How can I say I prefer in-office work over WFH without disclosing why?

Post date: 2022-01-24 16:46:22

I prefer working in an office 1000x more than working from home. I recently started a new job at a company where we can work from the office, and I do - but everyone else on my team chooses to WFH. My new boss doesn't care where I work, but expressed mild curiosity when he learned that I have been going to the office regularly. How can I say that I prefer the office without causing doubts about the quality of my work if/when I would need to WFH?

The TLDR is that I am MUCH more productive, focused, and happy in an office. I've had issues with anxiety and focus while working from home, in part because I can't "turn off" my attention around the apartment/things that need to be done, and in part because I live in an high cost of living area so my spouse and I have to be on top of each other while simultaneously on Zoom calls. Also, people! I like being around people!

I made the mistake of sharing my frank thoughts about WFH with a previous employer at the start of the pandemic, when we all thought that we could just shelter in place for a few weeks to "flatten the curve" and.... the employer went permanently remote a few months later. This damaged my reputation at work since I had basically said "I am not as productive when I work from home" while many of my colleagues were the opposite, raving about their incredible increased productivity and how much they didn't miss seeing coworkers in person. (I work in tech.)

If my new boss brings up again his mild curiosity about why I am choosing to work from the office instead of at home, I want to say something light that explains why I'm doing it that's not "I'm more productive in the office" or "I am not a zillionaire so can't afford extra rooms in my home that I can devote solely to my employer". I don't want to put the idea in his head that I might be less productive if there was another shutdown and I had to WFH - or if the company goes fully remote. Any ideas? When I'm on Zoom I use a Zoom background so it's not obvious where I'm working from - this is just a request for a breezy one-liner explanation of why I might want to be in the office.

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