An employee recently shared on Reddit how they stopped going to the office — and no one noticed for three months. The post has since gone viral, sparking widespread discussion about the blurred lines between remote and hybrid work.
According to the Reddit user, their company had asked employees to return to the office twice a week. They complied at first, spending hours commuting only to sit alone in a half-empty office and attend Zoom meetings with colleagues who were still working from home. “I realised I was basically commuting to use Slack,” the user wrote.
One day, after a train was delayed, the user decided not to go in — and simply never returned. However, they continued working from home, meeting deadlines and staying active on chats. Three months later, their manager even complimented them for being “really engaged lately”.
Summing up the experience, the user remarked that in today’s world, “presence just means replying fast enough on Teams.”
The post, which gained over 30,000 upvotes, drew hundreds of comments from people sharing similar experiences. One user suggested leaving donuts at the office once a month “to make it obvious you’ve been there.” Another commented that remote work “works best for competent and responsible workers,” while some revealed creative workarounds — such as “badging in” early, then heading home to work remotely with their bosses’ tacit approval.
The story struck a chord online, highlighting how hybrid policies often fail to align with the realities of modern work — where productivity is increasingly measured by output, not presence.
