A worker quitting a 6-figure job so she won't have to return to the office full time says she's a victim of her bosses' productivity paranoia: 'I don't need to be in an office to do my work'

• Felicia, 53, is leaving her job after being asked to work in person five days a week.
• For over a year she worked three days at home and two in her office — a perfect balance for her.
• But she'd rather find a job that pays less than keep going in for five days.

Felicia isn't sold on returning to the office.

After getting called back five days a week, she's leaving her job altogether. She'd rather forgo a six-figure salary than be in the office every day.

"I know how to do my job. I don't need to be in an office to do my work," she told Insider. "I just knew I didn't want to go back to what it felt like before."

Felicia is a 53-year-old administrator in Arizona. Insider verified her last name, employment, and salary, but she asked that they be withheld to protect her privacy.

As firms tighten their belts, the era of fully remote work may be ending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently said it found that nearly 73% of companies offered little to no telework in September, a big leap from 60% in 2021. Major companies — including those that have done layoffs — are mandating that workers come back in. For some workers, the choice has been between coming back or getting fired.

But Felicia is seeing herself out. For a year and a half, her office had a hybrid model: three days at home, two days in the office. She described it as the perfect work-life balance.

"I found that I got a lot more work done when I was working the hybrid days," she said, referring to her days spent at home. She added that in the office there were so many "distractions and interruptions" that she couldn't keep up with her workload. "I was going home and working four hours because I couldn't get the work done," she said.

But just a month or so into having to work fully in person, Felicia turned in her notice of resignation. She said she liked being able to quietly focus while working virtually and then flipping the switch and seeing coworkers in person on in-office days. Now watercooler gossip has returned in full force, and she feels like she's seeing less of her team.

She realized while sitting in traffic one day that it was time to go. "Just sitting there and thinking, oh my goodness, that feeling of I have a meeting coming up yet I'm stuck in this," she said. "And it's like, why am I doing this to myself when it's not even necessary?"

As they focus on efficiency and belt-tightening, managers want to see evidence that their employees are working

Even after years of remote work, some managers are disproportionately worried that their remote employees aren't working, a phenomenon known as "productivity paranoia."

Felicia said the perception among managers at her company was that hybrid employees weren't working. "I heard a lot, 'Oh, you guys were only working two days per week and off for three,'" she said. "And it's like, no, that is not true. We got most of our work done when we were working the three at home."

She said several other people she knows at her workplace have left for more-remote or hybrid jobs, adding that their appearance of freedom made her miss the balance she had and inspired her departure.

"I just got to the point where it just wasn't working for me," she said. "And I walked away from over a $100,000-per-year salary to seek positions that have hybrid options so that I can have that work-life balance."

Felicia said she's looking for roles that would offer her similar flexibility, even if they pay less than what she makes now.

"The payoff is the driving and the traffic and the stress of being on the road five days per week versus being able to do the very same work and more from the convenience of the hybrid option," she said.

Felicia said she thinks that more inflexible return-to-office mandates could harm productivity and lead to an exodus — especially among workers who are satisfied with their jobs but don't want to work in an office.

"You're going to end up losing them anyway," she said.

Are you leaving your job over return-to-office mandates or contemplating it? Contact this reporter at [email protected].