge plus. But when I look around at other teams in the open-plan office, I see a lot of faces that look like they're working under immense pressure. I'm not sure if that's the eventual fate for my team as we get deeper into projects, but for now, I'll just have to wait and see.
The biggest adjustment, honestly, has been the feeling of productivity, or the lack of it. I used to think I was easily distracted at home, but I'm finding the constant hum of an office, the movements, the ambient chatter, to be far more disruptive to deep focus.
And it's not just the ambient noise. There's the physical setup itself. Over the last five years, I've curated a home office that's perfectly tailored to my workflow and comfort. I'm talking about my triple-monitor setup that lets me see everything at once, the good speakers for focus music, the expensive mechanical keyboard that just feels right to type on, and a proper ergonomic chair that has saved my back more times than I can count. It's a space that's truly mine. In contrast, the office provides a single monitor, and a generic chair. It's a functional setup, sure, but it feels like a significant downgrade, a direct hit to both comfort and productivity. It's hard to get into the same state of flow when your tools and your environment feel alien.
And then there's the commute. The traffic in this country is, to put it mildly, horrible. That time spent navigating the gridlock, whether on my own scooter, the back of a Grab bike, or occasionally in a Grab car, feels like a complete waste. It's not just the time lost, it's the energy. By the time I get home, I'm exhausted. In my old routine, the evenings were my time. I'd have the energy to dive into personal projects, do some research, play some games, or work on a bit of game modding. Now? Now I just want to find my bed and sleep. The creative and curious parts of my brain feel like they've been drained by the time the workday is truly over.
I get it, "back to the office" is the big corporate trend of 2025. I even saw a CNBC article talking about how the push is stronger than ever. The irony, though, is that my job is still global. My daily work requires online meetings with people in different countries and time zones. The colleagues sitting near me in the office aren't on my team, we're essentially strangers working on entirely different things. So, I commute through all that chaos just to sit at a desk and put on a headset for a video call, just like I would have at home.
I'm trying not to be too negative about it. This new chapter is a reset for me, a new job, a new domain, and a new way of working after a long time. It's a chance to shake up the routine. Exhausting? Yes. But there's also something adventurous about stepping into a completely new environment. For now, I'm just taking it one day at a time, waiting to see what's next for me on this path. Let's see how it goes.
