Google Worker Commutes by Plane in California

A California sales employee maintains residences in two cities to accommodate her weekly hybrid work schedule.

Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Remote Work

Bold vector editorial illustration showing a stylized passenger jet flying over coastal fog, representing the hybrid work commute. — A Google sales employee maintains a weekly commute between Los Angeles and San Francisco to meet hybrid return-to-office requirements. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Would you endure an extreme weekly commute to keep your job and stay in your city?

Google sales employee Angelique Khieu commutes 540 kilometers between Los Angeles and San Francisco to meet her three-day weekly office requirement. The 26-year-old maintains residences in both cities to balance her personal life and career.

Why it matters

Her situation highlights the lengths some employees go to maintain hybrid work arrangements while balancing professional opportunities and personal roots. The commute reflects an ongoing tension between return-to-office mandates and the desire for geographical flexibility.

The 26-year-old employee takes between 6 and 10 flights per month to cover the 540-kilometer distance between her two residences. A standard flight duration is 90 minutes, though disruptions have previously forced a 7-hour drive.

The players

Angelique Khieu

Angelique Khieu is a Google sales employee who manages a hybrid work schedule by living in two different California cities.

Google

Google is a major multinational technology company that requires its sales staff to work from the office three days per week.

The details

Angelique Khieu travels from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area by boarding a 6 a.m. flight, eventually reaching her office by 8:30 a.m. using public transit. Her routine gained attention after a video documenting the weekly travel reached 700,000 views on TikTok.

2023: Khieu graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
January 2026: Khieu joined Google.
First half of 2026: She made the commute almost every week.

Market Landscape

This commute exemplifies the extremes of the post-pandemic return-to-office mandate trend as companies pull back on fully remote work. It highlights a widening gap between corporate hybrid policies and the increasingly mobile expectations of the modern workforce.

For employees facing hybrid mandates, this routine demonstrates the significant logistical and financial commitments required to maintain multiple residences. It underscores the potential for high-intensity travel costs when balancing job requirements with regional lifestyle preferences.

The takeaway

Maintaining two homes to satisfy hybrid office requirements is an unconventional strategy that underscores the persistence of return-to-office policies. Employees should carefully weigh the long-term cost and stress of extreme commuting against the flexibility of hybrid work models.