- After working remotely for years, Elysa Ellis started working from the office five days a week.
- Ellis shared some of the steps she's taken to ease the transition.
- She asked for modified working hours, changed some routines, and started planning more.
After 14 years of working remotely, Elysa Ellis is returning to the office.
"It was the right time, right place," Ellis, a marketing professional, told Business Insider.
Ellis, 43, started a new role in January that requires her to work from the office five days a week. While she lives about a mile away from her employer, she was hesitant to give up the flexibility remote work provided, especially as a mother of two elementary school-age children.
As many employers, including behemoths like Amazon and JPMorgan Chase, call staff back to the office five days a week, workers have been reshaping their lives and routines to adjust. Despite these changes, working from the office can have professional and social benefits, and some people have found ways to ease the transition from remote to in-person work.
Ask for an alternative schedule
Since 2010, Ellis has worked primarily from her home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and alternated between salaried and contract work.
Last November, on the same day one of her long-term contracts ended, she saw a job posting for a marketing director role at House of Shine, a local nonprofit organization. Ellis thought the role seemed like a good fit, and that even though it wouldn't be a step up in pay, it would be more stable than the contract-based consulting work she'd been relying on.
During the first interview for the role, Ellis made a request: Work hours from 9-to-3, rather than 9-to-5. Ellis said it's important for her to be able to pick up her two children from school around 3 p.m. and spend time with them until her husband Rory, who works remotely, finishes work around 5 p.m.
"It was a unique ask, but my children are young, so I knew that me stepping into an in-office role would impact them a lot," she said, adding, "I felt like I had nothing to lose."
By the time Ellis was offered the job, her request had been granted. She could work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — aside from the occasional evening event — and still be paid her full salary.
"I was told, 'We're not going to track your hours. We just need you to get your work done,'" Ellis said.
Adjusting lunch routines
While her modified working hours and short commute to work have helped Ellis adapt to her new working arrangement, she's still adjusting to other aspects.
For one, Ellis has to find care for her kids on the weekdays they're off from school. She said this is more challenging when the days off are unexpected, like when one of her kids gets sick. But she said either her husband or mother, who lives in the area, is typically able to step up.
"Having two backup adults is a privilege that not many have," she said.
When Ellis worked remotely as a consultant, she said she often scheduled work-related lunches and grabbed food at the coffee shops or cafés she worked from. She said she has less reason to eat out now, so she's started preparing food she can bring to the office.
"We are making food in larger quantities to have lunches for the next day," she said, adding that she's also ordered some ready-made lunches from the meal delivery service Hungryroot.
Building in time to get ready
Ellis also had to get used to a new morning routine. When she worked remotely and didn't have meetings, Ellis said she often wore yoga pants. Now, she spends time every morning getting dressed in business casual attire along with doing her hair and makeup.
"I'm big on planning as much ahead as possible to make daily decisions easier," she said, adding that she plans her outfits for the coming week on the weekend.
While she does her hair and makeup, Ellis listens to one of her favorite podcasts.
"I opt for something inspirational to set the tone for my day," she said.
Overall, Ellis said she's surprised by how much she's enjoyed working from the office. She said she thinks in-person meetings are more productive than video calls and that face-to-face communication with colleagues has been valuable.
"I really enjoy that aspect of the community of people because you're seeing them every day," she said.
Have you transitioned from remote to in-person work or vice versa? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
