Same, I built my own private office and I don't have to deal with traffic to get to it, or deal with constant interrupts because other people have decided they're not working so I shouldn't either. My productivity is through the roof since going fully remote 6 years ago.
I’ve been fully remote since before the pandemic, and I have a dedicated home office, but a private office space would help me at least consider spending some of my time in the office. Being away from the responsibilities of home can help with focus. Wouldn’t consider a mandatory or full-time return to office, though.
I've never had to work in an actual cube farm or open concept (the one time I was technically in a cube farm was when I was one of five people in a farm built for 50+) but a private office is nice in ways you just can't really articulate.
We had a nice setup for awhile that was a central meeting/conference/open area, with offices all around it, each of which had a large window looking at the meeting area. You could close a curtain if you really needed to, but otherwise it was sound-proof; people could easily see if you were available but you could work privately, make calls, etc.
I'd be willing to consider commuting for something like that again in the right job.
I wouldn't mind working remote if my commute is walkable. I purposely live in Boston to have access to the T, but many companies in Boston are opening up offices in Seaport which is the most awkward place to get to using public transit.
The issue is that most offices (especially the bio/chemistry ones) are at the far end, also the silver line blows; unless your office is less than a one mile radius (even then depending on the street it can be painful) it's just a bad time.
