'Hours of my life I'm never going to get back': As offices reopen, workers resist bringing back the commute

When Wendy White, 57, quit her job in March, a key reason was her company's insistence employees return to the office in the midst of a pandemic.

White, the single mother of an 11-year-old son, had no child care options and was fearful of taking public transportation while COVID-19 was spreading. Now she is considering two job offers, one that would allow her to continue working remotely with occasional travel, and another in New York City, less than twenty-five miles from her Madison, New Jersey home. 

"The commute plays so heavily into my decision,'' says White, adding she will probably take the remote position. "The job in New York would probably be easier, but I don’t want to have to commute four hours a day ... I've commuted in and out of Manhattan for the better part of 30 years, so I'm just kind of done.''