Oof, yeah I’ve seen buildings like that. In NYC in the Lower East Side inside some of the older buildings you walk up one flight of stairs then walk the hallway across the length of the building to the other flight of stairs. That sort of setup feels so much worse vs just toughing it out up a column of stairs.
I’ve been fully onsite basically the whole time, including during the pandemic, for me it’s been fine. Gets me out of my tiny studio apartment and keeps my work life at work. Also free A/C / heating at work.
The commute is also part of that decision making - for me the commute is a long walk outside to/from work every day. All that walking around outside sort of levels me out mentally & gets rid of any stress I had, not to mention the exercise.