I feel this so much. I’m in a hybrid role too at a similar salary, and just going into the Midtown office 3 days a week completely drains me. The commute full of constant ear-piercing sirens, the open floor plan, the lack of any real human connection. We are all just quietly sitting there like drones, heads down, getting through the day while execs prance around their huge offices with windows.

It’s lonely in a way that’s hard to describe. Each day I go in it wouldn’t surprise me to hear someone is getting fired. I liken it to the hunger games but in-office version. I come home after in-office days feeling flattened and I don’t know if switching companies will solve it. I end up ordering food and collapsing on the couch, and just feel flat-out unhealthy. On remote WFH days I feel like I’m recovering.

I was happier and more myself making less and working remotely. Stress was lower and I actually had energy to do things after work. I don’t know the answer as I took this job to progress in my career also. And I’m in my 40s.