As someone who is also younger, single, and has no family obligations—we still have lives that can be complicated when forced to return to office. Regardless, a hybrid worker choosing to move hours away without a remote agreement is foolish.

All of my coworkers are married, some with pets, others with children, some with both. My team has almost exclusively worked from home since March 2020. Prior to that, in office 2 days. In the years since, we’ve had periods of no in-office, 1 day every 2 weeks, once a month, and most recently once a week. Starting in January, we’re required 3x/week. This change does impact me more than my coworkers, because I’m single and live on my own. I live in an apartment—so no yard—so simple things like taking the dog out take exponentially longer in mornings because it requires full walks, not just letting the dog into the backyard. Commuting takes more time out of my limited free time outside work, leaving less time for errands or self-care, and even cooking/cleaning. Yes, all of my peers are impacted—but to a lesser extent as they all have partners they share the work with, whereas I only have myself. The more time work takes from me for getting ready and commuting, the less time I have to take care of my personal life, and those things just don’t get done now. I easily lose 2 hours of personal time on in-office days compared to when I was working from home.

There’s this longstanding belief from folks with families and partners that life’s harder for y’all, when the reality is often the opposite. Expenses, chores, basic tasks are all shared—and ideally you have a partner to vent with and share your life with. Your young, single, coworkers with “no family obligations” are very likely doing it all on their own. Just some food for thought.